TUNISIA

a view of Tunisia, courtesy, NotesFromCamelidCountry.net

The following article is a follow-up to the previous, and other, articles on this blog. (see postings on Tunis, Er Riadh, and Djerba.)

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is an Arab-occupied country located in the northernmost area of Africa. The indigenous people of Tunisia, as with the rest of North Africa and presently under Arab occupation, are the Amazigh (Berbers) of various tribes who have lived there since early antiquity. In Tunisia, the most notable of these tribes are the Chenini, Douiret, Djerba, and Matmata. In around the 12^th century BCE, their ancestors, namely the Gaetulians, were joined by the Phoenicians who established several settlements, of which Carthage emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BCE. After a series of wars with the Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BCE, the Carthaginian kingdom became dominant in the Western Mediterranean. Meanwhile, groups of Persians settled in the area, intermarried with the Gaetulians and became the Numidians. They established the Kingdom of Numidia of which, its greatest king was Masinissa who reigned from 202 BCE to 148 BCE. As a result, two powers ruled North Africa – Carthage and Numidia. A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of Roman power. But Rome managed to defeat Carthage with the help of Numidia in 202 BCE resulting in Carthage functioning as a client state of Rome for the next 50 years. But Carthage remained a major mercantile center and a military rival of Rome and during the Third Punic War in 146 BCE, it was again defeated by Numidia on Rome’s behalf. Numidia took over all the Carthaginian kingdom but Rome was the true overlord and ruled over Numidian territory for most of the next 800 years. Carthage was then renamed “Africa” and became incorporated as a Roman province. During this period, the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed tremendous economic development especially in agriculture. In the first half of the 3^rd century, the second biggest amphitheater in the Empire was built, in the town of El Djem. Christianity was introduced in the 4^th century resulting in the formation of several Christian sects, most notably, the Donatists founded by the Berber bishop Donatus Magnus. After several attempts starting in 647 and culminating 50 years later, Arab Muslims conquered all of Tunisia bringing Islam and Arab culture to the local inhabitants. Islam soon became the dominant religion.

The following indigenous rulers ruled, what is now Tunisia, since the 10^th century.

The Berber Zirid dynasty, appointed to rule North Africa by the Arab Fatimid dynasty, with its capital at Achir, today in Algeria:

·         Abul-Futuh Sayf ad-Dawla Buluggin ibn Ziri (972-984 CE)

·         Abul-Fat'h al-Mansur ibn Buluggin (984-996 CE)

·         Abu Qatada Nasir ad-Dawla Badis ibn Mansur (996-1016 CE) moved capital to Kairouan in 1014

·         Sharaf ad-Dawla al-Muizz ibn Badis (1016–1062 CE) declared independence from the Fatimids in favor of recognizing the Abbasid caliphate in 1048. In retaliation, the Fatimids sent in the Arab Bedouin Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes who then pillaged and devastated the area. Capital then moved to Mahdia in 1057

The Khurasanid dynasty, appointed initially by the Hammadid dynasty who were rivals of the Zirids, capital at Tunis:

·         1062-1095 : Abd al-Haqq ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Khurasan

·         1095-1105 : Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Haqq

·         1105-1107 : Ismail ibn Abd al-Haqq

·         1107-1128 : Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz

·         1128-1148 : Hammadid annexation, wrested by the Norman kings of Sicily (1148)

·         1148 : Cadi Abu Muhammad Abd al-Mumin ibn Abu al-Hasan (elected, not belonging to the Khurasanid Dynasty)

·         1148 : Muhriz ibn Ziyab (from the Banu Riyah tribe, not belonging to the Dynasty)

·         1148-1149 : Abu Bakr ibn Ismail

·         1149-1159 : Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz

·         1159 : Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz; Almohad conquest

Almohad rulers:

·         Abd al-Mu'min 1130–1163

·         Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I 1163–1184

·         Abu Yusuf Ya'qub 'al-Mansur' 1184–1199

·         Muhammad al-Nasir 1199–1213

Hafsid rulers, initially appointed by the Almohads, capital at Tunis:

·         Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi Hafs (1207–1221)

·         Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Wahid (1226–1228)

·         Abu Zakariya Yahya (1228–1249)

·         Muhammad I al-Mustansir (1249–1277)

·         Yahya II al-Wathiq (1277–1279)

·         Ibrahim I (1279–1283)

·         Abd al-Aziz I (1283)

·         Ibn Abi Umara (1283–1284)

·         Abu Hafs Umar bin Yahya (1284–1295)

·         Abu Asida Muhammad II (1295–1309)

·         Abu Yahya Abu Bakr ash-Shahid (1309)

·         Abu-l-Baqa Khalid An-Nasr (1309–1311)

·         Abd al-Wahid Zakariya ibn al-Lihyani (1311–1317)

·         Abu Darba Muhammad Al-Mustansir (1317–1318)

·         Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II (1318–1346)

·         Abu-l Abbas Ahmad (1346)

·         Abu Hafs Umar II (1346-7)

·         Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Fadl al-Mutawakkil (1350)

·         Abu Ishaq Ibrahim II (1350–1369)

·         Abu-l-Baqa Khalid II (1369–1370)

·         Ahmad II (1370–1394)

·         Abd al-Aziz II (1394–1434)

·         Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad al-Muntasir (1434–1435)

·         Abu 'Amr 'Uthman (1436–1488)

·         Abu Zakariya Yahya II (1488–1489)

·         Abd al-Mu'min (Hafsid) (1489–1490)

·         Yahya Zakariya (1490–1494)

·         Abu Abdallah Muhammad IV al-Mutawakkil (1494–1526)

·         Muhammad V (“Moulay Hasan”) (1526–1543); Ottoman conquest, conflict between Turkey and Spain centered on kingdom

·         Ahmad III (1543–1569)

·         Ottoman re-conquest (1569–1573)

·         Muhammad VI (1573–1574)

Since then, the Amazigh became marginalized by the increasingly dominant Arabs colonists and their descendants. But indigenous Amazigh history and culture continued, mainly in the south of the country, and in spite of the constant pressure of Arabization. In 1850, the Douiret Berber population was around 3500. The town of Douiret had been an important caravan stop between Gabès to the north and the Libyan city of Ghdamès to the south for many generations. In the 20th century, the town had seen its population progressively decrease as many of its inhabitants migrated northward, mainly to Tunis.

Later in the century, the town of Chenini and the surrounding Tataouine district, the domain of the Chenini Berbers, became associated with the Star Wars film series. Many scenes for the movies were filmed in the area. Today, the main villages of the Chenini are Chenini, Tataouine, Douiret, Ksar Ouled Soltane, and Ksar Hadada. By the close of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the old village of Douiret had virtually transformed into a ghost town in ruins as the few remaining families opted to move to the new village of Douiret built at the mountain foothills not far from their ancestors' historic site.

Throughout the centuries of Arab occupation, the indigenous languages have stubbornly continued to be spoken among the Amazigh. The Djerba language, called chelha by its speakers, is still spoken in some villages on Djerba island, including Guellala, Azdyuch, Sedouikech and Ouirsighen. These villages are bilingual, because of the imposition of Arab culture. The language of the Matmata Berbers is called Tmaziyt, or Eddwi nna, a Zenati Berber dialect spoken around the town of Matmâta and in the villages of Taoujjout, Tamezret and Zrawa.

Throughout the 20^th century and even after the “Arab Spring”, the indigenous people began to make themselves felt politically. In 1934, Bahri Guiga co-founded the Neo Destour Party. Mohammed Salah Mzali served as Prime Minister from 1953 to 1954. Driss Guiga became General Secretary of the National Assembly in 1956, and later as General Commissioner of Tourism, State Secretary for Public Health and Social Affairs, and Minister of Education. Mohammed Mzali served as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1986. After the “Arab Spring” overthrow of the Arab occupation regime – in favor of another Arab occupation regime – the fight for indigenous Amazigh rights culminated in the founding of Akal led by Samir al Nefzi. It was soon to become a political party.  

TUNIS

The Kasbah Mosque, Tunis, built by the Hafsid dynasty,
courtesy, Wikipedia

Tunis is the Arab-occupied capital city of present day Arab-occupied Tunisia. Many of the city’s residents belong to the original, indigenous Berber community who formerly lived under an oppressive Arabization policy of the previous colonial Arab regime of Zine al Abidine ben Ali.

According to some scholars, the name “Tunis” originated in the 9^th century BCE when the Phoenicians of Carthage named it “Tanith” after their local goddess. According to other scholars, it came from the ancient Greek name “Tynes” which was mentioned by the Greek historians Diodorus Siculus and Polybius. They were most likely referring to the present day neighborhood in Tunis known today as “Al-Kasbah”, or the old Berber village.

Tunis was one of the first towns in the region that fell under Carthaginian control, and in the centuries that followed, it was mentioned in the military histories associated with Carthage. Thus, in 310 BCE, during Agathocles' expedition, which landed at Cape Bon about 30 miles to the east, Tunis changed hands several times. During the Mercenary War, it served as a center for the native population of the area which was made up mainly of peasants, fishermen, and craftsmen. According to Strabo, it and Carthage were both destroyed by the Romans in 146 BCE during the Third Punic War. Tunis, however, was rebuilt first, under the rule of Augustus. It became an important town of the Roman Province of Africa, and the center of a booming agricultural industry. The city was called “Thuni” in the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient itinerary which described the system of Roman roads in Africa. Tunis, which was situated on a hill, and had acquired the Roman designation of mutatio, way station or resting place, served as an excellent point from which the comings and goings of naval and caravan traffic to and from Carthage could be observed. The city was often used as the last resting station for Berber caravans before continuing on to Carthage. In the 4^th century, Tunis, increasingly Romanized, was also eventually Christianized and became a bishopric. However, the city remained modestly sized compared to Carthage during this time. When Arab Muslim troops conquered the region at the end of the 7th century, they began to colonize Tunis and make the city in its own image as well as the rest of the region, the name of which, was Arabized to from “Africa” to “Ifriqiya”. In the 10^th century, Tunis came under the rule of the Arab Fatimid dynasty, Shi’a Muslims, who appointed Berber governors of the Zirid dynasty, fellow Shi’a, to administer the western provinces. Since the early 11^th century, this also included Tunis which gained in cultural and economic importance, but the population, which was mostly Sunni, could not tolerate Shi’a rule and began carrying out massacres against the community. In 1048 the Zirid ruler Al-Muizz ibn Badis rejected his city's obedience to the Fatimids and re-established Sunni rites throughout all of Ifriqiya. This decision infuriated the caliph Al-Mustansir Billah and he unleashed the Banu Hilal Arab tribe on the region, a large part of which, was set to the torch. The major cities of the region were razed and only a few coastal towns, including Tunis and Mahdia, escaped destruction. But exposed to violence from the hostile tribes that settled around the city, the population of Tunis repudiated the authority of the Zirids in 1059 and instead, gave their allegiance to the pro-Fatimid Berber prince El Nacer ibn Alennas of the Hammadid dynastic branch of the Zirid dynasty, who was based in Béjaïa. El Nacer, in turn, appointed a governor over Tunis from the Berber Khurasanid dynasty of Sunni Muslims and this dynasty soon made Tunis independent of Hammadid rule and capital of a small new kingdom which revived trade and commerce with other nations and brought the region back to peace and prosperity. A century later, the Almohad Berber 'Abd al-Mu'min took Tunis, established his authority, and overthrew the last Khurasanid leader. Under Almohad rule, Tunis remained dominant over the region and very soon, it was promoted to the rank of provincial capital. In 1228, a Berber Sunni Muslim Governor Abu Zakariya seized power. A year later, he took the title of Emir and founded an emirate under the Hafsid dynasty with Tunis remaining capital city. Walls were built to protect the medina, the kasbah, and the new suburbs. In 1270 the city was briefly taken by King Louis IX of France, who was hoping to convert the Hafsid sovereign to Christianity. The king easily captured Carthage, but his army soon fell victim to an outbreak of dysentery and he himself died before the Tunis’ walls forcing his army to retreat. At the same time, driven by the Christian reconquest of Spain, the first Andalusian Muslims and Jews arrived in Tunis. They would become important to the economic prosperity of the city and the development of its intellectual life. Tunis became one of the richest and grandest cities in the Islamic world, with a population of about 100,000. In the 14^th century, during the reign of the Sultan Abu Yahya, one of the most famous travelers to visit the city was the Berber Ibn Battuta. At the time of his visit, began Eid al Fitr, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast which occurs after the fast during the entire month of Ramadan. Under Utman (1435–1488) the Hafsids reached their zenith, but declined shortly thereafter. The surrounding Bedouins and the cities of the empire became largely independent, leaving the Hafsids in control of only Tunis and Constantine. By 1535, the city was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Turks. Tunis came under a Turkish administration which, over time, came to identify with the Arab colonists thus giving local Berbers second class status. At the same time, a slow process of Arabization had begun which intensified when the country of Tunisia gained independence in 1956 – as an Arab country. With the overthrow of the Arab occupying regime at the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, in favor of another Arab occupying regime, the situation of the indigenous people of Tunis was alleviated a little bit, but only a little bit. A brief Amazigh revival took place in the city especially since the arrival of many thousands of the younger generation of Berbers, boosting the indigenous population immensely. The Tunisian Association of the Amazigh Culture, headquartered in Tunis and headed by Berber activist Ghaki Jalloul, was founded in order to perpetuate and revitalize Amazigh culture, identity, and especially language. But due to the high cost of rent, their offices were closed and meetings would take place in various locations in the city. The Amazigh Association still exists today as do a number of other pro-Amazigh organizations throughout Tunisia but classes teaching the Berber language are still lacking as is official recognition of the Berber community. Still, several institutions were established by and for the indigenous population. This was in addition to the many mosques built by the Amazigh centuries ago. They include: the El Fell and El Koubba Mosques (built by the Zirids), the El Hantati and Kasbah Mosques (built in the Hafsid period). Other institutions include: Club Amazigh soccer field, Jardin Amazigh beauty product suppliers, Restaurant Amazigh Beach at Ghar al Milh about 10 to the north, the indigenous town and historical landmark of Abziri about 2 miles to the south, and the Berber Carpet Store.  

TRIPOLITANIA

 

Tripolitanian countryside, town of Yefren, courtesy,
ToursLibya.com

This article is a brief follow-up to the previous Tripoli article and covers the province of Arab-occupied Tripolitania in the northwestern section of Arab-occupied Libya. It is also a historic region dating from the era of the Roman Empire. The native Berbers, had inhabited the area for centuries before the arrival of the Romans, or the Arabs (8^th century). Today, the majority of its population, as with Libya as a whole, is of Arab-Berber ancestry. Communities of Berber-speakers live in the Jebel Nafusa region, the town of Zuwara on the coast and the city-oases of Ghadames.

The region first came to prominence as part of the Phoenician Carthaginian empire. The city of Oea, on the site of modern Tripoli, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BCE. It was conquered for a short time by the Greek colonists of Cyrenaica, who were in turn displaced by the Punics of Carthage. The Greek name Τρίπολις "three cities" referred to Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. Following Rome’s defeat of Carthage in the Punic Wars (146 BCE), the empire organized the region (along with what is now modern day Tunisia), into a province known as Africa, and placed it under the administration of a proconsul. The area prospered during this period. The Latin name Regio Tripolitania dates to the 3rd century. During the Diocletian reforms of the late 3rd century, all of North Africa was placed into the newly created Diocese of Africa, of which Tripolitania was a constituent province.

After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Tripolitania changed hands several times between the Vandals and the Byzantine Empire, until it was taken during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 8th century. In the 1140s, the Italo-Normans invaded Tripoli, but were ousted by the Almohad Caliphate in 1158. Abu Zakariya Yahya, an Almohad vassal, established an independent state in Tunisia in 1229 and took control of Tripolitania shortly after. Then the Hafsids would control the region until the Ottoman conquest of 1553 and the establishment of Ottoman Tripolitania.

For more information on Tripolitania, see previous posting on Tripoli or that on Libya.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA

view of Old City of Tripoli, courtesy,
Kids.NationalGeographic.com

The Arab-occupied city of Tripoli, pronounced Trables (ⵜⵔⵢⴱⵓⵍⵙ) in the Tamazight language of the indigenous Amazigh (Berber), is the capital and largest city of Arab-occupied Libya, with a population of about three million in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. The Amazigh in the city often interact with the large Amazigh communities in Zuwara, about 60 miles to the west, and those of the Nafusa Mountains about 35 miles to the south.

Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BCE by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name Oyat suggesting that it may have been built upon an existing native Berber city. The Phoenicians were probably attracted to the site by its natural harbor, flanked on the western shore by the small, easily defensible peninsula, on which they established their colony. Later, this colony passed into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica, and they renamed it “Oea” but it was soon retaken by the Phoenicians again. By the latter half of the 2nd century BCE, the town passed to the Romans, who included it in their province of Africa, and gave it the name of "Regio Syrtica". Around the beginning of the 3rd century CE, the city became known as the Regio Tripolitana, meaning "region of the three cities", namely Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. It was probably raised to the rank of a separate province by Septimius Severus, who was a native of Leptis Magna. There is evidence to suggest that the Tripolitania region was in some economic decline during the 5th and 6th centuries, in part due to the political unrest spreading across the Mediterranean world in the wake of the collapse of the Western Roman empire, as well as pressure from the invading Vandals. In the mid 7^th century, Tripoli was conquered by Arab Muslims and under Muslim rule, the indigenous Berbers slowly came to accept Islam resulting in two parallel societies. The overwhelming majority of the people of Tripoli, and Libya in general, remained Amazigh, but a small minority held onto their indigenous culture and identity while the majority decided to identify with the Arab conquerors thus becoming, what is known today as, Arabized Berbers. They accepted Abdallah al Mahdibillah, an Ismaili Muslim Arab settler of Syria who was installed as the imam of much of the Maghreb, including Tripolitania, as imam and Mahdi (Promised One). In 1158, the supporters of the Berber Almohad dynasty arrived in Tripoli from Morocco and established their authority. An Almohad emir, Muhammad bin Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from Tripoli from 1207 to 1221 and established the Hafsid dynasty, which outlived the Almohads. The Hafsids ruled Tripoli for nearly 300 years. During that time, there was significant trade with the city-states of Europe, and art, literature, architecture, and scholarship were encouraged. Despite the commercial ties with Europe, Hafsid relations with the European powers eventually deteriorated when the latter intrigued in the dynasty's increasingly troubled and complex internal politics. Theocratic republics, tribal states, and coastal enclaves seized by pirate captains defied the sultan's authority, and in 1460 Tripoli was declared an independent city-state by its merchant oligarchy. For centuries thereafter, Tripoli was home to a section of the Barbary pirates, the majority of whom were Arabs, but also counted numerous Berbers (Arabized?) among them. Pirate activity ceased when Spain, then Turkey, conquered the area, and the city was voluntarily handed over to the Knights of St. John of Rhodes in an attempt to prevent a resurgence of piracy. But by the 17^th century, Tripoli once again became a base of operation for the Barbary pirates. One of several Western attempts to dislodge them again was an English Royal Navy attack under Commander John Narborough in 1675. In the early part of the 19th century, the regency at Tripoli, owing to its piratical practices, was twice involved in war with the United States. In May 1801, the pasha demanded an increase in the tribute ($83,000) which the U.S. government had been paying for the protection of their commerce from piracy under the 1796 Treaty with Tripoli. The demand was refused by President Thomas Jefferson, and an American naval force was sent to blockade Tripoli. The First Barbary War (1801-1805) ensued and continued for four years.

In 1912, Libya came under Italian occupation. After many years of warfare against Italian forces, fought mostly by Berbers, Libya became independent in 1947 with Tripoli as its capital, but at a price. It was officially styled an Arab country, putting the Berbers in a second class status. No major persecutions occurred against them even when Libya became a kingdom in 1951. It wasn’t until 1969 when Muammar Qaddafi seized power that persecution of Berbers began. Qaddafi instituted an Arabization policy in the country, affecting Tripoli along with every place else and indigenous cultures and languages were brutally suppressed. Then during the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, the Amazigh became some of the fiercest fighters in Libya's revolt against Qaddafi's rule and brigades from the Nafusa mountains helped lead the final assault on Tripoli in August. Now with Qaddafi gone, the Amazigh language became legal again and shortly thereafter, Mazigh Buzakhar, a long-time Amazigh activist who, with his twin brother was arrested by Qaddafi’s forces for his pro-Amazigh activities, founded the Tira Association for Tamazight Culture and Language in Tripoli. In November 2020, he, his brother, and four friends, also founded the newspaper Tilelli, the first (monthly) newspaper run by Amazigh and written in Tamazight, but also in English and Arabic. Cultural organizations, spearheaded by eager young people in the Nafusa mountains and Tripoli, are working hard to spark a cultural revival. The Poet's Society, headed by Hassan Abu Sag, is seeking to get young people to write Amazigh poetry and songs.

Today, some sites of interest include: the port of Tripoli, the University of Tripoli, the vast Bab al-Azizia barracks which includes the former family estate of Muammar Qaddafi (Qaddafi largely ruled the country from his residence in this barracks), the Assaraya Alhamra Museum, the Old City, Oea Village Road, Oea Tours, and the Arch of Marcus Aurelius from the 2nd century CE.