Historic sources talk about the existence of a
Roman city around the zone in which
Sfax now exists called
Taparura. The absence of tremendous monuments that used to distinguish Roman cities made it possible to think that either
Sfax was built completely above Taparura, or that Taparura was not much more than a
watchtower as its name exactly means in
Greek, and so does "Ksar-Esfakez", original form of Sfax's name in
berber-
punic. What is however very likely is that the former Taparura is associated with the Arab-era
Kasbah. According to the inscriptions at the facade of the great mosque, the medina of Sfax was founded following the orders of the
Aghlabid emir (prince) of
Kairouan Abu Abbass Muhammad in 849, by Ali Ibn Salem,
cadi of
Sfax. In fact, in the middle of the ninth century, the
Aghlabids who used to rule Ifrikia agreed on supporting the city's shores with forts and trusses, that's when Borj Sfax or
Kasbah of Sfax was built as one of the forts, but as time passed and life evolved around it the
Aghlabid decided to build the city of
Sfax. However, the locals did not integrate the
Ismaili rite brought by the new state and remained faithful to their
Maliki doctrine thanks to the support of a great scholar, Abu Ishaq Aljbinyani.
Zirid era After the transfer of the center of Fatimid power to Cairo, the
Zirid governors decided to separate from the Fatimid rule and return to
sunnism, prompting the Fatimids to seek revenge by sending Arab tribes from the south to destroy Ifriqiya. Despite all these disturbances, Sfax saw an important cultural renaissance especially an architectural one during the reign of the Zirids. One of the most significant changes taking place in the city during this period is the remarkable improvement that the great mosque underwent under the rule of the
Sanhaji Prince
Abi Al-Fotuh Al-Mansour in 988. In 977, the traveler
Ibn Hawqal described the city as: "surrounded by a beautiful olive grove. The oil that is made here is exported to
Egypt, the
Maghreb, Sicily and Europe (Roum) [...]
Kerkennah contains some remains of old buildings and several
cisterns. As this island is very fertile, the inhabitants of Sfax send their cattle there to graze ". During this time also, the city witnessed its first invasion when it passed under the control of Ibn Melil from 1067 to 1099 with the support of
Hilalis and
Banu Sulaym.
Hafsid era From 1207 until the 16th century, the members of the Hafid dynasty succeeded at the throne of Ifriqyia, choosing
Tunis as the capital. Sfax quickly joined the new kingdom after some resistance, and it is during this period that its monuments were restored and that the trade movement developed. Sfaxian products became exported to several destinations such as
Istanbul,
Damascus and
Orient as well as
Marseille and
Genoa. And as the Hafsids have lost a large part of
Andalusia, many of the region's families traveled to settle in the kingdom's cities like Sfax; We can cite the example of the Charfi family known to its scientists, the Mnif family, an important reference when it comes to local architectural works, or the Zghal family from the emir Mohammed XIII az-Zaghall.
Ottoman era In 1551, Sfax passed into the hands of the
Ottomans following a conquest led by
Dragut. But it was only 37 years later that they settled permanently in the city until 1864.
Reign of the Mouradids At the time of the
Mouradid dynasty, Sfax experienced an important intellectual renaissance: several scholars and scholars emerged, including
Abu El Hassan El Karray and
Ali Ennouri who led the jihadist movement against the cross occupation of the
order of Saint John in Malta. These two scholars established their own Medersas where they promoted science in the city until it became one of the most important destinations for students.
Kingdom of Husainids Sfax lived an important urban development with the arrival of the
Husainid dynasty to the power. In fact, it was not until the 17th century that the first extra-muros buildings appeared. Towards the 18th century, gardens appeared, forming a belt around the medina, while a suburb began to develop on the side of the sea. It was during this period that Mahmoud Megdiche published his book,
Nuzhat Al Anthar fi Ajaibi Tawarikh wa Al Akhbar, which remains today an important reference on the history of Sfax. Moreover, the city faced several battles like the battle of Rass El Makhbez in 1747 against the
Republic of Venice.
French Protectorate With the establishment of the
French protectorate in 1881, several cities in Tunisia choose the path of resistance. Among these cities, Sfax, whose inhabitants continue to protest and defend themselves, even more than two months after the signing of the
Bardo Treaty. While
Ali Ben Khelifa El Naffati lead the army to defend the city from the outside, the inhabitants fight from the inside under the leadership of
Mohammad Kammoun. It was not until 16 July 1881 that the French soldiers managed to defeat the Protestants and entered the medina to settle there for a period of 75 years. They made the kasbah their headquarter and used the patio of the big mosque as a stable for their horses. Gradually, the medina lost its role at the expense of a new European city built by the French and became the center of all transactions and even a large part of the local economy.
Modern era On 17 February 2012, the Tunisian government presented the medina of Sfax as a candidate for ranking on the UNESCO World Heritage List. == Architecture ==