sentences:  The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the birthplace of Augustine of Hippo and a center of Berber culture.It was a city of great culture, described as the very hub of civilization.The name derives from the Arabic word "souk" which means "market", and the Chaoui Berber word "ahra" (plural "ahras") which means "lion", in reference to the Barbary lions which existed in the neighboring forests until their extinction in 1930; hence "Souk Ahras" means "market of lions" (see also Oran ("Wahran") and Tahert for names with a related etymology).