1.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
2.
Husainid dynasty
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The Husainid dynasty is the former ruling dynasty of Tunisia originally of Cretan Turkish origin. They came to power under al-Husayn I ibn Ali in 1705 replacing the Muradid dynasty and his father was a Cretan Turk and his mother was a Tunisian. The Husaynids were called Greek by Habib Bourguiba, after taking power the Husainids ruled as Beys, with succession to the throne determined by agnatic seniority with the oldest member of the dynasty becoming Bey. The heir apparent to the Bey held the title Bey al-Mahalla, the Husainids originally ruled under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. In 1881, with the Treaty of Bardo, Tunisia came under the control of France as a protectorate, since June 2013, the current head of the dynasty is Prince Muhammad al-Habib Bey who is a grandson of Muhammad VI al-Habib
3.
El Kef
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El Kef, also known as Le Kef, is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate, El Kef is situated 175 kilometres to the west of Tunis and some 40 kilometres east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a population of 45,191, the old town is built on the cliff face of the table-top Jebel Dyr mountain. El Kef was the capital of Tunisia during World War II. It was the centre of the Front de Libération Nationale during the Algerian War of Independence against the French in the 1950s. The Sidi Bou Makhlouf Mausoleum entombs the patron saint of the city, the highest-elevated city of Tunisia, at 780 metres, its metropolitan area reaches 2,500 hectares of which 45 hectares lie within the interior of the old walled Medina quarter. The municipality of El Kef is shared between two delegates, East Kef and West Kef, which correspond to the two municipal boroughs. Around 439, invading Vandals conquered the African Romans near the coast, eventually, El Kef became part of a Berber Kingdom. In 688 AD, the city was raided during the Umayyad conquest of North Africa, in the 17th century, a fort was built to house a permanent garrison, the construction was completed by the addition of fortified ramparts in 1740. This did not however prevent the taking and pillaging of the city by the Algerians in 1756, nor the occupation by the French military from 1881, following the partial collapse of the Ottoman Empire. On July 8,1884, the authorities of the new French Protectorate declared El Kef a municipality, in 1973, there was a summit meeting here between the Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba and the Algerian president Houari Boumédiène. The latter proposed a constitution for a Tunisian-Algerian union which Bourguiba declined in favor of the development of cooperation between the two countries. The climate is usually unstable, ranging from heat waves to winter snow blizzards. El Kef contains a number of Islamic religious edifices, in its role as the center of a Sufic movement. The Sidi Bou Makhlouf Mausoleum holds the tomb of the founder of the Aissawa brotherhood in Tunisia, the El Qadriya mosque is also important to Sufism. In the city is the mausoleum of Ali Tukie, the father of Al-Husayn I ibn Ali at-Turki, the vestiges, well preserved, of a three-naved Roman basilica dating from the beginning of the 5th century named Dar El Kous, dedicated to Saint Peter, have been discovered. The enormous Jugurtha Tableland mesa is visible from El Kef, the Bou Makhlouf festival is held in July each year. The Saliha Festival is held every other year
4.
Sousse
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Sousse or Soussa is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located 140 kilometres south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants, Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin, similar names are found in Libya and its economy is based on transport equipment, processed food, olive oil, textiles and tourism. It is home to the Université de Sousse, the Phoenicians founded Hadrumetum in the 11th century BC. The city allied itself with Rome during the Punic Wars, thereby escaping damage or ruin, livy wrote that Hadrumetum was the landing place of the Roman army under Scipio Africanus in the second Punic War. Roman usurper Clodius Albinus was born in Hadrumetum, as part of Bonifaciuss revolt against Constantinople, the Vandals were invited in and they took Hadrumetum in 434 AD and renamed the town Hunerikopolis. During the Vandalic War Justinian retook the town in 534 and restored its Roman name, in the 7th century AD Arab-Islamic armies conquered what is now Tunisia and rapidly spread Arab culture across what had been a thoroughly Romanized and Christianized landscape. The Arabs seized the city, which in the aftermath of Romes fall was and they renamed the city Sûsa and within a few decades elevated it to the status of the main seaport of the Aghlabid Dynasty. When the Aghlabids invaded Sicily in 827, Sûsa was their main staging ground, after the Byzantine city of Melite was captured by the Aghlabids in 870, marble from its churches was used to build the castle of Sousse. The French called the city Sousse, despite the turmoil around it, Sousses character had retained the solidly Arabian look and feel it had assumed in the centuries after Islams wars of conquest. Today it is considered one of the best examples of seaward-facing fortifications built by the Arabs and its ribat, a soaring structure that combined the purposes of a minaret and a watch tower, is in outstanding condition and draws visitors from around the world. Sousse was the site of Chess interzonal in 1967 which was made famous when American Grandmaster Bobby Fischer withdrew from the tournament even though he was in first place at the time. These days, Sousse, with a population of about 200,000, retains a medieval heart of narrow, twisted streets, surrounding it is a modern city of long, straight roads and more widely spaced buildings. Through history Sousse has come under the rule of 5 major cultures, each of those cultures gave a new or modified name to the town. Each of those names may appear in various forms, the report states that no monument from this period subsists in situ. The official Tunisian body for matters of heritage and archaeology is the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie / National Heritage Institute and that body maintains a project known as the Carte Nationale des Sites Archéologiques et des Monuments Historiques. Although it is to be expected that a city as important as Sousse would be covered by such a project, the project divides the country up into rectangles according to the 1,50000 mapping sheets. On that basis the town of Sousse falls on the 1,50000 sheet, Sousse 57 and, as such, should be covered in the project by a similarly numbered web page and PDF document
5.
Heir apparent
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An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. An heir presumptive, by contrast, is someone who is first in line to inherit a title, today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles, particularly monarchies. They are also used metaphorically to indicate an anointed successor to any position of power, in France the title was le Dauphin. See crown prince for more examples and this article primarily describes the term heir apparent in a hereditary system regulated by laws of primogeniture—as opposed to cases where a monarch has a say in naming the heir. An heir presumptive, by contrast, can always be bumped down in the succession by the birth of more closely related in a legal sense to the current title-holder. The clearest example occurs in the case of a title-holder with no children, if at any time he or she were to produce children, they rank ahead of whatever more distant relative had been heir presumptive. Many legal systems assume childbirth is always possible regardless of age or health, in such circumstances a person may be, in a practical sense, the heir apparent but still, legally speaking, heir presumptive. Adelaide was 44 at the time, so pregnancy was even if unlikely. Daughters may inherit titles that descend according to male-preference primogeniture, thus, normally, even an only daughter will not be heir apparent, since at any time a brother might be born who, though younger, would assume that position. Hence, she is an heir presumptive, for example, Queen Elizabeth II was heir presumptive during the reign of her father, King George VI, because at any stage up to his death, George could have fathered a legitimate son. In a system of absolute primogeniture that disregards gender, female heirs apparent occur, several European monarchies that have adopted such systems in the last few decades furnish practical examples. Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway is heir apparent to her father, Victoria was not heir apparent from birth, but gained the status in 1980 following a change in the Swedish Act of Succession. Her younger brother Carl Philip was thus heir apparent for a few months, then, as the representative of her fathers line she would assume a place ahead of any more distant relatives. Such a situation has not to date occurred with the English or British throne, several times an heir apparent has died, however, there have been several female heirs apparent to British peerages. In one special case, however, England and Scotland had an heir apparent. William, by contrast, was to reign for life only, thus, although after Marys death William continued to reign, he had no power to beget direct heirs, and Anne became the heir apparent for the remainder of Williams reign. She eventually succeeded him as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, the position of an heir apparent is normally unshakable, it can be assumed they will inherit. Sometimes, however, extraordinary events—such as the death or the deposition of the parent—intervene
6.
Pasha
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Pasha or Paşa, in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries and others. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is similar to a British peerage or knighthood, popular view connects it with Turkish baş, or the similar-sounding compound baş-ağa. Etymologist Sevan Nişanyan rejects both these explanations and instead derives it from Turkish beşe, which is cognate with Persian baççe, old Turkish had no fixed distinction between /b/ and /p/, and the word was spelled başa still in the 15th century. According to Josef W. Meri and Jere L. Bacharach, the same view is held by Nicholas Ostler, who mentions that the word was formed as a shortening of the Persian word Padishah. As first used in western Europe, the title appeared in writing with the initial b, the English forms bashaw, bassaw, bucha etc. general in the 16th and 17th century, derive through the medieval Latin and Italian word bassa. Due to the Ottoman presence in the Arab World, the title became used frequently in Arabic, within the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Sultan had the right to bestow the title of Pasha. It was through this custom that the title came to be used in Egypt, moreover, Muhammad Ali harboured ambitions of supplanting the Osman Dynasty in Constantinople, and sought to style his Egyptian realm as a successor sultanate to the Ottoman Empire. As such, he bore the title of Pasha, in addition to the title of Wāli. It was also part of the style of the Alpina Kursuncu Pasha. Pashas ranked above Beys and Aghas, but below Khedives and Viziers, if a Pasha governed a provincial territory, it could be called a pashaluk after his military title, besides the administrative term for the type of jurisdiction, e. g. eyalet, vilayet/walayah. Both Beylerbeys and valis/wālis were entitled to the style of Pasha, the word pashalik designated any province or other jurisdiction of a Pasha, such as the Pasha or Bashaw of Tripoli. Ottoman and Egyptian authorities conferred the title upon both Muslims and Christians without distinction and they also frequently gave it to foreigners in the service of the Ottoman Empire, or of the Egyptian Khedivate, e. g. Hobart Pasha. As an honorific, the title Pasha was a title and could be hereditary or non-hereditary. The title did not bestow rank or title to the wife nor was any religious leader elevated to the title, in contrast to western nobility titles, where the title normally is added before the given name, Ottoman titles followed the given name. In contacts with emissaries and representatives, holders of the title Pasha were often referred to as Your Excellency. The sons of a Pasha were styled Pashazada or Pasha-zade, which means just that, in modern Egyptian and Levantine Arabic, it is used as an honorific closer to Sir than Lord, especially by older people. Among Egyptians born since the Revolution of 1952 and the abolition of aristocratic titles, although it is no longer an official title, high-ranking officers of the Turkish Armed Forces are often referred to as pashas by the Turkish public and media. In the French Navy, pasha is the nickname of the Commanding Officer, yusuf Karamanli, Pasha of Tripoli Ottoman Empire Ottoman titles This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
7.
Ottoman sultan
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The sultans of the Ottoman Empire, made up solely of the members of the Ottoman dynasty, ruled over the transcontinental empire from its inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned from Hungary in the north to Yemen in the south, the Ottoman Empires early years have been the subject of varying narratives due to the difficulty of discerning fact from legend. The empire came into existence at the end of the thirteenth century, according to later, often unreliable Ottoman tradition, Osman was a descendant of the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks. The eponymous Ottoman dynasty he founded endured for six centuries through the reigns of 36 sultans, the Ottoman Empire disappeared as a result of the defeat of the Central Powers with whom it had allied itself during World War I. The Ottoman Empire was an absolute monarchy during much of its existence and he was theoretically responsible only to God and Gods law, of which he was the chief executor. His heavenly mandate was reflected in Islamic titles such as shadow of God on Earth, all offices were filled by his authority, and every law was issued by him in the form of a decree called firman. He was the military commander and had the official title to all land. Osman son of Ertuğrul was the first ruler of the Ottoman state, newly enthroned Ottoman rulers were girded with the Sword of Osman, an important ceremony that served as the equivalent of European monarchs coronation. A non-girded sultan was not eligible to have his children included in the line of succession, although absolute in theory and in principle, the sultans powers were limited in practice. Political decisions had to take account the opinions and attitudes of important members of the dynasty. Constitutionalism was only established during the reign Abdul Hamid II, who became the empires last absolute ruler. Although Abdul Hamid II abolished the parliament and the constitution to return to rule in 1878. Since 2009, the head of the House of Osman and pretender to the defunct Ottoman throne has been Bayezid Osman, the table below lists Ottoman sultans, as well as the last Ottoman caliph, in chronological order. The tughras were the seals or signatures used by Ottoman sultans. They were displayed on all official documents as well as on coins, the Notes column contains information on each sultans parentage and fate. For earlier rulers, there is usually a gap between the moment a sultans reign ended and the moment his successor was enthroned. Because of the infighting and numerous fratricides that occurred, a death date therefore did not always coincide with the accession date of his successor. In 1617, the law of succession changed from survival of the fittest to a system based on agnatic seniority and this in turn explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son, but usually by an uncle or brother
8.
Dey
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Dey was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine deys held office from the establishment of the deylicate in Algeria until the French conquest in 1830, the dey was chosen by local civilian, military, and religious leaders to govern for life and ruled with a high degree of autonomy from the Ottoman sultan. The main sources of his revenues were taxes on the population, religious tributes. In the European part of the Ottoman Empire, in particular during its decline, leaders of the outlawed janissary and yamak troops sometimes acquired title of Dahi or Dahia, which is derived from Dey. The dey was assisted in governing by a made up of the Chiefs of the Army and Navy, the Director of Shipping, the Treasurer-General. The realm of the dey of Alger was divided into three provinces, each of which was administered by a bey whom he appointed, the rule of the deys of Alger came to an end on 5 July 1830, when Hussein Dey surrendered to invading French forces. The last Dey of Tripoli was killed by Ahmed Karamanli, who established the eponymous Karamanli dynasty in 1711, List of Pashas and Deys of Algiers List of Pashas and Deys of Tripoli Baig Bey Bertarelli, L. V
9.
Tunis
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Tunis is both the capital and the largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as Grand Tunis, has some 2,700,000 inhabitants. Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf, behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette, the city extends along the coastal plain, at its core lies its ancient medina, a World Heritage Site. Beyond this district lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, as the capital city of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life, it is also the centre of the countrys commercial activity. Tunis is the transcription of the Arabic name تونس which can be pronounced as Tūnus, Tūnas, All three variations were mentioned by the Greek-Syrian geographer al-Rumi Yaqout in his Mujam al-Bûldan. Different explanations exist for the origin of the name Tunis, some scholars relate it to the Phoenician goddess Tanith, as many ancient cities were named after patron deities. Another possibility is that it was derived from the Berber verbal root ens which means to lie down or to pass the night, given the variations of the precise meaning over time and space, the term Tunis can possibly mean camp at night, camp, or stop. There are also mentions in ancient Roman sources of such names of nearby towns as Tuniza, Thunusuda, Thinissut. As all of these Berber villages were situated on Roman roads, the historical study of Carthage is problematic. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War and 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 are a few Greek authors who took a favourable view, these works have been lost. The existence of the town is attested by sources dating from the 6th century BC, in the 2nd millennium BC a town, originally named Tunes, was founded by Berbers and also over time occupied by Numidians. In 146 BC, the Romans destroyed Tunis, however, the city was subsequently rebuilt under the rule of Augustus and became an important town under Roman control and the center of a booming agricultural industry. Situated on a hill, Tunis served as an excellent point from which the comings and goings of naval and caravan traffic to and from Carthage could be observed. Tunis was one of the first towns in the region to fall under Carthaginian control, thus, during Agathocles expedition, which landed at Cape Bon in 310 BC, Tunis changed hands on various occasions. During the Mercenary War, it is possible that Tunis served as a center for the population of the area, and that its population was mainly composed of peasants, fishermen. Compared to the ancient ruins of Carthage, the ruins of ancient Tunis are not as large, according to Strabo, it was destroyed by the Romans during the Third Punic War. Both Tunis and Carthage were destroyed, Tunis, however, was rebuilt first, the city is mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana as Thuni
10.
Sahel, Tunisia
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The Tunisian Sahel is an area of eastern Tunisia. It stretches along the shore, from Hammamet in the north to Mahdia in the south, including the cities of Monastir, Mahdia. Its name derives from the Arabic word sāḥil, meaning shore or coast, the regions economy is based especially on tourism and it contains the second biggest airport in Tunisia, Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport. The Sahel extends inland to the hills which protect the low plains of the coast and are covered in olive plantations, since antiquity, it has formed a clear geographic unity with its own unique demographic and economic characteristics. Today it consists of the governorates of Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia and its geographic area is quite large, about 140 km from north to south and varying between twenty and sixty kilometres east to west. The total area is around 6,600 square kilometres,4. 02% of the surface area of Tunisia. Most of the cities of the Sahel were founded by the Phoenicians, thus Hadrumetum was founded at the beginning of the 9th century BC by Tyre - even before Carthage. It gained importance in the centuries, becoming one of the main Phoenician ports in the Western Mediterranean. The area was a key part of the Carthaginian empire, in 146 BC, after the Third Punic War, it became part of the new Roman province of Africa. The Sahel was the location of one of the key battles of the War between Pompey and Caesar, julius Caesar landed at Hadrumetum on 28 December 47 BC, marched to Thapsus and put it under siege at the end of February 46 BC. The Battle of Thapsus took place on 6 April and was a victory for Caesar. Then he proceeded to control of northern Tunisia. Around 293 AD the Romans divided the province of Africa and the Sahel became its own province, named Byzacena, which was among the provinces ceded to the Vandals in 442. It was recaptured by the Eastern Roman Empire in the Vandalic War and then formed one of the seven provinces of the Exarchate of Africa, which stretched west to the Atlantic. With the arrival of Islam and the establishment of the capital of Ifriqiya, Kairouan, in the region and this explains the construction of several ribats in the region, which served defensive, religious and Maraboutic purposes. The most important ribats are those of Monastir, built by governor Harthama ibn Ayun in 796, the city of Sousse received a shipyard which played an important role in the conquest of Sicily, which was launched from it. The foundation of Mahdia by the Fatamids in 916 gave the Sahel a key political role which continued under the Zirids, Kairouan lost some of its religious role to Monastir, where the Zirid princes and other luminaries, such as the Imam Mezri, were buried. Mahdia became the seat of a court which drew poets from across the Maghreb, Al-Andalus
11.
Constantine (Algeria)
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Constantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed Constantina in honour of emperor Constantine the Great and it was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, regarded as the capital of eastern Algeria and the centre of its region, Constantine has a population of 448,374, making it the third largest city in the country after Algiers and Oran. There are museums and important historical sites around the city and it is often referred to as the City of Bridges due to the numerous picturesque bridges connecting the mountains the city is built on. The city was created by the Phoenicians, who called it Sewa. Later it was renamed Cirta, by the Numidian king Syphax, the city was taken over by Numidia, the country of the Berber people, after the Phoenicians were defeated by Rome in the Third Punic War. In 112 BC the city was occupied by Jugurtha who defeated his half-brother Adherbal, the city later served as the base for Roman generals Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus and Gaius Marius in their war against Jugurtha. Later, with the removal of King Juba I and the supporters of Pompey in Africa, Julius Caesar gave special rights to the citizens of Cirta. In 311, during the war between emperor Maxentius and usurper Domitius Alexander, the city was destroyed. Rebuilt in 313, it was named after emperor Constantine the Great. Captured by the Vandals in 432, Constantine returned to the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa from 534 to 697 and it was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century, receiving the name of Qusantina. The city recovered in the 12th century and under Almohad and Hafsid rule it was again a market, with links to Pisa, Genoa. Since 1529 it was part of Ottoman Empire, ruled by a Turkish bey subordinate to the dey of Algiers. Salah Bey, who ruled the city in 1770–1792, greatly embellished it, in 1826 the last bey, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif, became the new head of state. He led a resistance against French forces, which invaded Algeria four years later. By 13 October 1837, the territory was captured by France, under the French rule, there were Muslim anti-Jewish riots in Constantine in 1934 when 34 Jews were killed. In World War II, during the campaign in North Africa, Constantine, for this, he received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. This was the first time that protozoa were shown to be a cause of disease and his work helped inspire researchers and veterinarians today to try to find a cure for malaria in animals
12.
Algiers
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Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria. In 2011, the population was estimated to be around 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population of the metropolitan city to be around 5,000,000. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the portion of Algeria. The casbah and the two form a triangle. A Phoenician commercial outpost called Ikosim which later developed into a small Roman town called Icosium existed on what is now the quarter of the city. The rue de la Marine follows the lines of what used to be a Roman street, Roman cemeteries existed near Bab-el-Oued and Bab Azoun. The city was given Latin rights by Emperor Vespasian, the bishops of Icosium are mentioned as late as the 5th century. The present-day city was founded in 944 by Bologhine ibn Ziri and he had earlier built his own house and a Sanhaja center at Ashir, just south of Algiers. Although his Zirid dynasty was overthrown by Roger II of Sicily in 1148, the city was wrested from the Hammadids by the Almohads in 1159, and in the 13th century came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of Tlemcen. Nominally part of the sultanate of Tlemcen, Algiers had a measure of independence under amirs of its own due to Oran being the chief seaport of the Ziyanids. As early as 1302 the islet of Peñón in front of Algiers harbour had been occupied by Spaniards, thereafter, a considerable amount of trade began to flow between Algiers and Spain. However, Algiers continued to be of little importance until after the expulsion of the Moors from Spain. In 1510, following their occupation of Oran and other towns on the coast of Africa, in 1516, the amir of Algiers, Selim b. Teumi, invited the corsair brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa to expel the Spaniards, Aruj came to Algiers, ordered the assassination of Selim, and seized the town and ousted the Spanish in the Capture of Algiers. Hayreddin, succeeding Aruj after the latter was killed in battle against the Spaniards in the Fall of Tlemcen, was the founder of the pashaluk, Algiers from this time became the chief seat of the Barbary pirates. Formally part of the Ottoman Empire but essentially free from Ottoman control, starting in the 16th century Algiers turned to piracy, repeated attempts were made by various nations to subdue the pirates that disturbed shipping in the western Mediterranean and engaged in slave raids as far north as Iceland. The United States fought two wars over Algiers attacks on shipping, among the notable people held for ransom was the future Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, who was captive in Algiers almost five years, and who wrote two plays set in Algiers of the period
13.
Tabarka
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Tabarka is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, at about 36°57′16″N 8°45′29″E, close to the border with Algeria. It has been famous for its fishing, the Coralis Festival of underwater photography. Tabarkas history is a mosaic of Phoenician, Roman, Arabic. The town is dominated by a rock on which is built a Genoese castle. Nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba, later to become president of post-independence Tunisia, was exiled here by the French colonial authorities in 1952. Although older sources placed Thabraca within the Roman province of Numidia, recent ones agree in placing it in the Roman province of Africa and it was connected by a road with Simitthu, which it served as a port for the export of its famous marble. At Thabraca the rebellious Roman official Gildo, the brother of Firmus, under the Vandal king Gaiseric it had a monastery for men and a convent for women. From 1540 to 1742, the Genoese maintained a garrison on an island, also called Tabarka, in 1540 the island was given by the Ottoman Bey of Tunis as a concession to the Genoese family of Lomellini. The Genoese were in the service of Spain during 1553 at the request of Emperor Charles V who was interested in coral fishing, the Lomellini were part of the circle of Andrea Doria, Doge of Genoa and were related to parental ties to the Grimaldi family. The grant was possibly due to a ransom for the release of the pirate Turkish Dragut, captured in 1540 by Giannettino Doria. The Lomellini colonized Tabarca with a group of inhabitants of Pegli, near Genoa, where they had various properties, the community of Pegliesi lived in Tabarka for several centuries. The transfer was possible thanks to the King of Sardinia. The name of Carloforte was chosen in honor of the sovereign, another group of Tabarchini was resettled in the town of Calasetta on the adjacent Island of SantAntioco, whose population still speaks a variant of Genoese dialect originating from Tabarka. Others were moved to the Spanish island of New Tabarca, in 1741 the Genoese fortress surrendered to the Bey of Tunis. At Tabarka, the ruins consists of a pit used as a church. There were also two Ottoman Turkish fortresses, one of which has been repaired, under French colonial rule it was annexed to the civil district of Souk el-Arba, now in the Tunisian governorate of Jendouba, and a rather important fishing centre. Tabarka Jazz Festival was established in 1973, Thabraca became a Christian bishopric that is no longer a residential see but is included in the Catholic Churchs list of titular sees. Thabraca was also the seat of an ancient Bishopric and in antiquity it had a monastery for men and one for women, the city contains several Christian cemeteries, many of the tombs covered with curious mosaics
14.
Republic of Genoa
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It began when Genoa became a self-governing commune within the Regnum Italicum, and ended when it was conquered by the French First Republic under Napoleon and replaced with the Ligurian Republic. Corsica was ceded to France in the Treaty of Versailles of 1768, before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. Nominally, the Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city, however, actual power was wielded by a number of consuls annually elected by popular assembly. The Adorno, Campofregoso, and other merchant families all fought for power in this Republic, as the power of the consuls allowed each family faction to gain wealth. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica, through Genoese participation on the Crusades, Genoese colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the Byzantine Empire, as Venices relations with the Byzantine Empire were temporarily disrupted by the Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, Genoa was able to improve its position. Genoa took advantage of opportunity to expand into the Black Sea and Crimea. Internal feuds between the families, the Grimaldi and Fieschi, the Doria, Spinola, and others caused much disruption. However, this prosperity did not last, the Black Death was imported into Europe in 1347 from the Genoese trading post at Caffa in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government, the wars with Venice continued, and the War of Chioggia -- where Genoa almost managed to decisively subdue Venice—ended with Venices recovery of dominance in the Adriatic. In 1390 Genoa initiated a crusade against the Barbary pirates with help from the French, though it has not been well-studied, the fifteenth century seems to have been a tumultuous time for Genoa. After a period of French domination from 1394–1409, Genoa came under rule by the Visconti of Milan, Genoa lost Sardinia to Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt and its Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Asia Minor colonies to the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, according to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World. At the time of Genoa’s peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. The architect Galeazzo Alessi designed many of the city’s splendid palazzi, as did in the decades that followed by fifty years Bartolomeo Bianco, a number of Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent. At the time of its founding in the early 11th century the Republic of Genoa consisted of the city of Genoa, as the commerce of the city increased, so did the territory of the Republic. By 1015 all of Liguria fell under the Republic of Genoa, after the First Crusade in 1098 Genoa gained settlements in Syria. In 1261 the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor became Genoese territory, in 1255 Genoa established the colony of Caffa in Crimea
