History of Tunisia And Geography
Tunisia is a country in North Africa, at the eastern end of the Little Maghreb, in the center of Mediterranean Africa. It is the northernmost country in Africa. Italy, to the north, is only 130 km away. The capital is Tunis. The Sahara Desert separates Tunisia, like the rest of North Africa, from most of the African continent.
How did Tunisia get its name? The name of Tunisia (Tounes) means “to accompany and support”, thus, the Tunisian people are known for their peaceful and warm nature.
Geographical And Territorial Data
Coordinates: 36.800833, 10.18
Administrative territorial entity: Country
Continent: Africa
Area: 163.610 Km2
Altitude or highest point: Djebel Chambi
Time use: CET (UTC+1)
Tunisia Political Data
Form of government: Semi-presidential republic
Tunisia Demographics And Population
Name: Tunisian, -na
Language or languages of Tunisia: Arabic
Population: 11,375,000 inhabitants
Population density: 70 Inhabitants per Km2
Tunisia Other information
Coin: Tunisian Dinar
ISO Code: 788 / TUN / TN
Calling code: +216
Internet domain: .tn
History About Tunisia
Tunisia has a rich cultural history, dating back to antiquity. The Carthaginian Empire, Rome’s sworn enemy, originated in Tunisia. Its capital, Carthage, is now a suburb of Tunis.
Carthage is an ancient Mediterranean power. Three wars between Rome and Carthage (known as the Punic Wars) took place in the first centuries before the birth of Christ. They culminated in the decimation of Carthage in 146 BC.C. by the Roman general Scipio, who said he mourned its destruction.
History of Islam in Tunisia: Between the destruction of ancient Carthage and the Arab conquests of the 7th century, many cultures follow one another in Tunisia. Carthage experienced a new period of prosperity under the Roman Empire, until its fall in the 5th century. Roman rule was replaced, briefly, by that of the Vandals, who made Carthage the capital of their kingdom. Carthage was then temporarily absorbed by the Byzantine Empire until the advent of Islam in the 7th century.
After the disappearance of the Arab caliphates, Turkish pashas of the Ottoman Empire ruled Tunisia. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia finally fell under the domination of European imperialism, as a French protectorate, along with neighboring Algeria.
Tunisia has been an independent country since 1956. History of Tunisia.
Geography
TUNISIA, bathed by the Mediterranean, stretches 750 km from north to south and 150 km from east to west, between Algeria and Libya. From the capital to Cape Bon lies a fertile coastal plain. In the North and Centre there are mountain ranges culminating at an altitude of 1,500 m. The Far South is part of the Sahara. History of Tunisia.
AREA: 164,000 km2
HIGHEST POINT: Djebel Chambi, 1,544 m.
LENGTH OF COASTLINE: 1,148 km.
TYPES OF LANDSCAPE: Hills of Kroumirie (northern Tunisia), dunes of the Great Eastern Erg (southern Tunisia), beaches of the east coast, Tunisia presents an astonishing variety of landscapes. The relief of Tunisia remains moderate: the average altitude in Tunisia is 700 m and 65% of Tunisia is less than 350 m above sea level.
ANCIENT TUNISIA HISTORY TIMLINE
Ancient History of Tunisia: Around 8,000 b.C. humans lived in what is now Tunisia by hunting and gathering. After about 5,000 b.C. they began to cultivate, although they still used stone tools. Then, around 1100 B.C., the Phoenicians of what is now Lebanon settled and traded in the area.
Around 480 B.C. the Phoenicians founded Carthage. Gradually this city became stronger. Over time, the Carthaginians built an empire in the Mediterranean.
However, they came into conflict with Rome. The first Punic war between Carthage and Rome began in 263 BC.C. and lasted until 241 BC.C. It ended in a Carthaginian defeat. A second war followed in 218 BC.C. This time Hannibal led an army across the Alps into Italy, but failed to capture Rome.
Finally in 202 the Carthaginians were crushed by the Romans at the Battle of Zama. A third was fought between 149 and 146 B.C. This time Carthage was destroyed. However, the Romans later rebuilt Carthage as a Roman city.
Under Roman rule, Tunisia prospered and exported grain and olive oil to other parts of the empire. In addition, many Romans settled in the area and trade flourished. History of Tunisia.
However, by the fifth century the Roman Empire was crumbling. A people called the Vandals had conquered Spain. In 429 80,000 vandals led by Genseric crossed into North Africa. In 439 they captured Carthage and created a new kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Roman Empire had been divided into two halves, East and West. The eastern half became known as the Byzantine Empire. In 533 the Byzantine emperor Justinian sent an army under his general Belisarius, who crushed the Vandals and took Carthage.
Byzantine rule in Tunisia lasted until 698. In that year the Arabs took Carthage. At first, Arab Tunisia was ruled by the caliphs, but in 800 Ibrahim ibn al Aghlab became the hereditary ruler of the country. Under the Aghlabid dynasty, Tunisia prospered and trade flourished.
The Arab Conquest of Tunisia
In the current Tunisian territory the Phoenician colony of Carthage was founded. Christianity made rapid progress in the territory from the third century. In the year 439 the territory was occupied by the Vandals of Genseric, who founded in it an independent kingdom, conquered by Belisarius for Byzantium in 533-534.
Why did the Arab spring start in Tunisia? In 647, Arab groups made an incursion into the south of the territory, and the attacks resumed in 665, under the command of Ukba, who in 670 founded Kairouan, holy city of the Moghreb, which he made its capital.
After the surrender of Carthage in 698, Kairouan retained only the religious capital. During the eighth century the emirs had to concentrate their efforts on the subjugation of the Berbers of the mountains.
Pacified the territory, in the ninth century the Aglabíes founded a maritime empire on both sides of the Strait of Sicily. The Fatimids conquered Egypt and moved the capital to Cairo (972).
The country later fell into the hands of the Almohads. They were succeeded by the Hafesíes (1229), who created a commercial and pyratic power that resisted the attack of Louis IX of France (1270) and improved its economy thanks to the good reception given to the Jews expelled from Spain (1391). History of Tunisia.
TUNISIA IN THE MIDDLE AGES
History in Tunisia: However, in 909, a strict sect called Ismailis led a rebellion and expelled the Aghlabids. The leader of the Ismailis took over Tunisia. He claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima, so his dynasty was called Fatimids.
In 921 the Fatimids founded Mahida, which became the capital. In 969 the Fatimids captured Egypt and soon after made Cairo their new capital. Thereafter, Tunisia was ruled by a dynasty of semi-independent governors called the Ziri.
However, the Zirids separated from the Fatimids and became completely independent in 1049. To take revenge, the Fatimids persuaded two Bedouin tribes, the Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym, to attack the Ziri.
In addition, in the twelfth century the Normans (who ruled Sicily) captured most of the Tunisian ports. They captured Gerba in 1135 and Mahdia in 1148. However, the Almohads who came from Morocco expelled them. The Almohads captured Tunisia in 1159.
However, in 1229 the governor of Tunisia broke away and formed a new dynasty. The Hafsi managed to restore order in Tunisia. During the thirteenth century Tunisia prospered and trade flourished. History of Tunisia.
Era of Ottoman Rule In Tunisia
In 1534 the capital was seized by the Turkish privateer Barbarossa, who turned the port into a base for his piracy. The Hafsi ruler, a refugee in the south, asked for help from Emperor Charles V, who seized the city the following year.
In 1569 it was seized by Ali the Renegade, who lost it again to the Spanish (1573-74). But the Turks came to their aid and imposed their sovereignty over the territory. The Ottomans ruled Tunisian territory through hereditary beyes (titles of Turkish origin), who ended up not recognizing the Sublime Porte more than a nominal empire over the territory.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Tunisian state went into frank decline. A series of famines and epidemics (1784, 1805, 1818) cut the country’s population in half. History of Tunisia.
The concurrence of European industry and the loss of the Algerian market (conquered by France from 1830) ruined industry and commerce. The Beyes resorted to leonine loans with European banking houses, which they forced in 1869 to declare bankruptcy.
The powers with interested capital (France, Italy and Great Britain) set up a financial control commission to look after their interests. Rivalries between the powers allowed Tunisia to retain its precarious independence until 1878.
French Occupation And Protectorate Of Tunisia
The History of Tunisia: Taking as a pretext some border incidents with Algeria, France occupied Tunisia in 1881 and established a colonial protectorate over the country (1883), preserving the figure of the bey. After World War I, the Destur party (liberal-constitutional) and the Confédération Générale du Travail Tunisienne (CGTT) appeared. History of Tunisia.
Under the accusation of communism, the CGTT was dismantled in 1925, without the bourgeoisie of Destur showing solidarity with it, so this party lost what could have been its popular support. The result of this discredit was the foundation around 1930 of the Neo-Destur; its general secretariat was occupied by Habib Bourguiba (1934).
The main members of the Neo-Destur were imprisoned in 1934 and released after the rise to power of Léon Blum. But the rapid fall of the latter prevented the reform of the administration of the colony. Liberated France refused to accede to autonomist demands and repression intensified. History of Tunisia.
Tunisian Independence: The Burguiba Era
Tunisian History Timeline
In March 1952, Bourguiba was arrested, which gave rise to an armed insurrection in which sabotage and acts of terrorism abounded. In July 1954, the Mendés-France government recognized Tunisia’s internal autonomy.
The Neo-Destur, meeting in Congress (1955), re-elected Habib Bourguiba as president and demanded independence, recognized by France on March 20, 1956 by abolishing the Treaty of Bardo.
Once a Constituent Assembly was elected, Habib Bourguiba was appointed as Prime Minister (April 1956). On July 25, 1957, the Assembly dismissed Bey Muhammad al-Amin and proclaimed the Republic of Tunisia, with Habib Bourguiba as head of state.
The Tunisian Constitution was promulgated on 1 June 1959. Franco-Tunisian relations were marred by the Algerian war and the problem of the presence of French troops in Tunisia. History of Tunisia.
In 1957 Tunisia broke off its diplomatic relations with France, which were not resumed until the arrival of General De Gaulle to power. New incidents in Bizerte led to the blockade of the base by the Tunisian army and countrymen.
In 1962 the French government agreed to leave Bizerte. This fact and the end of the war in Algeria improved relations between the two governments, again strained in 1964 when a nationalization law ordered the expropriation of lands belonging to foreign subjects.
In 1964 the Neo-Destur changed its name to the Desturian Socialist Party. Abroad, the Bourguiba government followed a pro-Western policy and adopted (1965) positions of compromise with Israel, which led to the break with the Arab League and the suspension of diplomatic relations with Egypt and Syria, resumed in 1971.
An amendment to the Constitution passed in December 1974 gave him the office of president for life, and confirmed Prime Minister Nouira, in office since 1970, as the president’s successor. History of Tunisia.
The student and workers’ agitation intensified from 1976 onwards. The general strike that was called by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) led to the bloodiest incident since independence: police repression against demonstrators killed at least 51 people (26 January 1978). History of Tunisia.
Due to a serious illness, Prime Minister Nouira was replaced by Mohamed Mzali (1980-1986) who had to face massive demonstrations protesting the increase in the price of bread and its derivatives. He was succeeded by R. Sfar (1986-1987) and Zine el-Abidine BenAlí (since 1987). History of Tunisia.
Ben Ali’s Open-Minded Government
In November 1987 Prime Minister Ben Ali led a bloodless coup and dismissed Bourguiba for “incapacity”. Ben Ali initiated a policy of timid openness, but maintained the repression against fundamentalist groups.
The following year, the Desturian Socialist Party became the Democratic Constitutional Grouping (RCD), and has remained in power ever since. In his later years, Ben Ali has extended repression against all opposition forces.
During 1999, the first pluralist elections were held, in which three main candidates were presented. But President Ben Ali was re-elected.
On 26 May 2002, a reform of the Constitution was approved by referendum that gave more power to the president. Finally, on January 14, 2011, thanks to a strong popular movement, President Ben Ali was overthrown and replaced by Fouad Mebazza.
A History Of Modern Tunisia
History of Modern Tunisia: In 1574 Tunisia was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. During the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries many Tunisians were pirates. They were called Barbary pirates (the word Barbary is derived from Berber).
From time to time the European powers took action against the Barbary pirates (for example, in 1655 the English admiral Blake bombed Porto Farina). The Europeans also extorted several treaties, none of which ended piracy.
Turkish rule in Tunisia ended in 1705 when Hussain Ibn Ali began the Hussainid dynasty. History of Tunisia.
Then, during the nineteenth century, European influence, especially Italian influence, increased in Tunisia. When Tunisia went bankrupt in 1869, Britain, France and Italy took control of Tunisian finances. Then, in 1881, French troops entered from Algeria and forced the Tunisians to accept a French protectorate.
MODERN TUNISIA
History of Tunisia: Tunisian nationalism soon grew and in the early twentieth century an independence movement was formed. Then, in 1940, when Germany conquered France, Tunisia came under Vichy French rule. The Germans occupied Tunisia in November 1942, but their troops surrendered to the Allies in May 1943.
After World War II, Tunisians continued to agitate for freedom. Finally, on March 20, 1956, France accepted Tunisia’s independence. The first elections were held on 25 March 1956. At first Tunisia was a constitutional monarchy, but in 1957 it became a republic.
Habib Bourguiba became the first president. In 1975 he was appointed president for life, but in 1987 he was dismissed and replaced by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Meanwhile, in 1964 oil was discovered in Tunisia, while in international affairs Tunisia adopted a non-alignment stance.
However, in 2011 there were riots in Tunisia and Ben Ali was forced to flee. A new chapter in Tunisia’s history began. Elections were held in Tunisia in October 2011 and a new constitution was adopted in 2014.
Today, the Tunisian economy is growing and poverty is decreasing. Tourism is an important industry. At present, the population of Tunisia is 11 million. History of Tunisia.
Modern Fashion In Tunisia Women’s Dress Code
Fashion In Tunisia Women’s Dress Code: If you are lucky enough to attend a formal event, such as a wedding, engagement party, or circumcision celebration, then you’ll want to make sure to wear formal attire. These outfits can even be rented from many stores in Tunisia. Women love to dress up with beautiful hairdos and makeup. You can visit a salon to have them do both for you.
I’ve heard from friends that this is a popular location for locals to meet their future spouses and so they “dress to impress.” Women will wear beautiful, ornate gowns, and men will either be wearing a tux or dressy jeans with a fashion tee.
Tunisia Religion Percentage
Tunisia is an almost entirely Muslim country, with 99% of the population practicing the religion. In fact, it is the official religion of the country and the president is required to be Muslim. Nearly all of the Muslim population is Sunni, and a small indigenous population is Shia or Sufi.
| Tunisia Population Rank 2022 | 79 |
| 2022 World Percentage | 0.15% |
| Density | 73.63/km² |
| Area | 163,610 km² |
| 2022 Growth Rate | 1.05% |
| Capital | Tunis |
| Region | Africa |
| Subregion | Northern Africa
|
History of The Flag of Tunisia
History of Tunisian Flag: Tunisia is the smallest state in North Africa. It alternates mountainous landscapes, beaches, plains and desert plateaus, and on its flag it presents a huge white sun, which is the symbol of the unity of the country.
The red flag with the Turkish star and crescent was also a Tunisian flag until 1835, when a white disc-shaped sun was added to it. Tunisia, the land of ancient Carthage, was taken by Turkish corsairs in the mid-sixteenth century. In 1574 the Ottoman Empire annexed this country of Mediterranean climate.
This flag, widely inspired by the Turkish banner, was made official that same year. During the French protectorate (1881), the blue-white-red tricolor also appeared in the canton of the pavilion.
Tunisia acceded to independence on March 20, 1956, at the same time that a code of personal status of secular and modern tendency was established, with which women would benefit especially. In 1957 the republic was proclaimed, and Habib Bourguiba was appointed its first president.
History of Tunisia Timeline
The History of Tunisia Timeline: Tunisia was inhabited since prehistory. Traces of human presence have been discovered in the deepest layers of the Paleolithic. Its first known inhabitants were the Berbers.
* 814 BC: Foundation of Carthage by Phoenician settlers led by Queen Dido, also called Elyssa. The new city quickly becomes the development of an important source of civilization and a formidable power that worries Rome.
* 264 – 146 BC: three wars against Rome, transmitted to posterity as “The Punic Wars”, participate giving rise to the fantastic expedition led by Hannibal who crossed the Alps with his elephants
* 218 – 202 BC These wars ended in the defeat of Carthage.
* 146 BC-439: Creation of the first Roman colony “Africa”. Agriculture and urbanization are on the rise.
* 439: Conquest of Carthage by the Vandals.
* 533: Acquisition of Carthage by the Byzantines.
* 647-698: From the Muslim era. Foundation of Kairouan by Oqba Ibn Nafaa (in 670) and the capture of Carthage by the Arabs (in 698).
* 800-909: The expansion of Islam and the establishment of the Aghlabids dynasty (construction of the Zitouna mosque in Tunisia). Kairouan is the political and intellectual center of the Maghreb countries. History of Tunisia.
* 909-1159: Fatimid Dynasties and Zirid. Mahdia, founded in 921, became the capital of the country.
* 1159-1230: The Almohads unite the countries of the Maghreb and Muslim Andalusia.
* 1236: The Hafsids, Almohad vassals declare independent and found a new dynasty.
* 1574. 1574: Tunisia is listed in the Annex of the Ottoman Empire.
* 1705: Foundation of the Husseinite Dynasty (disappeared on July 25, 1957). History of Tunisia.
* 1881-1956: French protectorate established on May 12, 1881. Anti-colonial resistance lasts for almost all 75 years of French domination. Led first by the Destourien part (1920), the struggle is a new impetus with the neo-Destour of 1934.
* 1956 (March 20): Tunisia gained independence. History of Tunisia.
* 1957 (July 25): Proclamation of the Republic of Tunisia. Independent Habib Bourguiba became president of Tunisia.
* 1959 (1 June): adoption of the first Constitution of the Federative Republic of Tunisia.
* 1963 (October l5): Bizerte evacuated French troops, his last base in the country.
* 1987 (November 7) : In accordance with the Constitution, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is invested by the Parliament as President of the Republic. History of Tunisia.
* 1989 (April 2):Presidential and parliamentary elections. Election of President Ben Ali, by universal suffrage.
* 1994 (20 March):presidential and parliamentary elections. Re-election of President Ben Ali and the opposition’s entry into Parliament for the first time in Tunisia’s independent history. History of Tunisia.
* 1999 (October 24): Re-election of President Ben Ali, after the first pluralist presidential elections in the history of Tunisia.
* 2002 (May 26) Reform of the Constitution proposed by President Zine El Abidine Ben.
* 2004 (October 24): President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was elected to a fourth term, following the second multi-party presidential election in Tunisia’s history.
Read More History of Tunisia vs Nigeria
References
Tunisia, history and geography (tunisieautrement.com)
🇹🇳 History of Tunisia ▷ Brief summary history of Tunisians (quehistoria.com)
Origin and History of Tunisia | CurioSfera-Historia.com
History of Tunisia – Tunisia Tourist Guide (blog-tunez.com)
Tunisia – History (historia.com)
Note: If there are any suggestions or corrections. Please mail us. Go in the contact section.
