History of Tunisia

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History of Tunisia
ANCIENT HISTORY OF TUNISIA
Early eras
Berbers: origin, language, society, religion
Punic Era
Phoenicia, City of Carthage; Berbers; Romans
Roman Era
Berber kings; Africa Province; Vandals; Byzantines
MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF TUNISIA
Early Islamic Era
Ifriqiya: Umayyad, Aghlabid; Berbers; Fatimid
Medieval Era
Berber states: Zirid, Almohad, Hafsid; Ibn Khaldun
Ottoman Era
Pasha & Dey; Muradid, Husaynid; Modern reform
MODERN HISTORY OF TUNISIA
French Era
Protectorate; Independence movement
Modern Era
Republic: Bourghiba, Ben Ali; Revolution; Society & Culture
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Modern Tunisia.

The History of Tunisia is subdivided into the following articles:

• Outlines of early Tunisia
• History of Punic era Tunisia
• History of Roman era Tunisia
• History of early Islamic Tunisia
• History of medieval Tunisia
• History of Ottoman era Tunisia
• History of French-era Tunisia
• History of modern Tunisia

Names

Tunisia, al-Jumhuriyyah at-Tunisiyyah, is a sovereign republic. Yet the country's proper name has changed radically more than once over the course of millenia. Hence, such a term as "ancient Tunisia" is frankly anachronistic. Nonetheless, "Tunisia" will be used throughout this history for the sake of continuity.

Undoubtedly, the most ancient Berbers had various names for their land and settlements here, one early Punic-era Berber name being Massyli.^[1][2] After the Phoenicians arrived, their city of Carthage evolved to asume a dominant position over much of the western Mediterranean; this city-state gave its name to the region.^[3] Following the Punic Wars, the Romans established here their Province of Africa, taking the then not-widely-known name of Africa from a Berber word for 'the people'.^[4] The Roman capital was the rebuilt city of Carthage. After the Arab and Muslim conquest, this name continued in use, as the region was called in Arabic Ifriqiya. Its capital was relocated to the newly-built city of Kairouan. The Fatimids later moved the capital of Ifriqiya to Mahdia, a city they founded, but then the Zirids returned it to Kairouan.^[5]

In the twelfth century the Berber Almohads [al-Muwwahids] conquered the country and began to rule it from Tunis, an ancient but until-then unimportant city, which thus rose to become the capital.^[6][7] The whole country then came to be called Tunis after this city (near the ruins of ancient Carthage). Tunis continued as the capital under Turkish rule, and remains so today. Only in the last years of the nineteenth century, under the French protectorate, did the current name Tunisie [in French] or Tunisiyya [in Arabic], (Tunisia in English), come into common use.^[8]

During these millennia of history under different states, the names for the country changed. They include: Massyli, Carthage, Africa, Ifriqiya, Tunis, Tunisia.

History Outline

Its long history may be very briefly outlined or summarized.^[9] Here a reverse chronological order is employed. |8| The two presidential regimes of independent Tunisia have fostered and steered the country's economic development, and navigated the state in the once bipolar now post–Cold War world. Tunisia has retained close ties both to Arab countries and to the West. |7| Earlier the French had incorporated Tunisia into their sphere (1881–1956), preceded by many Italian settlers, merchants and farmers. Modernizing of methods in business and industry was achieved. |6| Before that, Tunisia was under the Ottoman Turks who had seized lasting control in 1574 after a brief Spanish occupation. The Ottomans eventually held Tunisia indirectly, through the Muradid and Husaynid Beys. The Ottoman Empire used the Turkish language; with it arrived a multi-ethnic influx. |5| Prior to the Turkish era, the long medieval period had seen a cultural renaissance under the rule of native Berbers, already Arabized. First the Zirids (973-1160) had ruled as vassals of the Fatimids who had relocated along the Nile; later the Zirids established an independent Ifriqiya, by breaking with the Fatimids. Next the Almohad movement succeeded in uniting the entire Maghrib, including Ifriqiya. Then the local Hafsid dynasty (1227-1574) of Tunis followed, ruling for many centuries during times both prosperous and lean, contested and peaceful. Their lands stretched form Constantine to Tarabulus.

|4| The Islamic era had opened with the arrival of the Arabs (late seventh century). The Arabs brought their language and the religion of Islam, and its new calendar.^[10] The Arabs also renewed the region's cultural ties with the Semitic east. Later the Fatimids, a Shi'a state, arose in Ifriqiya, circa 909; the Fatimds eventually conquered and ruled Egypt. |3| During the last pre-Islamic centuries the Byzantines ruled, along with Berbrer vassals, and before them the Vandals (439-533). Over two thousand years ago the Romans had arrived, initially allied with Berber kingdoms; their cosmopolitan Empire long governed this Africa region as part of an integrated Mediterranean world. |2| Before the Romans, came the Phoenicians, by sea from the eastern Mediterranean about three thousand years ago. The Phoenicians founded here the celebrated city of Carthage. Punic culture interacted continuously with the native Berbers, but the two did not then merge. |1| Earlier came migrations from surrounding territories including the north, the east, and the Sahel region of Africa. Perhaps eight millennia ago, already there were peoples established here, among whom the proto-Berbers (coming overland generally from the east) mingled and mixed, and from whom the Berbers would spring, during an era of their ethno-genesis.^[11][12]

Topography of Tunisia.

Climate change

Earlier in an era of prehistory the Sahara region to the south was not an arid desert, but rather in places grasslands grew with seasonal lakes, and corresponding flora and fauna.^[13][14][15] Yet during its recorded history the physical features and environment of the land now called Tunisia have remained fairly constant; however, there were differences, e.g., the northern forests during ancient times grew more abundantly, the land being perhaps watered better.^[16]

Geography

Weather in the far north is temperate, enjoying a Mediterranean climate, with mild rainy winters and hot dry summers. The natural terrain is fertile, the fields often broken by woodlands, e.g., with cork, oak, and pine. Bizerta on the north coast has a large, developed harbor. Nearby lies the large lake of Ichkeul, a favored stop used by hundreds of thousands of migrating birds.^[17] The fertile river valley of the Medjerda (Wadi Majardah) (anciently called the Bagradas) flows eastward and empties into the sea north of Tunis. The Medjerda and vicinity have been very productive throughout history and today remain valuable farmland. Grain is grown in the upper Medjerda, while on the lower Medjerda and in spots surrounding Tunis, vinyards and vegetables.^[18]

Along the eastern sea coast the sahel enjoys a moderate climate, less rainfall but with heavy dew; these coastlands currently support orchards (predominately olive, also various fruit trees), and livestock grazing. The port cities of Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia are here; further south are Sfax [Safaqis], Gabès [Qabis], and also the island of Djerba. In and around Djerba lie lands continuing the Sahel. Mineral wealth is extracted from various sites, e.g., phosphates (near Gafsa) and hydrocarbons (in the desert south). Near the mountainous Algerian border in the west rises Tunisia's highest point, Jebel ech Chambi at 1544 meters. From this area the high tell descends northeastward to the coast, continuing through Cape Bon, east of Tunis. Called the Dorsale, Tunisia's mountain range is interrupted by several passes, including the Kasserine.^[19]

Between the coastal sahel and the high mountains lies the bled, seasonally-parched plains that are more sparsely populated, but where the sacred city of Kairouan is situated. In the near south, cutting east-west across the low-lying country, are the Tunisian salt lakes (called chotts or shatts), which continue westward far into Algeria. This region forms the Djerid; quality dates are cultivated here in substantial quantities, due to use of subsurface aquifers. Further south lies the Sahara desert; here Tunisia touches the north-eastern edge of vast sand dunes comprising the Grand Erg Oriental.^[20][21][22]

Until the arrival of the Ottomans, Tunisia included additional lands to the west, and to the east. The region surrounding Constantine, Algeria (anciently, western Numidia) was formerly ruled primarily from Tunis. The coastlands by Tripoli, Libya [also called Tarabulus] also had been, before the Turks, in long political association with Tunis.

The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Tunisia

Today Tunisia has 163,610 square kilometers (63,170 square miles). It fronts the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east, Libya extends to the southeast, and Algeria is west. The capital Tunis is located near the coast, roughly between the mouth of the Medjerda river to the north and Cap Bon (Watan el-Kibli). With a population now of about 800,000, Tunis has been the principal city in the region for over eight centuries. The second largest city Sfax is noted for industry, with about 350,000 people.

Population

The present day Republic of Tunisia includes about ten million inhabitants, chiefly of Arab-Berber descent. Yet also a substantial minority composes a broad ethnic mix, coming from throughout the Mediterranean region, both east and west, many dating to the Phoenician, Roman, or Ottoman eras, e.g., Sicilians and Greeks, Corsicans and French, Spanish and Germans, Egyptians and Jews, Circassians, Iranians, and Turks; also in this mix are Tunisians whose ancestry traces southward across the deserts to Black Africa. Arabic became the primary language following the 7th-century Muslim conquest, with French also widely spoken. Islam is the religion, 99% are said to be Sunni Muslims.^[23][24]

See also

• Arab Spring
• History of Africa
• History of North Africa
• Politics of Tunisia
• List of Beys of Tunis
• List of Presidents of Tunisia
• Prime Minister of Tunisia

Reference notes

1. ^ Massyli is mentioned early as a Berber Kingdom immediately west of Carthage. After the Second Punic War, Massyli and Masaesyli (its western neighbor) were combined to form Numidia. Brett & Fentress, The Berbers (1996) at 25-26. Possibly Massyli is related to the word Imazighen by which many modern Berbers refer to themselves. Cf., Brett and Fentress (1996) at 5-6. During the medieval period all the lands of old "Numidia" were considered under Tunis; later the Ottomans detached "Masaesyli" lands near Constantine, which now lie in Algeria.
2. ^ Stéphane Gsell, Histoire ancienne de L'Afrique du Nord (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1927) at tome V: 95-96. About Masaesyles and Massyles, Gsell states, "Cet deux noms sont certainement indigènes." [These two names are certainly indigenous].
3. ^ The original Phoenician name was Qart Hadasht, literally "town new". Accordingly the Greeks called it Karkhedon, and later to the Romans it was Carthago. Serge Lancel, Carthage (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard 1992), translated as Carthage. A history (Oxford: Blackwell 1995) at 21-22, 429.
4. ^ J. A. Ilevbare, Carthage, Rome and the Berbers (University of Ibadan 1981) at 177. The name Africa, of course, in time came to refer to the entire continent.
5. ^ Kenneth J. Perkins, Tunisia. Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds (Boulder, Colorado: Westview 1986) at 27 (Ifriqiya & Kairouan), 35 (Fatimids: Mahdia), 39-44 (Zurids: Kairouan), 44-46 (Almohads: Tunis).
6. ^ Known since the IVth century B.C., when it was called Thunès or Tynes. Abdelaziz Daoulatli, Tunis. Capitale de Hafsides (Tunis: Alif - les Éditions de la Méditerranée 2009) at 10.
7. ^ The Tunes of the Phoenicians, the Tunesium for the Romans, is the Tunis of today. Graham Petrie, Tunis, Kairouan & Carthage (London: Wm. Heinemann 1908; reprint 2003) at 15.
8. ^ Lisa Anderson, State and Social Transformation in Tunisia and Libya (Princeton University 1987) at 13.
9. ^ Cf., M. Masmoudi (editor), Histoire Général de la Tunisie (Tunis: Sud Editions 2008-2010), 4 volumes; Kenneth J. Perkins, Tunisia. Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds (Boulder: Westview & London: Croom Helm 1986); Howard C. Reese, et al., Area Handbook for the Republic of Tunisia (Washington: American Univ. 1970); Harold D. Nelson, editor, Tunisia. A country study (Washington: American Univ., 3d ed. 1988); Kenneth J. Perkins, Historical Dictionary of Tunisia (Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press 1989); Abdallah Laroui, L'Histoire du Magreb: Un essai de synthèse (Paris: Librairies François Maspero 1970), translated as The History of the Maghrib. An Interpretive Essay (Princeton University 1977); Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge University 1971); Phillip C. Naylor, North Africa. A history from antiquity to the present (Austin: Univ.of Texas 2009); Jane Soames Nickerson, A Short History of North Africa. Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. From pre-Roman days to the present (New York: Devin-Adair 1961); Robert Montagne, La Vie Sociale et la Vie Politique des Berbers (la Société de l'Afrique Française 1931) translated as The Berbers. Their social and political organisation (London: Frank Cass 1973); Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, The Berbers (Oxford: Blackwell 1996); B. H. Warmington, Carthage (London: Robert Hale, 2d ed. 1969); Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (New York: Simon and Schuster 1990); Charles-André Julien, Histoire de L'Afrique du Nord (Paris: Payot 1931, 1961) translated as History of North Africa. From the Arab Conquest to 1830 (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1970); Lisa Anderson, The State and Social Transformation in Tunisia and Libya, 1830-1980 (Princeton Univ. 1986); Kenneth J. Perkins, A History of Modern Tunisia (Cambridge University 2004).
10. ^ The Islamic calendar starts on July 16, 622 A.D., a day estimated for Muhammad's flight (Hijra) from Mecca to Medina. Years in this calendar are designated A.H. for Anno Hegirae, the Hijri year. Since the Islamic calendar is strictly lunar, it runs about eleven and one-quarter days shorter than a solar year; hence calculation of dates between this lunar calendar and a solar calendar are complicated. The calendar used in this article is a solar calendar, the traditional western or the Gregorian calendar, with the years dating from an approximate birth date of Jesus ['Isa in Islam], designated either B.C. for Before Christ, or thereafter A.D. for Anno Domini. Alternatively the western calendar can be renamed to sanction a secular modernism, a nominal neutrality, or otherwise, the years B.C. and A.D. being called B.C.E. and C.E., for Common Era. For prehistory, the kya (thousands of years ago) notation is occasionally employed.
11. ^ Gabriel Camps, Les Berbères (Aix-en-Provence: Edisud 1996) at 11-14.
12. ^ Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, The Berbers (Oxford: Blackwell 1996) at 14-15.
13. ^ Prior to 6000 years ago, evidently the vast Sahara region to the south was better watered, more a savanna which could support herds; yet then a desiccation process set in, leaving the parched desert it is today. Robert Rinehart, "Historical Setting" at 1-70, 4, in Nelson (editor), Tunisia. A Country Study (Washington, D.C., 3rd ed. 1988).
14. ^ Emile F. Gautier, Le Sahara (Paris: Payot, 2nd ed. 1928), expanded edition translated by Dorothy Ford Mayhew as Sahara. The Great Desert (Columbia Univ. 1935) at 56-61.
15. ^ Brent D. Shaw, "Climate, environment and prehistory in the Sahara" in World Archaeology 8: 133-148 (London 1976), reprinted in Shaw, Environment and Society in Roman North Africa (Aldershot UK: Variorum 1995), article II.
16. ^ Cf., LaVerle Berry and Robert Rinehart, "The Society and Its Environment" at 71-143, 79, in Nelson (editor), Tunisia. A Country Study (Washington, D.C., 3rd ed. 1987).
17. ^ Dorothy Stannard, editor, Tunisia (Singapore: Apa 1991) at 175-176.
18. ^ Fadia Elia Estefan, "The Economy" 145-203, at 163-183, 177-178, map at 149, in Tunisia. A country study (1987).
19. ^ LaVerle Berry and Robert Rinehart, "The Society and Its Environment" at 71-143, 74-79, map at 75, in Nelson, editor, Tunisia. A country study (Washington, D.C.: American Univ., 3d ed. 1988).
20. ^ Kenneth J. Perkins, Tunisia. Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds (Boulder, Colorado: Westview 1986) at 1-5.
21. ^ Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge Univ. 1971) at 1-6.
22. ^ The World Factbook on "Tunisia".
23. ^ Cf., Jean Hureau, Tunisia Today (Paris: éditions j.a. 1977) at 8-9.
24. ^ Encyclopedic World Atlas (Oxford University 1994) at 138.

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