Ancient history . . Excavations at
prehistoric sites in the Gafsa area have yielded artefacts and skeletal remains associated with the
Capsian culture. This
Mesolithic civilisation has been
radiocarbon dated to between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE. The associated ancient population, known as the
Snail eaters, are known for their extensive
middens of
snail shells. They are believed to be the
ancestors of the modern
Berbers. The city was originally called Capsa in
Latin. Gafsa lends its Latin name of Capsa to the
Mesolithic Capsian culture. It belonged to
King Jugurtha, who deposited his treasures there. It was captured by
Gaius Marius in 106 BC and destroyed, later becoming reestablished under the Punic-style magistracy of
sufetes before being granted the status of a Roman
colonia. Capsa was an important city of
Roman Africa near the
Fossatum Africae. Roman cisterns are still evident in the city ruins. After the
Arab conquest, Capsa started to lose importance, replaced by
Muslim-founded
Kairouan. Historians such as Camps and Laverde consider Gafsa the place in North Africa where
African Romance last survived, until the 13th century, as a spoken language. Al Yacoubi reports that this time its inhabitants were considered Romanized Berber and
Al-Idrissi says they continued to speak an African Latin and part of them remained faithful to the
Christian religion.
Al-Idrisi described the city in the 12th century:The city of Gafsa is a fine city, surrounded by a wall, with a flowing river whose water is purer than that of Castile. At its center lies the spring known as
al-Tarmīdh. It has bustling markets, abundant trade, and thriving industries. The city is encircled by numerous date palms, bearing remarkable varieties of dates. Gafsa is also adorned with beautiful gardens, orchards, and well-maintained palaces. Various crops are cultivated there, including henna and cotton. Its inhabitants are largely Berbers, and most of them speak the Latin-African tongue.
Recent history Phosphate mines were discovered in 1886, and Gafsa today is home to one of the largest mines of
phosphate in the world. The travel-book ‘Fountains in the Sand’ (1912) by British author
Norman Douglas gives an in-depth account of life and work in Gafsa. In the Second World War, Gafsa suffered heavy
bombardment from both the
German and Italian side and the Allies. Part of its
Kasbah was destroyed. On 27 January 1980, a group of dissidents armed and trained by
Libya occupied the city to contest the
régime of
Habib Bourguiba. 48 people were killed in the battles. The Gafsa region has had an active political voice throughout its history, and various events there have shaped its political developments in the various phases of modern Tunisia. In 2008, Gafsa was the center of riots directed against the government of President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The government was swift and brutal in its suppression of the uprising, but this movement has since been credited with sowing the first seeds of the
Jasmine Revolution that removed
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power three years later, igniting the
Arab Spring across much of North Africa and the Middle East. In 2014, a
lake suddenly appeared around 25 kilometers from the town. The cause of the lake's formation is currently unknown. == Bishopric ==