Salah Bey of Constantine

Salah Bey governed the Eastern Beylik of Constantine for twenty-one years (1771–1792), presiding over the greatest architectural and cultural renaissance in Constantine's modern history. He paved the ancient rocky streets, restored the ancient Roman bridge of El Kantara, constructed the magnificent Souq El Ghezal, and erected the prestigious Salah Bey Mosque and Madrasa.

Beloved by the Muslim and Jewish populations alike for his fair administration, charitable endowments, and promotion of sciences, his independent popularity aroused the jealousy of Dey Hassan Pasha in Algiers, who ordered his tragic execution in 1792. His martyrdom was mourned with women wearing black gandouras and inspired the famous folk elegy 'Galou El Arab Galou'.