Map of Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia has more than one official language, and a name in each different language. It is officially known as the Republic of Tunisia, Al-Jumhuiryyah at-Tunisyah, and Republique du Tunisiene. While it has many long names, it is the smallest country in northern Africa, having a coastline on the Mediterranean. The city of Carthage was founded in what is now Tunisia in the 9th century BCE and soon rose to be a grand empire, a rival to Rome. After several wars, Rome conquered Carthage and completely destroyed it. The Arabs founded the city of Kairouan, the first Islamic city in Africa and home of some of the oldest mosques in the world as well as the most prestigious ones in the Muslim West. The land was ruled by a succession of Arab dynasties—the Aghlaids, the Zirids, Fatimids, Alomads, and the Hafids, whose wealth and trade led to interest by Europe and the Barbary States on the coast, which attracted many pirates—until Spain began settling and conquering coastal towns and forts in 1534. The Ottomans took the cities from the Spanish. The region was granted independence until France decided to reclaim it as the Hussein dynasty. The country declared bankruptcy in 1896. France granted Tunisia independence again in 1956, thanks to the efforts of freedom fighter Habib Bouriga, who became the first president of the new country. Sadly, Bouriga led one of the most oppressive regime ever seen in the Arab world. The Tunisian War in 2011 was a civil war, the beginning of the "Arab Spring" of popular uprisings in the Arab world. According to the constitution, the President's religion 'shall be Islam'. The official language is Arabic.