Origin The origins of the Hara are not very well defined. According to R. Bonquero Voligny, the Jews had no right to spend the night in the
Medina of Tunis until the 12th century. They had to go out every day before the doors closed and take shelter in the outskirts of the city, especially in the village of
Mellassine. This made them vulnerable to robbery by looters.
Sidi Mahrez According to legend, the Jews requested the intervention of
Sidi Mahrez to convince the
Bey to allow them to settle inside the Medina and protect themselves. For this purpose, they made two damascened daggers in gold and offered one of them to the Bey as a sign of respect and admiration. Then the
rabbi who led the delegation to meet the Bey told him that there was a copy in
Constantinople, and that Sidi Mahrez, a faithful servant of the Bey, could bring it back with the help of his magical powers. In the meantime, the Jews implored Sidi Mahrez to play along and bring the dagger to the Bey, then to ask, as a reward, for the admission of
hara (four) Jewish families inside the Medina. The
wali accepted and managed to convince the Bey to agree. Since Jewish families were numerous and widespread, under this agreement all the people who lived in
Mellassine managed to enter. In order to choose the best location for the new quarter, the Bey asked Sidi Mahrez to throw his stick from the top of the minaret in the direction of the suburb of
Bab Souika. The Jews built their first intramural dwellings in the history of Tunis where the stick fell. ==Decline and Restoration==