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TunisTunis is probably pre-Carthaginian. Surviving from the Middle Ages are walls, an aqueduct, and a mosque. Tunis became the capital of Tunisia under the powerful Hafsid dynasty (13th–16th cent.) and was a leading center of trade with Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Turks under Barbarossa took it in 1534 but were temporarily (1535–69, 1573–74) dislodged by the Spanish. After 1591, the Turkish governors (the beys) were practically independent, and the city prospered as a center of piracy and trade. Under the French occupation (1881–1956), a modern European quarter was built and the port was improved. In World War II, Tunis was held by Axis forces from Nov., 1942, to May 7, 1943, and was the base for their final stand in Africa. The Arab League was headquartered in Tunis from 1979 to 1990.
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- Alexander, Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander ...
Alexander, Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, 1891–1969, British field marshal. His long military career began with service in World War I, followed by a period (1934–3...
- Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun, 1332–1406, Arab historian, b. Tunis. He held various offices under the rulers of Tunis and Morocco and served (1363) as ambassador of the Moorish king of Granada to Peter the Crue...
- Carthage, ancient city, N Africa
Carthage, ancient city, on the northern shore of Africa, on a peninsula in the Bay of Tunis and near modern Tunis. The Latin name, Carthago or Cartago, was derived from the Phoenician name, wh...
- Duggah
Duggah or Dougga, village, Tunisia, SW of Tunis. It is a tourist spot noted for the ruins of the ancient city of Thugga, including a Punic mausoleum (2d cent. B.C.); temples, arches, a theater...
- Cambon, Pierre Paul
Cambon, Pierre Paul, 1843–1924, French diplomat; brother of Jules Martin Cambon. Named resident minister to Tunis in 1882, he conceived and organized the new Tunisian protectorate under the be...
- Morrice, James Wilson
Morrice, James Wilson, 1865–1924, Canadian painter, b. Montreal. Abandoning law, he went to Paris, where he studied painting. He visited Venice, Trinidad, Tunis, and periodically returned to C...
- Nicolle, Charles Jules Henri
Nicolle, Charles Jules Henri, 1866–1936, French physician and microbiologist. He worked with P. P. É. Roux in Paris and was director of the Pasteur Institute in Tunis from 1903 and professor a...
- Bruce, James
Bruce, James, 1730–94, Scottish explorer in Africa. He explored Roman ruins in N Africa (1755) from Tunis to Tripoli and visited Crete, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. In 1768 he traveled down the Red...
- Eaton, William
Eaton, William, 1764–1811, U.S. army officer, celebrated for his exploit in the Tripolitan War, b. Woodstock, Conn. Captain Eaton was sent to Tunis as consul in 1798 and learned much about the...
- Vincent de Paul, Saint
Vincent de Paul, Saint, 1580?–1660, French priest renowned for charitable work, b. Gascony. He was ordained in 1600. There are conflicting stories about his capture by pirates and enslavement ...
