East Ben Arous is on the Sidi Fathallah Plain, and is named after Muslim saint
Sidi Ben Arous who died in 1444. It is known in legend as a site for curing female
infertility. A farm was laid out on the plain where Sousse Road is planned to be built. The Sidi Fathallah Plain is the site where the battle of
Ad Decimum was fought. This battle was the beginning of the end of the domination by the Byzantine Army General
Belisarius, on September 13, 523 AD. As Tunisia was a
French protectorate from (1881–1956), during this time North Ben Arous was renamed
Fochville and was the home of many employees of the
Tunisian Railway Firm Company, whose stores were on what is now the Sidi Fathallah Plain. However, south Ben Arous was mainly inhabited by businessmen from Tunis who were French merchants and immigrants. Northeast Ben Arous was well known for its agriculture, and was famous for wines, grapes, vegetables, fruit and other produce. Today Ben Arous is primarily an industrial zone with food and railway factories. == See also ==