From 8th century
Ifriqiya, present-day Tunisia
Tunis emerged in 702 when Hassan ibn al-Numan ordered a new port to be built on the site of an older Phoenician harbour south-west of Carthage. The project included a canal and shipyard, creating a maritime base for the province of Africa. In the following decades, Tunis was enlarged, repopulated, and developed into a major military and religious centre of the Arab Maghrib.
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The Story
After defeating the major centres of Byzantine resistance, Hassan ibn al-Numan sought to prevent the return of Byzantine naval power and to provide Ifriqiya with a substantial harbour. He selected the site of an older Phoenician port called Tarses, or Tarshish, situated south-west of Carthage on a shallow bay. The choice linked the new foundation to an established maritime location while serving the strategic needs of the conquered province.
Construction began in 702. A canal was dug and a shipyard, or arsenal, was built; the passage states that a thousand skilled Coptic draughtsmen were sent from Egypt to prepare the plans. These works created the port city of Tunis and gave the province a new naval and commercial centre after the destruction of Carthage.
Around three decades later, Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab expanded the shipyard and constructed new docks. He encouraged migration to increase the city's population, made Tunis the centre of the region's military camps, and transformed its mosque into a congregational mosque. This mosque is identified as the Zaytuna mosque, described as one of the important sanctuaries of the Islamic world.
From 8th century
Ifriqiya, present-day Tunisia
Tunis emerged in 702 when Hassan ibn al-Numan ordered a new port to be built on the site of an older Phoenician harbour south-west of Carthage. The project included a canal and shipyard, creating a maritime base for the province of Africa. In the following decades, Tunis was enlarged, repopulated, and developed into a major military and religious centre of the Arab Maghrib.
Continue exploring
The Story
After defeating the major centres of Byzantine resistance, Hassan ibn al-Numan sought to prevent the return of Byzantine naval power and to provide Ifriqiya with a substantial harbour. He selected the site of an older Phoenician port called Tarses, or Tarshish, situated south-west of Carthage on a shallow bay. The choice linked the new foundation to an established maritime location while serving the strategic needs of the conquered province.
Construction began in 702. A canal was dug and a shipyard, or arsenal, was built; the passage states that a thousand skilled Coptic draughtsmen were sent from Egypt to prepare the plans. These works created the port city of Tunis and gave the province a new naval and commercial centre after the destruction of Carthage.
Around three decades later, Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab expanded the shipyard and constructed new docks. He encouraged migration to increase the city's population, made Tunis the centre of the region's military camps, and transformed its mosque into a congregational mosque. This mosque is identified as the Zaytuna mosque, described as one of the important sanctuaries of the Islamic world.
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