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128-678: It is considered to have many similarities of construction to Hadrian's Wall , one of the northern borders of the Empire in Britain. The Fossa regia was the first frontier line to be built in Roman Africa, used to initially divide the Berber kingdom of Numidia from the territory of Carthage that was conquered by the Romans in the second century BC, but this is considered to be independent of

256-604: A Latin-speaking Christian Berber society to a Muslim and mostly Arabic-speaking society took over 400 years (the equivalent process in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent took 600 years) and resulted in the final disappearance of Christianity and Latin in the 12th or 13th century. The majority of the population were not Muslim until quite late in the 9th century; a vast majority were during the 10th. Also, some Tunisian Christians emigrated; some richer members of society did so after

384-459: A broad section of the wall and conversely a narrow section. He argues that plans changed during construction of the wall, and its overall width was reduced. Broad sections of the wall are around nine and a half feet (2.9 metres) wide with the narrow sections two feet (61 centimetres) thinner, around seven and a half feet (2.3 metres) wide. Some of the narrow sections were found to be built upon broad foundations, which had presumably been built before

512-461: A defensive structure made to keep people out, the wall also kept people within the Roman province . Movement would be channeled through the gates in the wall, where it could be monitored for information , prevented or permitted as appropriate, and taxed. The wall would also have had a psychological impact: For nearly three centuries, until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410 AD, Hadrian's Wall

640-674: A diminution in the Antonine period when the garrison moved north to the Antonine Wall, and recovery in the later 2nd and early 3rd centuries. After Hadrian's death in 138, Emperor Antoninus Pius left the wall occupied in a support role, essentially abandoning it. He began building the Antonine Wall about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north, across the isthmus running west-southwest to east-northeast. This turf wall ran 40 Roman miles, or about 60.8 km (37.8 mi), and had more forts than Hadrian's Wall. This area later became known as

768-478: A ditch which they called a saqiya (irrigation canal) and attributed it to a legendary Arab queen Bint al-Khass (or al-Krass), who was supposed to have built it to supply pilgrims to Mecca with water. Elsewhere the remains of a wall associated with the Fossatum was attributed to al-Fara'un (Pharaoh). Historians and archaeologists in the 19th century continued to believe that it was an irrigation canal, until at

896-558: A few feet higher at its formation. Along the length of the wall there was a watch-tower turret every third of a mile, also providing shelter and living accommodation for Roman troops. Hadrian's Wall extended west from Segedunum at Wallsend on the River Tyne , via Carlisle and Kirkandrews-on-Eden , to the shore of the Solway Firth , ending a short but unknown distance west of the village of Bowness-on-Solway . The route

1024-469: A few specific crossing points (and possibly at specific times of year). One such traditional point may be indicated by the concentration of Roman-period metal objects near Great Whittington , about 2 kilometres north along a Roman road from the Portgate on the wall. The coins, mostly silver rather than bronze and suggesting high-value transactions, indicate activity in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries,

1152-457: A few years, the fort was surrounded by Roman camps and bombarded by Roman missiles. It was finally abandoned by about 140. Other sites may have been managed by native groups, probably for the management of livestock and possibly to supply Roman requirements. Pollen evidence suggests that the landscape immediately north of the wall remained generally open, without forest regeneration until the end of Roman rule. At Castle O'er an Iron Age hillfort

1280-459: A further segment north of Tobna. Generally the Fossatum consists of a ditch and earth embankments on either side using the material from the ditch. Sometimes the embankments are supplemented by dry stone walls on one or both sides; rarely, there are stone walls without a ditch. The width of the Fossatum is generally 3–6 m (9.8–19.7 ft) but in exceptional cases may be as much as 20 m (66 ft). Wherever possible, it or its highest wall

1408-600: A governor, usually a near relative of the Caliph. Despite the prestige of the new masters, the country was still unruly, with continuous rioting and fighting between the townsfolk and wandering Arabs and Turks, the latter being subjects of the Muslim Armenian adventurer Karakush. Also, Tunisia was occupied by Ayyubids between 1182 and 1183 and again between 1184 and 1187. The greatest threat to Almohad rule in Tunisia

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1536-549: A height of seven courses. The best example of the Clayton Wall is at Housesteads. After Clayton's death, the estate passed to relatives and was soon lost to gambling. Eventually, the National Trust began acquiring the land on which the wall stands. At Wallington Hall , near Morpeth, there is a painting by William Bell Scott , which shows a centurion supervising the building of the wall. The centurion has been given

1664-470: A numerous and widespread nobility; the lower orders lived in groups of round houses that left much less archaeological trace. The wall probably cut across a coherent cultural area, and it was planned and built at a time of serious warfare in Britain, which required major Roman reinforcements from outside Britannia. A tablet from Vindolanda describes a centurio regionarius who exercised direct military rule from Carlisle , some 30 years after Roman conquest of

1792-523: A pantheon of Middle Eastern gods including Baal and Tanit . Tanit's symbol, a simple female figure with extended arms and long dress, is a popular icon found in ancient sites. The founders of Carthage also established a Tophet , which was altered in Roman times. A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War , one of a series of wars with Rome , nearly crippled

1920-480: A propaganda statement as a functional facility". There is some evidence that Hadrian's Wall was originally covered in plaster and then whitewashed: its shining surface would have reflected the sunlight and been visible for miles around. Hadrian ended his predecessor Trajan 's policy of expanding the empire and instead focused on defending the current borders, namely at the time Britain. Like Augustus, Hadrian believed in exploiting natural boundaries such as rivers for

2048-549: A rampart. Bede obviously identifies Gildas's stone wall as Hadrian's Wall, and he appears to have believed that the Vallum was the rampart constructed by Severus. Many centuries would pass before just who built what became apparent. In the same passage, Bede describes Hadrian's Wall as follows: "It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height; and, as can be clearly seen to this day, ran straight from east to west." Bede by his own account lived his whole life at Jarrow , just across

2176-523: A set of maps of England and Wales by county at the start of the 17th century. He describes it as "the Picts Wall" (or "Pictes"; he uses both spellings). A map of Newecastle (sic), drawn in 1610 by William Matthew, describes it as "Severus' Wall", mistakenly giving it the name ascribed by Bede to the Vallum. Matthew's maps for Cumberland and Northumberland show the wall as a major feature and are ornamented with drawings of Roman finds together with (in

2304-421: A solution to their problems that remained relevant for centuries. The primary purpose of the wall was as a physical barrier to slow the crossing of raiders, people intent on crossing its line for animals, treasure, or slaves, and then returning with their loot. The Latin text Historia Augusta states: (Hadrianus) murumque per octoginta milia passuum primus duxit, qui barbaros Romanosque divideret. (Hadrian)

2432-513: A zone of its population, as they are known to have done on the Rhine and for ten Roman miles beyond the Danube frontier. Some sites were still occupied; the fort of Burnswark Hill , previously in ruins, was re-occupied about the time that the wall was built. Possibly this represents a short-lived Roman attempt to establish a cooperative authority on this main route further north to Caledonia . Within

2560-402: Is Modern Standard Arabic . The vast majority of Tunisia's population is Arab and Muslim . Vernacular Tunisian Arabic is the most spoken, and French also serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but it has no official status. Beginning in early antiquity, Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous Berbers . The Phoenicians , a Semitic people , began to arrive in

2688-486: Is Nomad and indeed the people were semi-nomadic until the reign of Masinissa of the Massyli tribe. At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. Its coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 12th century BC ( Bizerte , Utica ). The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenicians. Legend says that Dido from Tyre, now in modern-day Lebanon, founded

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2816-594: Is celebrated annually as Tunisian Independence Day. A year later, Tunisia was declared a republic, with Bourguiba as the first President . From independence in 1956 until the 2011 revolution, the government and the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), formerly Neo Destour and the Socialist Destourian Party , were effectively one. Following a report by Amnesty International , The Guardian called Tunisia "one of

2944-503: Is constructed on the counterscarp . Excavations near Gemellae showed the depth there to be 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in), with a width of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at the bottom widening to 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) at the top. The Fossatum is accompanied by many small watchtowers and numerous forts, often built within sight of one another. There are similar, but shorter, fossata in other parts of North Africa. Between

3072-512: Is sometimes also associated with the Carthage goddess Tanith (or Tunit), and the ancient city of Tynes. The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages have left the name untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с ( Tunís ) and Spanish Túnez . In this case,

3200-734: Is up for debate. In 1945 after escaping French surveillance, Tunisian nationalist Habib Bourguiba arrived in Cairo . While there, he was able to make contact with the Arab League . Later in 1946, after traveling to other Middle Eastern countries, he made his way to the United States to speak to both the United Nations at their headquarters at Lake Success and U.S. State Department officials in Washington D.C. , pleading

3328-720: The The Economist Democracy Index . After a democratic backsliding , Tunisia is rated a hybrid regime . It is one of the few countries in Africa ranking high on the Human Development Index , with one of the highest per capita incomes on the continent, ranking 129th in GDP per capita income. Tunisia is well integrated into the international community. It is a member of the United Nations , Organisation internationale de la Francophonie ,

3456-420: The limes and fossatum then the job (with associated land rights and other advantages) would be given to friendly barbarian tribes. Consequently, it is not known with certainty when the Fossatum was constructed. Of course, a structure of this size would be the work of centuries, and the archaeological excavation of the many forts and towns along its route has yielded many dates from the reign of Hadrian in

3584-482: The Anglo-Scottish border , though it is sometimes loosely or colloquially described as such. The length of the wall was 80 Roman miles, equivalent to 73 modern miles; or 117 kilometres (1 Roman mile is equivalent to 1,620 yards; or 1,480 metres). This traversed the entire width of the island, from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. Not long after construction began,

3712-831: The Arab League , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the African Union , the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa , the Non-Aligned Movement , the International Criminal Court , the Group of 77 , among others. It maintains close economic and political relations with some European countries, particularly with France and Italy , due to their geographical proximity. Tunisia also has an association agreement with

3840-614: The European Union and has attained the status of a major non-NATO ally of the United States . The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis ; a central urban hub and the capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia , evolved from French Tunisie , in turn generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ , transcribed tns , which means "to lay down" or "encampment". It

3968-575: The Ottoman Porte appointed directly for Tunis a governor called the Pasha supported by janissary forces. Before long, however, Tunisia became in effect an autonomous province, under the local bey . Under its Turkish governors, the beys, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The Hussein dynasty of beys, established in 1705, lasted until 1957. This evolution of status was from time to time challenged without success by Algiers. During this era,

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4096-634: The Roman Wall , Picts' Wall , or Vallum Aelium in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia , begun in AD ;122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian . Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England , it was a stone wall with large ditches in front and behind, stretching across

4224-572: The Scottish Lowlands , sometimes referred to as the Central Belt or Central Lowlands . Antoninus was unable to conquer the northern tribes, so when Marcus Aurelius became emperor, he abandoned the Antonine Wall and reoccupied Hadrian's Wall as the main defensive barrier in 164. In 208–211, Emperor Septimius Severus again tried to conquer Caledonia and temporarily reoccupied the Antonine Wall. The campaign ended inconclusively, and

4352-899: The Second World War , the protectorate of Tunisia was controlled by the collaborationist Vichy government in Metropolitan France. The antisemitic Statute on Jews enacted by the Vichy government was also implemented in Vichy-controlled Northwest Africa and other overseas French territories. Thus, the persecution and murder of the Jews from 1940 to 1943 was part of the Holocaust in France. From November 1942 until May 1943, Vichy-controlled Tunisia

4480-537: The Solway Firth ). Part of the central section of the wall follows natural cliffs on an escarpment of the Whin Sill rock formation. Although the curtain wall ends near Bowness-on-Solway, this does not mark the end of the line of defensive structures. The system of milecastles and turrets is known to have continued along the Cumbria coast as far as Risehow, south of Maryport . For classification purposes,

4608-634: The Tunisian constitution . The anniversary of Ben Ali's succession, 7 November, was celebrated as a national holiday. He was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every five years (well over 80 percent of the vote), the last being 25 October 2009, until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011. Ben Ali and his family were accused of corruption and plundering the country's money. Economic liberalisation provided further opportunities for financial mismanagement, while corrupt members of

4736-510: The Vallum . The Vallum and the wall run more or less in parallel for almost the entire length of the wall, except between the forts of Newcastle and Wallsend at the east end, where the Vallum may have been considered superfluous as a barrier on account of the close proximity of the River Tyne . The twin track of the wall and Vallum led many 19th-century thinkers to note and ponder their relation to one another. Some evidence appears to show that

4864-536: The 11th-12th centuries rapidly accelerated this process. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized , establishing Arabs as the demographic majority of the population. Then, in 1546, the Ottoman Empire established control there, holding sway for over 300 years, until 1881, when the French conquered Tunisia . In 1956, Tunisia gained independence as

4992-589: The 12th century BC, settling on the coast and establishing several settlements , of which Carthage emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BC. The descendants of the Phoenician settlers came to be known as the Punic people . Ancient Carthage was a major mercantile empire and a military rival to the Roman Republic until 146 BC when it was defeated by the Romans who occupied Tunisia for most of

5120-662: The 19th century, the rulers of Tunisia became aware of the ongoing efforts at political and social reform in the Ottoman capital . The Bey of Tunis then, by his own lights but informed by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy. Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. This was the reason or pretext for French forces to establish a protectorate in 1881. In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and an international financial commission took control over its economy. In 1881, using

5248-464: The 24-year rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali , overthrew his regime and catalyzed the broader Arab Spring movement across the region. Free multiparty parliamentary elections were held shortly thereafter; the country again voted for parliament on 26 October 2014, and for president on 23 November 2014. From 2014 to 2020, it was considered the only democratic state in the Arab world , according to

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5376-410: The 2nd century to Constantine in the 4th century. Current opinion has not advanced since the discussion by Baradez in 1949, who concluded that construction probably began after the first visit of Hadrian to Africa in 122 (and before or after his second visit in 128). This conclusion is based on the similarities with Hadrian's Wall in Britain and with what is known about Hadrian 's concern to protect

5504-401: The 2nd century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivations and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals from the western mountains, the principal production and exports included textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery such as African Red Slip , and wool. There was even a huge production of mosaics and ceramics, exported mainly to Italy, in

5632-493: The 3rd and possibly 4th centuries), and it may similarly have been mainly concerned with livestock management and delivery. In general, and as with other Roman frontier lines, Roman coins and pottery did not move across the wall, and the wall seems to have been an effective barrier to trade. A few elite centres continued to import Roman goods, such as the post-160 samian found at Traprain Law . Ongoing exchange may have been managed at

5760-601: The Empire. Baradez also postulated a pulse of construction during the reign of Gordian III in the 3rd century, and finally abandonment of the Fossatum in 430–440 after the Vandal invasion. Having been built in an arid region of strong winds and blowing sand, the Fossatum quickly eroded and only traces remain. During the Middle Ages, Arab nomads of the Banu Hilal occupied much of the area and noticed southwest of Biskra

5888-587: The Fossatum Africae. There is only a single mention of the Fossatum (as such) in historical literature prior to the 20th century. This occurs in a letter written by the co-emperors Honorius and Theodosius II to Gaudentius, the vicarius Africae , in 409, and preserved in the Codex Theodosianus . Noting that the fossatum had been established by the "ancients", the emperors warned the Roman citizens of Africa that if they did not maintain

6016-475: The French State prosecutor of having stolen two mega-yachts from a French marina. According to Le Monde , Ben Ali's son-in-law was being primed to eventually take over the country. Independent human rights groups, such as Amnesty International , Freedom House , and Protection International, documented that basic human and political rights were not respected. The regime obstructed in any way possible

6144-591: The Matmata and Tabaga ranges in modern Tunisia there is a fossatum which was duplicated during World War II. There also appears to be a 20 km (12 mi) fossatum at Bou Regreg in Morocco although this would not have been within the scope of the proclamation of the Codex Theodosianus because at that time the province was not in Africa, administratively speaking. Hadrian%27s Wall Hadrian's Wall ( Latin : Vallum Hadriani , also known as

6272-497: The River Tyne from the eastern end of the wall at Wallsend, so as he indicates, he would have been very familiar with the wall. Bede does not mention a walkway along the top of the wall. It might be thought likely that there was, but if so it no longer exists. In the late 4th century, barbarian invasions, economic decline and military coups loosened the empire's hold on Britain. By 410, the estimated end of Roman rule in Britain ,

6400-404: The Roman administration and its legions were gone, and Britain was left to look to its own defences and government. Archaeologists have revealed that some parts of the wall remained occupied well into the 5th century. It has been suggested that some forts continued to be garrisoned by local Britons under the control of a Coel Hen figure and former dux . Hadrian's Wall fell into ruin, and over

6528-419: The Roman equivalent of barbed wire , a measure to delay an enemy attack and hold the attackers within range of the missiles of the defenders. The curtain wall was not mainly a continuously-embattled defensive line, rather it would deter casual crossing and be an observation point that could alert Romans of an incoming attack and slow down enemy forces so that additional troops could arrive for support. Besides

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6656-697: The Roman historian Sallust , the demigod Hercules died in Spain and his polyglot eastern army was left to settle the land, with some migrating to Africa. Persians went to the West and intermarried with the Gaetulians and became the Numidians. The Medes settled and were known as Mauri, later Moors. The Numidians and Moors belonged to the race from which the Berbers are descended. The translated meaning of Numidian

6784-515: The Roman period, the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed a huge development. The economy, mainly during the Empire, boomed: the prosperity of the area depended on agriculture. Called the Granary of the Empire , the area of actual Tunisia and coastal Tripolitania , according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one quarter of which was exported to the Empire. Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits. By

6912-418: The Romans eventually withdrew to Hadrian's Wall. The early historian Bede , following Gildas , wrote ( c.  730 ): [the departing Romans] thinking that it might be some help to the allies [Britons], whom they were forced to abandon, constructed a strong stone wall from sea to sea, in a straight line between the towns that had been there built for fear of the enemy, where Severus also had formerly built

7040-449: The Romans' definition of their territory. In 1936, further research suggested that the Vallum could not have been built before the wall because the Vallum avoided one of the wall's milecastles. This new discovery was continually supported by more evidence, strengthening the idea that there was a simultaneous construction of the Vallum and the wall. Other evidence still pointed in other, slightly different directions. Evidence shows that

7168-556: The Trabelsi family, most notably in the cases of Imed Trabelsi and Belhassen Trabelsi , controlled much of the business sector in the country. The First Lady Leila Ben Ali was described as an "unabashed shopaholic " who used the state airplane to make frequent unofficial trips to Europe's fashion capitals. Tunisia refused a French request for the extradition of two of the President's nephews, from Leila's side, who were accused by

7296-544: The Tunisian Republic under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba with the help of activists such as Chedly Kallala, Farhat Hached , and Salah Ben Youssef . Today, Tunisia's culture and identity are rooted in this centuries-long intersection of different cultures and ethnicities. In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution , which was triggered by dissatisfaction with the lack of freedom and democracy under

7424-518: The US feared political change in North Africa due to the looming presence of possible Soviet Union communist expansion. Bourguiba continued to plead to foreign leaders when he traveled to Italy on 6 November 1951. His contacts included Alberto Mellini Ponce De León , Mario Toscano , and Licinio Vestri . De León was an old friend of Bourguiba who had helped free him from German captivity, Toscano

7552-541: The Vallum preceded sections of the Narrow Wall specifically; to account for this discrepancy, Couse suggests that either construction of the Vallum began with the Broad Wall, or it began when the Narrow Wall succeeded the Broad Wall but proceeded more quickly than that of the Narrow Wall. From Milecastle 49 to the western terminus at Bowness-on-Solway, the wall was originally constructed from turf, possibly due to

7680-414: The absence of limestone. Subsequently, the turf wall was demolished and replaced with a stone wall. This took place in two phases; the first (from the River Irthing to a point west of Milecastle 54 ) during the reign of Hadrian, and the second following the reoccupation of Hadrian's Wall after the abandonment of the Antonine Wall (though it has also been suggested that this second phase took place during

7808-462: The antiquarian John Clayton . He trained as a lawyer and became town clerk of Newcastle in the 1830s. He became enthusiastic about preserving the wall after inheriting Chesters from his father. To prevent farmers taking stones from the wall, he began buying some of the land on which the wall stood. In 1834, he started purchasing property around Steel Rigg near Crag Lough . Eventually, he controlled land from Brunton to Cawfields. This stretch included

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7936-457: The area. In 150, a discharge certificate was issued to Velvotigernus, son of Maglotigernus, after 26 year's service in the classis Germanica . It was found near (not in) the Roman fort of Longovicium . Presumably Velvotigernus was from the upper echelons of British society (his father's name means 'Great master'); he chose to settle near Lanchester some 27km south of the wall. This suggests the rapid development of elements of Roman culture both by

8064-475: The beginning of the 20th century Gsell correctly identified it with the fossatum of the Codex Theodosianus . However, the full extent of the Fossatum was not known until after World War II, when the use of aerial photography to locate archaeological sites was pursued by Col. Jean Baradez. He followed up the aerial work with traverses on the ground and excavations at many sites along its route. His resultant book, with many aerial and ground photographs, remains

8192-501: The borders of the empire, for example the Euphrates , Rhine and Danube . Britain, however, did not have any natural boundaries that could serve the purpose to divide the province controlled by the Romans from the Celtic tribes in the north. With construction starting in 122, the entire length of the wall was built with an alternating series of forts, each housing 600 men, and manned milecastles, operated by "between 12 and 20 men". It took six years to build most of Hadrian's Wall with

8320-442: The case of the Cumberland map) a cartouche in which he sets out a description of the wall. Much of the wall has now disappeared. Long sections of it were used for roadbuilding in the 18th century, especially by General Wade to build a military road (most of which lies beneath the present day B6318 " Military Road ") to move troops to crush the Jacobite rising of 1745 . The preservation of much of what remains can be credited to

8448-461: The case of the Tunisian nationalists. As part of postwar Tunisia, a new all-Tunisian labor organization was formed, the Union Générale des Travailleurs (UGTT) . This was one of the stronger components of the nationalist group Neo-Destour . Habib Bourguiba made his way to the United States on 13 September 1949. He attended the American Federation of Labor meeting in San Francisco , California. The French were opposed to his presence there, and

8576-419: The central area of El Djem (where there was the second biggest amphitheater in the Roman Empire). Berber bishop Donatus Magnus was the founder of a Christian group known as the Donatists . During the 5th and 6th centuries (from 430 to 533 AD), the Germanic Vandals invaded and ruled over a kingdom in Northwest Africa that included present-day Tripoli. The region was easily reconquered in 533–534 AD, during

8704-452: The centuries the stone was reused in other local buildings. Enough survived in the 7th century for spolia from Hadrian's Wall (illustrated at right) to find its way into the construction of St Paul's Church in Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey , where Bede was a monk. It was presumably incorporated before the setting of the church's dedication stone, still to be seen in the church, dated 23 April 685. The wall fascinated John Speed , who published

8832-420: The city in 814 BC, as retold by the Greek writer Timaeus of Tauromenium . The settlers of Carthage brought their culture and religion from Phoenicia, now present-day Lebanon and adjacent areas. After the series of wars with Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose to power and eventually became the dominant civilization in the Western Mediterranean . The people of Carthage worshipped

8960-477: The command of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha , the younger brother of Oruç Reis, who was the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Fleet during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent . However, it was not until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha Uluç Ali Reis that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia , retaining it until the French conquest of Tunisia in 1881. Initially under Turkish rule from Algiers, soon

9088-586: The conquest in 698 and others were welcomed by Norman rulers to Sicily or Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries – the logical destination because of the 1200 year close connection between the two regions. The Arab governors of Tunis founded the Aghlabid dynasty , which ruled Tunisia, Tripolitania and eastern Algeria from 800 to 909. Tunisia flourished under Arab rule when extensive systems were constructed to supply towns with water for household use and irrigation that promoted agriculture (especially olive production). This prosperity permitted luxurious court life and

9216-459: The eastern half's width was therefore reduced from the original ten Roman feet to eight, with the remaining stones from the eastern half used for around 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) of the turf wall in the west. This reduction from the original ten Roman feet to eight created the so-called "Narrow Wall". Just south of the wall there is a ten-foot (three-metre) deep, ditch-like construction with two parallel mounds running north and south of it, known as

9344-568: The end of the war in Africa. After the liberation of Tunisia from the Germans, the French regained control over the government and made participation in a nationalist party illegal once more. Moncef Bey , who was popular amongst Tunisians, was deposed by the French. The French claimed that his removal was due to him being sympathetic to the Axis countries during German occupation, but the real reason

9472-433: The established narrative over how much of a threat the inhabitants of northern Britain presented to the Romans, and whether there was any economic advantage in defending and garrisoning a fixed line of defences like the wall, rather than conquering and annexing what has become Northumberland and the Scottish Lowlands and then defending the territory with a looser arrangement of forts. Hadrian and his advisers however produced

9600-401: The face of John Clayton (above right). In 2021 workers for Northumbrian Water found a previously undiscovered 3-metre section of the wall while repairing a water main in central Newcastle upon Tyne . The company announced that the pipe would be "angled to leave a buffer around the excavated trench". Hadrian's Wall was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and in 2005 it became part of

9728-425: The footings, and some segments display a few courses of modern masonry reconstruction. Many of the excavated forts on or near the wall are open to the public, and various nearby museums present its history. The largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, it runs a total of 73 miles (117.5 kilometres). Regarded as a British cultural icon , Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions . It

9856-416: The foundation, quickly becoming much shallower. Above the stone curtain wall's foundations, one or more footing courses were laid. Offsets were introduced above these footing courses (on both the north and south faces), which reduced the wall's width. Where the width of the curtain wall is stated, it is in reference to the width above the offset. Two standards of offset have been identified: Standard A, where

9984-533: The full quota of 756 Belgae troops were present, the rest being sick or otherwise absent. By about 200 BC, long before the Romans arrived in Britannia, the zone on both sides of what would become the wall, from Lothian to the north and the River Wear to the south, had become dominated by rectilinear enclosures. These were the nuclei of extensive farming settlements at a high level of the social hierarchy,

10112-581: The governing councils controlling Tunisia remained largely composed of a foreign elite who continued to conduct state business in the Turkish language . Attacks on European shipping were made by corsairs , primarily from Algiers, but also from Tunis and Tripoli , yet after a long period of declining raids the growing power of the European states finally forced its termination. The plague epidemics ravaged Tunisia in 1784–1785, 1796–1797 and 1818–1820. In

10240-593: The interests of the French and French citizens in Tunisia, at the Cercle Republicain d'outre Mer in Paris. The Neo-Destour group was not in favor of these reforms if they themselves were not involved in their creation. They also demanded the freedom of Bourguiba who was imprisoned on the Isle of Galete. Tunisia achieved independence from France on 20 March 1956 with Habib Bourguiba as Prime Minister. 20 March

10368-540: The islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan . Known for its ancient architecture, souks , and blue coasts, it covers 163,610 km (63,170 sq mi), and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and

10496-779: The lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert. The main Tunisian cities were conquered by the Normans of Sicily under the Kingdom of Africa in the 12th century, but following the conquest of Tunisia in 1159–1160 by the Almohads the Normans were evacuated to Sicily. Communities of Tunisian Christians would still exist in Nefzaoua up to the 14th century. The Almohads initially ruled over Tunisia through

10624-469: The latter". However, soldiers from the three British legions outnumbered the auxiliaries, which goes against the assertion that legionaries would not be used on such detached duties. Further information on the garrisoning of the wall has been provided by the discovery of the Vindolanda tablets just to the south of Hadrian's Wall, such as the record of an inspection on 18 May 92 or 97, when only 456 of

10752-512: The local upper classes and by immigrants either attracted by commercial possibilities or officially encouraged to settle. Northwards a very different picture emerges. A large area of what is now southern Scotland as far as Lothian, and the Northumbrian coastal plain, lost its monumental building tradition of substantial timber roundhouses and earthwork enclosures. Very little late Roman pottery has been found there. The Romans may have cleared

10880-466: The milecastles west of Bowness-on-Solway are referred to as Milefortlets . Hadrian's Wall was probably planned before Hadrian 's visit to Britain in 122. According to restored sandstone fragments found in Jarrow which date from 118 or 119, it was Hadrian's wish to keep "intact the empire", which had been imposed on him via "divine instruction". On Hadrian's accession to the imperial throne in 117, there

11008-569: The most modern but repressive countries in the Arab world". On 12 May 1964, Tunisia nationalized foreign farmlands. Immediately after, France canceled all financial assistance for the country, which was to amount to more than $ 40 million. This led to the Tunisian National Assembly passing a bill that required all residents of the country to subscribe to a "popular loan" in proportion to their income. From 1977 until 2005, Tunisia

11136-502: The next 800 years. The Romans introduced Christianity and left architectural legacies like the Amphitheatre of El Jem . In the 7th century AD, Arab Muslims conquered all of Tunisia (finally succeeding in 697 after several attempts starting in 647) and settled with their tribes and families , bringing Islam and Arab culture to the local inhabitants. A later large-scale Arab migration of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes in

11264-636: The northern reaches of the Sahara desert; much of its remaining territory is arable land . Its 1,300 km (810 mi) of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin . Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela . Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital and largest city of the country, which is itself named after Tunis. The official language of Tunisia

11392-433: The offset occurs above the first footing course, and Standard B, where the offset occurs after the third (or sometimes fourth) footing course. It is thought that following construction and when fully manned, almost 10,000 soldiers were stationed on Hadrian's Wall, made up not of the legions who built it but by regiments of auxiliary infantry and cavalry drawn from the provinces. Following from this, David Breeze lays out

11520-453: The plans changed. Based on this evidence, Collingwood concludes that the wall was originally to be built between present-day Newcastle and Bowness-on-Solway, with a uniform width of 10 Roman feet, all in stone. On completion, only three-fifths of the wall was built from stone; the remaining western section was a turf wall, later rebuilt in stone. Plans possibly changed due to a lack of resources. In an effort to preserve resources further,

11648-562: The pretext of a Tunisian incursion into Algeria , the French invaded with an army of about 36,000 and forced the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq , to agree to the terms of the 1881 Treaty of Bardo . With this treaty, Tunisia was officially made a French protectorate , over the objections of Italy. European settlements in the country were actively encouraged; the number of French colonists grew from 34,000 in 1906 to 144,000 in 1945. In 1910 there were also 105,000 Italians in Tunisia . During

11776-620: The previous adjectival form was "Tunisine". Farming methods reached the Nile Valley from the Fertile Crescent region about 5000 BC, and spread to the Maghreb by about 4000 BC. Agricultural communities in the humid coastal plains of central Tunisia then were ancestors of today's Berber tribes. It was believed in ancient times that Africa was originally populated by Gaetulians and Libyans, both nomadic peoples. According to

11904-609: The protests. The protests inspired the Arab Spring , a wave of similar actions throughout the Arab world. The catalyst for mass demonstrations was the death of Mohamed Bouazizi , a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor, who set himself afire on 17 December 2010 in protest at the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official named Faida Hamdy . Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to resign and flee

12032-595: The region. Nevertheless, the settlement pattern in the area did not change immediately after the wall was built, and the groups who fought the Romans may have been from previously pacified tribes to the south, or from far north of the wall. The Roman soldiers of the garrison, with their families and other immigrants, may have amounted to some 22-30% of the population of the region. They could not have been supplied entirely from local resources, although any local surpluses would have been taxed or requisitioned. Military conscripts may also have been levied from nearby groups. To

12160-470: The reign of Septimius Severus ). The line of the stone wall follows the line of the turf wall, apart from the stretch between Milecastle 49 and Milecastle 51 , where the line of the stone wall is slightly further to the north. In the stretch around Milecastle 50TW , it was built on a flat base with three to four courses of turf blocks. A basal layer of cobbles was used westwards from Milecastle 72 (at Burgh-by-Sands) and possibly at Milecastle 53 . Where

12288-647: The rise of Roman power. From the conclusion of the Second Punic War in 202 BC, Carthage functioned as a client state of the Roman Republic for another 50 years. Following the Battle of Carthage which began in 149 BC during the Third Punic War , Carthage was conquered by Rome in 146 BC. Following its conquest, the Romans renamed Carthage to Africa , incorporating it as a province. During

12416-401: The route of the wall was shifted to avoid the Vallum, possibly pointing to the Vallum being an older construction. R. G. Collingwood therefore asserted in 1930 that the Vallum was built before the wall in its final form. Collingwood also questioned whether the Vallum was an original border built before the wall. Based on this, the wall could be viewed as a replacement border built to strengthen

12544-610: The rule of Emperor Justinian I , by the Eastern Romans led by General Belisarius , preluding a 165-year era of Byzantine rule . Sometime between the second half of the 7th century and the early part of the 8th century, Arab Muslim conquest occurred in the region . They founded the first Islamic city in Northwest Africa, Kairouan . It was there in 670 AD that the Mosque of Uqba , or the Great Mosque of Kairouan,

12672-510: The same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس , and only by context can one tell the difference. In English, Tunisia before independence was also often called simply "Tunis", a name that persisted until the 1940s; under French influence, the neologism "Tunisia", adapted from Tunisie , gradually took hold. The adjective "Tunisian" first appeared in English in 1825;

12800-412: The scale and design of the wall was novel for Roman military construction, "there was a long tradition of wall-building in the ancient (Mediterranean) world upon which he could have drawn for inspiration without the inconvenience of traversing whole continents in search of a prototype." In recent years, despite the overwhelming evidence over its 400 year manned presence, some scholars have disagreed with

12928-414: The sites of Chesters, Carrawburgh , Housesteads , and Vindolanda . Clayton carried out excavation at the fort at Cilurnum and at Housesteads, and he excavated some milecastles. Clayton managed the farms he had acquired and succeeded in improving both the land and the livestock. He used the profits from his farms for restoration work. Workmen were employed to restore sections of the wall, generally up to

13056-420: The soldiers on Hadrian's Wall. One, these soldiers who manned the milecastles and turrets on the wall came from the forts near it; two, regiments from auxiliaries were specifically chosen for this role; or three, "a special force" was formed to man these stations. Breeze comes to the conclusion that through all the inscriptions gathered there were soldiers from three, or even four, auxiliary units at milecastles on

13184-533: The son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent. During the reign of the Hafsid dynasty from their capital Tunis, fruitful commercial relationships were established with several Christian Mediterranean states. In the late 16th century the coast became a pirate stronghold. In the last years of the Hafsid dynasty , Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the Ottoman Empire . The first Ottoman conquest of Tunis took place in 1534 under

13312-527: The south, between the wall and the River Tees , Roman-style settlements appear in the early 2nd century, very shortly after the wall was built. This is earlier than Roman villas in Yorkshire further south. Mortaria stamped with the name ANAVS were produced at Faverdale , some 80 kilometres south of the wall, and most of those found have come from the fort of Coria . Anaus was probably an immigrant to

13440-579: The standard work of reference. Ideas on the purpose of the Fossatum have evolved since Baradez' time. Whereas Baradez was a military man, and World War II just having finished with the military use of ditches very much in mind, the military aspect of the Fossatum was emphasized. In the more peaceful modern era, the use of the Fossatum as a customs and migration control has been brought to the fore, suggested by inscriptions at Zaraï giving long lists of products and tariffs. The Fossatum as proposed by Baradez consisted of at least four segments: There may also be

13568-758: The transnational " Frontiers of the Roman Empire " World Heritage Site, which also includes sites in Germany. Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Republic of Tunisia , is the northernmost country in Africa . It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa , bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through

13696-447: The two basic functions for soldiers on or around Hadrian's Wall. Breeze says that soldiers who were stationed in the forts around the wall had the primary duty of defence; at the same time, the troops in the milecastles and turrets had the responsibility of frontier control. Evidence, as Breeze says, for soldiers stationed in forts is far more pronounced than the ones in the milecastles and turrets. Breeze discusses three theories about

13824-410: The underlying ground was boggy, wooden piles were used. At its base, the turf wall was 6 metres (20 feet) wide, built in courses of turf blocks measuring 46 cm (18 inches) long by 30 cm (12 inches) deep by 15 cm (6 inches) high, to a height around 3.66 metres (12.0 feet). The north face is thought to have had a slope of 75%, whereas the south face is thought to have started vertical above

13952-526: The wall as a departure from traditional Roman military architecture as typified by the Roman limes has been seen as noteworthy and has led to exceptional suggestions of influence by some scholars, for example D.J Breeze and B. Dobson suggest "Hadrian may have been influenced by travellers' accounts of the Great Wall of China , built some two hundred years before." This proposal has been challenged by other scholars like Duncan Campbell who argues that, though

14080-406: The wall's width was reduced from the originally planned 10 feet (3.0 m) to about 8 feet (2.4 m), or even less depending on the terrain. Some sections were originally constructed of turf and timber, eventually replaced by stone years or decades later. Bede , a monk and historian who died in 735, wrote that the wall stood 12 feet (3.7 metres) high, with evidence suggesting it could have been

14208-467: The wall. These units were " cohors I Batavorum , cohors I Vardullorum , an un-numbered Pannonian cohort, and a duplicarius from Upper Germany ". Breeze adds that there appears to have been some legionaries as well at these milecastles. Breeze states that evidence is "still open on whether" soldiers who manned the milecastles were from nearby forts or were specifically chosen for this task, and he adds that "the balance [of evidence] perhaps lies towards

14336-503: The whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts , smaller milecastles , and intervening turrets . In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been customs posts. Hadrian's Wall Path generally runs close along the wall. Almost all the standing masonry of the wall was removed in early modern times and used for local roads and farmhouses. None of it stands to its original height, but modern work has exposed much of

14464-465: The work coming from three Roman legions – the Legio II Augusta , Legio VI Victrix , and Legio XX Valeria Victrix , totalling 15,000 soldiers, plus some members of the Roman fleet. The building of the wall was not out of the area of expertise for the soldiers; some would have trained to be surveyors, engineers, masons, and carpenters. R. G. Collingwood cites evidence for the existence of

14592-419: The work of local human rights organizations. In 2008, in terms of press freedom , Tunisia was ranked 143rd out of 173. The Tunisian Revolution was an intensive campaign of civil resistance that was precipitated by high unemployment , food inflation , corruption , a lack of freedom of speech and other political freedoms and poor living conditions . Labour unions were said to be an integral part of

14720-563: Was a shooting location for five films of the Star Wars film franchise. In 1982, Tunisia became the center of the Palestinian Liberation Organization , a militant and political organization based in the capital Tunis. In November 1987, doctors declared Bourguiba unfit to rule and, in a bloodless coup d'état, Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumed the presidency in accordance with Article 57 of

14848-535: Was connected to the decline of Tunisian trade and agriculture. The depredation of the Tunisian campaigns by the Banu Hilal , a warlike Arab tribe encouraged by the Fatimids of Egypt to seize Northwest Africa, sent the region's rural and urban economic life into further decline. Consequently, the region underwent rapid urbanisation as famines depopulated the countryside and industry shifted from agriculture to manufactures. The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun wrote that

14976-609: Was constructed. This mosque is the oldest and most prestigious sanctuary in the Muslim West with the oldest standing minaret in the world; it is also considered a masterpiece of Islamic art and architecture. The Arab migration to the Maghreb began during this time. The region in its entirety was taken in 695, retaken by the Byzantine Eastern Romans in 697, but lost permanently in 698. The transition from

15104-459: Was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The turf-built Antonine Wall of 142 in what is now central Scotland , which briefly superseded Hadrian's Wall before being abandoned, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2008. Hadrian's Wall marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north. The wall lies entirely within England and has never formed

15232-446: Was given an annexe and a network of ditched and banked boundaries. The sites at Pegswood Moor and St. George's Hospital, Morpeth , also show probable stock enclosures and droveways, far less substantial than the massive Iron Age sites in the area. The site at Huckhoe is the only one in this area to produce evidence of post-Hadrianic domestic residence (Roman coarse pottery, probably containers of high-prestige imported food, as late as

15360-472: Was marked by the construction of new palace cities such as al-Abbasiya (809) and Raq Adda (877). After conquering Cairo , the Fatimids abandoned Tunisia and parts of Eastern Algeria to the local Zirids (972–1148). Zirid Tunisia flourished in many areas: agriculture, industry, trade, and religious and secular learning. Management by the later Zirid emirs was neglectful though, and political instability

15488-715: Was occupied by Germany. SS Commander Walter Rauff continued to implement the "Final Solution" there. From 1942 to 1943, Tunisia was the scene of the Tunisia Campaign , a series of battles between the Axis and Allied forces. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces, but the massive supply and numerical superiority of the Allies led to the Axis surrender on 13 May 1943. The six-month campaign of Tunisia's liberation from Axis occupation signalled

15616-688: Was replaced by Pierre Voizard . Voizard had previously been the French Minister to Monaco . A month after his arrival in Tunis on 26 September 1953, Voizard made many changes to ease tensions in Tunisia. He lifted press censorship and freed several political prisoners. He also restored the full powers of civil authorities and raised the state of siege in the Sahel . On 26 January 1954, Voizard announced that there would soon be new reforms in favor of granting more sovereignty to Tunisians while insuring

15744-469: Was slightly north of Stanegate , an important Roman road built several decades earlier to link two forts that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum ( Corbridge ) on the River Tyne and Luguvalium (Carlisle) on the River Eden . The modern A69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle , then along the northern coast of Cumbria (south shore of

15872-696: Was the Banu Ghaniya , relatives of the Almoravids , who from their base in Mallorca tried to restore Almoravid rule over the Maghreb. Around 1200 they succeeded in extending their rule over the whole of Tunisia until they were crushed by Almohad troops in 1207. After this success, the Almohads installed Walid Abu Hafs as the governor of Tunisia. Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230 when

16000-401: Was the clearest statement of the might, resourcefulness, and determination of an individual emperor and of his empire. The wall was also a symbolic statement of Rome's imperial power, marking the border between the so called civilized world and the unconquered barbarian wilderness. As British archaeologist Neil Faulkner explains, "the wall, like other great Roman frontier monuments was as much

16128-435: Was the first to build a wall, eighty miles long, to separate the Romans from the barbarians . The defensive characteristics of the wall support interpretation, including the pits known as cippi frequently found on the berm or flat area in front of the wall. These pits held branches or small tree trunks entangled with sharpened branches. These would make an attack on the wall even more difficult. It might be thought of as

16256-760: Was the head of the Ufficio Studi e Documentazione in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and Vestri was an Africanist scholar. Despite his best efforts, the Italians remained neutral as they did not want to ruin relations with NATO ally France, nor did they want to hamper any possibility of future relations with Tunisia as it served as a key part of the Mediterranean . The French Resident General in Tunisia, Jean de Hautecloque  [ de ; fr ] left Tunis to go to Paris on 25 August 1953, when he

16384-537: Was unrest and rebellion in Roman Britain and from the peoples of various conquered lands across the empire, including Egypt , Judea , Libya and Mauretania . These troubles may have influenced his plan to construct the wall, as well as his construction of frontier boundaries now known as limes in other areas of the empire, such as the Limes Germanicus in modern-day Germany. The novelty of

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