A Journey Through Tunisia’s History

posted on: Oct 4, 2017

By Habeeb Salloum/Contributing Writer

Standing atop Mount Byrsa, the acropolis of both Punic and Roman Carthage, I surveyed the panorama of the modern spread-out urban centre covering the historic ruins that, without doubt, form an important part of the heritage of humankind.  Here, it was easy to fantasize about the Punic/Roman wars and their most renowned hero, Hannibal – one of the greatest army commanders in the ancient world and Carthage’s most illustrious son.

Carthage, at the outskirts of Tunis, was to be the beginning of our journey through Tunisia’s history which encompassed three main eras – Carthaginian, Roman and Islamic.  The Phoenician princess Elissa-Dido, who had fled Tyre, in present day Lebanon, to escape the wrath of her brother Pygmalion, established ancient Carthage in 814 B.C.

In the ensuing centuries her descendants created a navy that ruled the seas, guarding Carthage and its empire until, in 146 B.C., the Romans destroyed the city.  They razed it to the ground and scattered salt on the ruins to ensure that it would not rise again.

Yet, only a century later, the Romans built atop the Phoenician ruins, New Carthage and made it the capital of their African province.  It quickly grew until it became a cultured and cosmopolitan urban centre with a large university and the second largest city in the empire.  Subsequently, Christians, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs and Turks took over the city.  Eventually, it declined and became a ghost town.

When the French occupied Tunisia in 1881, they built a massive cathedral on the summit of Mount Byrsa – known to its new conquerors as the hill of Saint Louis.  It was named after the Crusader King Louis IX who was killed trying to conquer Tunisia and was believed to have been buried where the cathedral now stands

The French left in the 1950s and today the cathedral is an empty historic structure, edged by remnants of a Punic neighbourhood.  Beside it stands a museum where archaeological finds from Carthage’s past are exhibited.

The most famous of its historic sites are the Antonine [Antoine] Thermal Baths, covering 3 1/2 ha.  As to Punic Carthage, besides the tophet (a Punic cemetery), the Punic Quarter, edging the cathedral is largely preserved because the Romans used the site as a dumping ground during their building of New Carthage.  Dating from the 3rd and 2^nd centuries B.C., excavation has revealed a collection of carefully built and laid-out houses on a regular grid system.

As I wandered through Carthage’s scattered ruins, I thought of how our world would be today if Hannibal had occupied Rome.  No doubt, instead of the Roman gods, the Phoenician god Baal-Hammon and the goddess Tanit would have been the supreme beings of the pre-Christian Mediterranean lands.

Early next day we left Tunis, Tunisia’s capital, driving to the northwest of the country on our way to tour three major historic sites – the uppermost remains of the 1,000 towns the Romans built in the country.   Our first goal was the ruins of Bulla Regia – once an important Roman city in their North African province.

After a leisurely three-hour journey through fertile farmland, dotted with olive groves and vineyards, we reached this once rich city.  One of the most superb ruins to be seen in any part of the former Roman world, it is famous for the underground villas, built by its wealthy citizens.

Entering the spread-out ruins, we quickly made our way to these homes.  A strange way to build abodes by the affluent, they were even more captivating than I expected.  I was fascinated as I gazed down on their mosaic floors, still retaining their vivid colours.  I inquired of a Tunisian tourist standing beside me if anyone worried about the deterioration of the mosaics.  He shrugged his shoulders, “In our ruins we have thousands of these mosaic floors.  How many can we afford to save?”

From the underground villas we went on to examine Bulla Regia’s thermal spring structures, well-preserved theatre, the Temples of Apollo and Isis and the Christian Basilica.  They gave us a good idea of the city when it was one of the jewels of the Roman colonies in North Africa.

Dugga, our next stop, was once one of the largest, most spectacular and best-preserved Roman cities in North Africa.  Spread out over more than 25 ha (62 ac) and occupying a commanding position on the slopes of the Tebersouk Mountains, it overlooks a rich agricultural valley.

We first toured the renovated Theatre that can hold up to 3,500 spectators and is used for music and drama festivals during the summer months.  From the theatre we moved on to explore the imposing 2^nd century Capitol – the finest in Tunisia.

After leaving Dugga, we drove back to spend the night in Tunis then next day drove to El Jem – a sleepy town of some 16,000, noted for its famous Roman coliseum.  The massive arena built in 238 A.D. at the apogee of Roman power in Africa, looked awe-inspiring glittering in the morning sun.  A sprawling gigantic stadium, the largest of all Roman monuments in Africa and once the third largest coliseum in the Roman world, it is better preserved than its twin in Rome.

After exploring its lower sections, I climbed up to the higher parts of the stadium.  The view into the arena from the high archways was breath-taking.  As I stood atop the ruins, in my imagination, the coliseum came to life with the screams of human beings struggling with frenzied beasts filling the arena.

Suddenly, I awoke from my trance feeling relieved that the circus – the opium of the Roman masses – was only a momentary apparition, but a fitting end to our exploration of Roman Tunisia.

In a few hours we were on our way to tour Islamic Tunisia – on our agenda, visiting Mahdia, Monastir, Sousse and Kairouan; then back to Tunis – the capital of the country where we had already explored its ancient mosques, schools and majestic palaces.

Crowning all of these were: Jam’a al-Zitouna, the most important mosque in the city and whose minaret dominates the old city; Dar Hussein, a house decorated with rich-coloured tiles and plaster lacework; the mosque and tomb of the Ottoman Hammoda Pasha; Sidi Bou Krissan Museum, filled with medieval Arabic inscriptions; Dar ben Abdallah, a colourful dwelling decorated with fine tiles and plaster filigree, housing a museum of folklore and popular art; and Dar el-Bey, the Arab style government house.

From El Jem, we drove the short distance to Mahdia, one of Tunisia’s famous Islamic medieval centres that was once the capital of the Fatimids – a Shi’a sect in Islam.  From that era, we visited the Great Mosque, which has been recently restored, and Skifa al-Kahla, once a fortress and now housing a traditional market.

To the north of Mahdia, we drove to Monastir, the birthplace of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia’s former president and founding father.  Its Ribat, erected in the 9th century, was the first in a chain of a 1,000 Muslim fortresses built on the North African coast.  The Ribat’s crenulated ramparts warded off so many Christian attacks that it led to a saying in the Arab lands: ‘To be garrisoned for three days at Monastir opens the door to Paradise’.

In neighbouring Sousse, we toured its fortress-like Great Mosque built in the 9th century; the Ribat – a fortress built as a home for devout Muslims who followed the knightly codes of piety and bravery; the Kasbah (old city), perfectly preserved within its ramparts; and the Khalef al-Fata Tower, from whose top one has a sweeping scenic view of the city and its hinterland.

In less than an hour after leaving Sousse, we were in Kairouan that is venerated as the 4th holy city in the Muslim world – only outranked by Mecca, Madina and Jerusalem. Here history comes alive in its 85 mosques and 101 tombs of holy men.Towering high above the many mosques that crowd the city is Masjid al-Kabir (the Great Mosque).  Its cornerstone was laid in 670 A.D. by ‘Uqba ibn Nafi.  Inside there is a forest of 500 stone and marble pink and white columns in both the courtyard and the prayer room with a mihrab that was the first built in North Africa.  A person standing near its minbar, which is an imposing piece of wood carving, and surveying the prayer room with its thicket of marble columns is imbued with a feeling of serenity and harmony.After visiting the equally beautiful Mosque of the Barber, or as it is sometimes called, the Mosque of Sidi Saheb, named after a personal friend of the Prophet Muhammad, we ended our tour of Islamic Tunisia.  This most Islamic of all the Tunisian cities was truly a fitting end to our journey through the history of the country – established by Carthaginians and Romans, but given its character by Arab Muslims.