Carthage and early settlements in Carthage.|thumb|left The historical study of Carthage is difficult. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the
Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian
primary historical sources survive. While there are a few ancient translations of
Punic texts into Greek and
Latin, as well as
inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in Northwest Africa, the main sources are
Greek and
Roman historians, including
Livy,
Polybius,
Appian,
Cornelius Nepos,
Silius Italicus,
Plutarch,
Dio Cassius, and
Herodotus. These writers belonged to peoples in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage. Greek cities contended with Carthage over
Sicily, and the
Romans fought three wars
against Carthage. Not surprisingly, their accounts of Carthage are extremely hostile; while there were a few Greek authors who took a favourable view, these works have been lost. The existence of settlements in and around the area of Tunis is attested by sources dating from the 4th century BC. Situated on a hill, its location served as an excellent point from which the comings and goings of naval and caravan traffic to and from Carthage could be observed. It was one of the first towns in the region to fall under Carthaginian control, and in the centuries that followed the settlement was mentioned in the military histories associated with
Carthage. Thus, during Agathocles' expedition, which landed at
Cape Bon in 310 BC, the town changed hands on various occasions. During the
Mercenary War, it is possible that the town served as a center for the native population of the area, under the rule of
Augustus and became an important town under Roman control and the center of a booming agricultural industry. The township is mentioned as
Thuni in the
Tabula Peutingeriana.
Foundation and early Islamic period , founded in the late 7th century by the Umayyad dynasty In the late 7th century, the Arab Muslims conquered the region, and in 698 a commune and a mosque were established at the outskirts of the ancient ruins, founded by
Hassan ibn al-Nu'man, which would become the city of Tunis and the
Zaytuna Mosque. The
Medina of Tunis, the oldest section of the city, dates from this period, during which the region was conquered by the
Umayyad Caliphate. The city had the natural advantage of coastal access, via the
Mediterranean, to the major ports of southern Europe. Early on, Tunis played a military role; the Umayyads recognized the strategic importance of its proximity to the
Strait of Sicily, with a dockyard built upon the founding of the city by order of Caliph
Abd al-Malik. From the beginning of the 8th century, Tunis was the
administrative center of the area: it became the Umayyad, and later the
Abbasids'
naval base in the western
Mediterranean Sea, and took on considerable military importance. when control over
Ifriqiya was handed to the newly founded
Fatimid Caliphate. Local opposition to the authorities began to intensify in September 945, when
Kharijite insurgents occupied Tunis, resulting in general pillaging. With the rise of the Fatimid-viceregal
Zirid dynasty the
Sunni population tolerated Shi'ite rule less and less, and carried out massacres against the Shi'ite community. .
The Walters Art Museum.
New capital of Tunisia In 1159, the
Almohad '
Abd al-Mu'min took Tunis, overthrew the last Khurasanid leader, and installed a new government in the
kasbah of Tunis. During this period, one of the famous travelers to Tunis was
Ibn Battuta. In his travel account, when Ibn Battuta and his group arrived in Tunis, the population of the city came out to meet him and the other members of his party. They all greeted them and were very curious, many were asking questions, however, no one in Tunis personally greeted Ibn Battuta, greatly upsetting him. He felt very lonely and could not hold back the tears coming from his eyes. This went on for a while until one of the pilgrims realized he was upset, he went up and greeted and talked to Ibn Battuta until he entered the city. At the time, the Sultan of Tunis was Abu Yahya and during Ibn Battuta's stay, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast was taking place. The people in the city assembled in large numbers to celebrate the festival, in extravagant and most luxurious outfits. Abu Yahya arrived on horseback, where all of his relatives joined him. After the performance, the people returned to their homes.
Spanish occupation and Ottoman control The
Ottoman Empire took nominal control of Tunis in 1534 when
Hayreddin Barbarossa captured it from the Hafsid Sultan
Mulai Hassan, who fled to the court of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Charles, suffering losses from the
corsairs operating out of
Djerba, Tunis, and
Algiers, agreed to reinstate Mulai Hassan in exchange for his acceptance of Spanish suzerainty. A naval expedition led by Charles himself was dispatched in 1535, and the city was recaptured.
The victory against the corsairs is recorded in a tapestry at the
Royal Palace of Madrid. The Spanish governor of
La Goulette, Luis Pérez de Vargas, fortified the island of
Chikly in the lake of Tunis to strengthen the city's defenses between 1546 and 1550. into Tunis in 1535 The Ottoman
Uluç Ali Reis, at the head of an army of
janissaries and
Kabyles, retook Tunis in 1569. However, following the
Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Spanish under
John of Austria succeeded in
retaking the city and re-establishing the Hafsid sovereign in October 1573. Following these conflicts, the city finally
fell into Ottoman hands in August 1574. Having become an Ottoman province governed by a
Pasha who was appointed by the Sultan based in
Constantinople, the country attained a degree of autonomy. After 1591, the Ottoman governors (
Beys) were relatively independent, and both piracy and trade continued to flourish. Under the rule of
deys and
beys, the capital sprang into new life. Its population grew by additions from various ethnicities, among which were Moorish refugees from Spain, and economic activities diversified. To traditional industry and trade with distant lands was added the activity of the
Barbary pirates, then in their golden age. Profits obtained from the trade in Christian
slaves allowed the rulers to build sumptuous structures that revived the architectural heritage of the Middle Ages. and one of the most influential persons in modern Tunisian history. In April 1655 the English admiral
Robert Blake was sent to the Mediterranean to extract compensation from states that had been attacking English shipping. Only the Bey of Tunis refused to comply, with the result that Blake's fifteen ships attacked the Bey's arsenal at Porto Farina (Ghar el Melh), destroying nine Algerian ships and two shore batteries, the first time in naval warfare that shore batteries had been eliminated without landing men ashore. At the beginning of the 18th century, Tunisia entered into a new period in its history with the advent of the
Husainid dynasty. Successive Husainid rulers made great progress in developing the city and its buildings. During this period, the city prospered as a center of commerce. Taking advantage of divisions within the ruling house, Algerians captured Tunis in 1756 and put the country under supervision.
Hammouda Bey faced bombardment by the Venetian fleet, and the city experienced a rebellion in 1811. Under the reign of
Hussein Bey II, naval defeats by the British (1826) and French (1827) saw the French become increasingly active in the city and in the economy. Various sources estimate the 19th-century population to have ranged from 90,000 to 110,000 inhabitants. During the later 19th century, Tunis became increasingly populated by Europeans, particularly the French, and immigration dramatically increased the size of the city. This resulted in the first demolition of the old city walls, from 1860, to accommodate growth in the suburbs. The city spilled outside the area of the earlier town and the banks of the lake, and the new districts were modernized with running water (1860), lighting gas (1872), roads, waste collection (1873), and communication with adjacent suburbs and the city center. The crafts and traditional trades declined somewhat, as the newcomers increased trade with Europe, introducing the first modern industries and new forms of urban life.
Development under the French protectorate Square in Tunis, ca. 1899 The creation of the
French protectorate in 1881 was a turning point in Tunis's history, leading to rapid redevelopment of the city in the span of two to three decades. The city quickly spread out of its fortifications: it divided into a traditional Arab-populated old city, and a new city populated by immigrants, with a different structure from that of the traditional
medina. Tunis also benefited from the French construction of a
water supply, natural gas and electricity networks,
public transport services, and other public infrastructure. Under French rule, a substantial number of Europeans settled (like the
Tunisian Italians); half of the population was European in origin. The city expanded and created new boulevards and neighborhoods. Tunis was quiet during the First World War. After the war, the city faced new transformations as the modern portion grew in importance and extended its network of boulevards and streets in all directions. In addition, a series of satellite cities emerged on the urban rim and encroached on the municipality of Tunis proper. In the economic sphere, commercial activities expanded and diversified as modern industries continued to grow, while traditional industry continued to decline. During World War II, Tunis was held by
Axis forces from November 1942 to May 1943. It was their last base in Africa, as they retreated towards
Sicily after being surrounded by
Allied forces from Algeria to the west and from Libya to the east. On 7 May 1943, at about 15:30 in the afternoon, Tunis fell to troops of
British 1st Army and the
U.S. 1st Army, which had defeated the
German 5th Panzer Army guarding the city. At midday on 20 May 1943, the Allies held a victory parade on Avenue Maréchal Galliéni, and Avenue Jules Ferry, to signal the end of fighting in North Africa. Having succeeded in driving the Axis powers out of Tunisia, the Allies used Tunis as a base of operations from which to stage
amphibious assaults first against the island of
Pantelleria, and then
Sicily, and finally the mainland of
Italy.
Growth since independence After independence in 1956, Tunis consolidated its role as the capital, first with the establishment of a constitution stating that the
Chamber of Deputies and the
Presidency of the Republic must have their headquarters in Tunis and its suburbs. In a very short time, the colonial city transformed rapidly. As the city has grown and native Tunisians gradually began to replace the extensive European population, the conflict between the Arab city and the European city has gradually decreased with the arabization of the population. Because of population pressure and the rate of migration to the capital, the city continued to grow, even with the creation of new districts in the suburbs. Old buildings have gradually been renovated and upgraded. New buildings have come to influence the urban landscape. At the same time, an active policy of industrialization is developing the municipal economy. The
Medina of Tunis has been a
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The
Arab League represents 22 Arab nations. It transferred its headquarters to Tunis in 1979 because of Egypt's peace with Israel. The Arab League returned to Egypt in 1990. The
Palestine Liberation Organization also had its headquarters in Tunis, from 1982 to 2003. In 1985, the PLO's headquarters
was bombed by
Israeli Air Force F-15s, killing approximately 60 people.
21st century Many protests took place during the
Arab Spring of 2011–12. On 18 March 2015,
two gunmen attacked the
Bardo National Museum and held hostages. Twenty civilians and one policeman were killed in the attack, while around 50 others were injured. Five Japanese, two Colombians, and visitors from Italy, Poland, and Spain were among the dead. Both gunmen were killed by Tunisian police. The incident has been treated as a
terrorist attack. On July 25, 2025, hundreds of Tunisians protested in Tunis against incumbent president Kais Saied's alleged authoritarian leadership. Protesters marched under slogans such as “The Republic is a large prison” and demanded the release of jailed opposition leaders, journalists, and activists. Saied has ruled by decree ever since 2021 after dissolving the parliament. The protesters called this move a “coup.” They chanted, “No fear, no terror… streets belong to the people,” and “the people want the fall of the regime.” The protesters also carried with them a cage they said represented the political system in Tunisia. ==Geography==