Hadrumetum was a Phoenician colony earlier than Carthage, and was already an important town when the latter rose to greatness.

In the 9th century BCE, the Phoenicians, astute traders (who would later become the Carthaginians), sensed the possibilities of a port city south of present-day Tunis and founded Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, Tunisia) on what is now the Gulf of Hammamet in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hadrumetum was one of the most important communities within the Carthaginian territory in northern Africa because of its strategic location on the sea in the heart of the fertile Sahel region. The city allied itself with Rome during the Punic Wars, thereby escaping damage or ruin and entered a relatively peaceful 700-year stint under Pax Romana. At some point during this period its name was slightly altered (by the addition of an N) to become Hadrumentum.

Under the Roman Empire it became very prosperous; Trajan gave it the rank of a colonia: "Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetina". A breathtaking legacy of intricate Roman mosaics survives from this era, together with many early Christian objects from the catacombs. At the end of the 3rd century CE it even became the capital of the newly-made province of Byzacena (modern Sahel, Tunisia).

Later history

The city's strategic position meant that it changed hands (and names) many times in the following centuries. In the 5th century CE it was destroyed by the Vandals, but was rebuilt and renamed Hunerikopolis. The following century it was taken over by Byzantium and renamed Justinianopolis (a name also used for Kırşehir in modern-day Turkey). By the 7th century it was under Arab control, and had again been renamed, this time as Sūsa. During the next 200 years it became the main sea port of the Aghlabid dynasty, being 60km east of their capital Kairouan ('al-qayrawān in Arabic). The 'ribat', which they began building in 821, as a fortress against the Christians of Sicily, still stands, and contains what is considered to be the oldest mosque in North Africa; nearby, the town's main mosque, also founded in the 9th century, has a similarly fortress-like appearance. In 827 the Aghlabids launched their invasion of Sicily from this port (the first move in a campaign which was to last until 902).

During the 12th century CE Sūsa was briefly occupied by the Normans (from their territory in Sicily, which they conquered between 1060–1090); in the 16th century CE it was occupied by Spain. The city was bombarded by French and Venetian forces during the 18th century. Tunisia had become a French protectorate in 1881, and in the late 19th century, France added to the port's facilities, increasing the importance of Sousse, as it had become by then.

External links

• Encyclopaedia of the Orient: Sousse (Sūsa)
• Adventures of Tunisia: A virtual tour of the historic sites of Sousse

Archaeological sites in Tunisia | Roman sites in TunisiaPhoenician colonies