|
Tunisia
lies at the heart of the Mediterranean basin,
and at the crossroads of the Arab, African and
European worlds. From the earliest times, Tunisian
society has been outward-looking, open to the
sea and to diverse cultural influences.
|
|
 |
Tunisians
have traded and interacted with other
Mediterranean cultures since the 12th
century BC Ancient Carthage, the great
city-state founded in 814 BC, so prospered
in trade and commerce that it attracted
the eyes of an expanding Roman Empire.
The fall of Carthage in the second century
BC ushered in nearly 700 years of Roman
rule. Tunisia prospered as the granary
of the Roman Empire.
|
|
|
 |
The many
splendid archaeological sites which dot
the Tunisian landscape today attest to
Tunisia's prominent position in the empire.
In the fifth and the sixth centuries AD,
Roman influence was replaced by that of,
first, the Vandals and later the Byzantines.
In the seventh century AD, Islamic conquest
reached Tunisia.
|
|
|
 |
The city of Kairouan
became the center of religious life and
the site of one of Islam's most ancient
and holiest mosques. In the ensuing centuries,
Islamic civilization enriched Tunisia
during five dynasties both Arab and Ottoman.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
High points
during this period were the establishment
in Tunis of the Great Mosque and Islamic
University of Zitouna; the flourishing of
great thinkers such as Ibn Khaldoun, historian
and father of modern sociology, who produced
works which still influence scholarship.
Andalusian Muslim immigrants from Spain
settled in the country enriching the culture.
By the 16th century, Tunisia was under Ottoman
control, and a dynasty of Beys governed
the country.
|
|
In the 19th
century, Tunisia was the first Arab country
to promulgate a constitution and ban slavery,
but economic problems, abuses by the Beys
and foreign interference were the source
of increased instability. In 1881, France
declared Tunisia a protectorate generating
a strong anticolonial reaction in the country.
|
|
|
 |
In 1920, the Liberal
Constitutional Party (the Destour) was formed
by Tunisian nationalists. The breakaway
Neo-Destour Party, formed in 1934, eventually
became the driving force behind Tunisian
independence. After a long struggle, Tunisia
finally won its independence on March 20,
1956. On July 25, 1957, Tunisia was proclaimed
a Republic and Habib Bourguiba became the
first President of Tunisia. On June 1, 1959,
the first constitution of the Republic was
adopted.
|
|
|
|
 |
On November 7, 1987,
Tunisia entered a new era when Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali, who at the time was Prime Minister
and the constitutionally ordained successor,
became the Republic's second President after
President Bourguiba became unable, for health
reasons, to continue assuming the duties
of the office.
|
|
| |
|
