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18-526: Mahdia is a city in Tunisia. Mahdia may also refer to: Mahdiyya or al-Mahdiyya may refer to: Mahdia Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax . It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving. It is the capital of Mahdia Governorate . The old part of Mahdia corresponds to the Roman city called Aphrodisium and, later, called Africa (a name perhaps derived from

36-506: A ten-year armistice. By mid-October the Crusaders had returned to Genoa. Losses due to the fighting and disease amounted to 274 knights and squires. Both sides celebrated victory. The Berbers had repelled the invaders, and the Genoese could conduct trade with less interference. The French knights had no tangible goals but had participated for action and glory. They failed to learn any lessons from

54-520: Is dated to about 80 BC, the early part of Roman rule in this region. Muslim Mahdia was founded by the Fatimids under the Caliph Abdallah al-Mahdi and made the capital of Ifriqiya . As the then-newly-created Fatimid Caliphate was a Shi'a regime supported by a Berber Kutama military, the caliph may have been motivated to move his capital here so as to put some distance between his power base and

72-421: Is more commonly taken to have been at Henchir Sbia (or just Sbia), north of Mahdia, or at the ruins known as Ksour Siad. The most illustrious bishop of this see was Fulgentius of Ruspe . The Catholic Church's list of titular sees, which identifies the see of Africa as Mahdia, identifies Ruspe/Ruspae as Henchir Sbia. The Mahdia shipwreck – a sunken ship found off Mahdia's shore, containing Greek art treasures –

90-564: Is the chief account of what was one of the last crusades. During the lulls of the Hundred Years War knights looked for opportunities for glory and honor. As Genoese ambassadors approached the French king Charles VI to subscribe to a crusade , they eagerly supported the plan to fight Muslim pirates from North Africa. These pirates had their main base at Mahdia on the Barbary coast . Genoa

108-551: The Fatimid city has not survived to the present day. The mosque, however, is one of the most well-preserved Fatimid monuments in the Maghreb , although it has been extensively damaged over time and was in large part reconstructed by archeologists in the 1960s. Fragments of mosaic pavements from the palaces have also been discovered from modern excavations. In 1087, the town was attacked by raiding ships from Genoa and Pisa who burned

126-462: The Genoese, a natural affair among neighbors. In answer they were told that they were unbelievers who had "crucified and put to death the son of God called Jesus Christ." The Berbers laughed saying it was the Jews not they who had done that. Negotiations broke off. In a subsequent encounter with the large relief army the Crusaders killed many but eventually had to retreat exhausted and tired. The duration of

144-636: The Holy Land (1095–1291) Later Crusades (1291–1717) Northern (1147–1410) Against Christians (1209–1588) Popular (1096–1320) The Barbary Crusade , also called the Mahdia Crusade , was a Franco - Genoese military expedition in 1390 that led to the siege of Mahdia , then a stronghold of the Barbary pirates in Hafsidi Ifriqiya (geographically corresponding to modern Tunisia ). Froissart's Chronicles

162-795: The Muslim fleet in the harbor. The attack played a critical role in Christians' seizure of control of the Western Mediterranean, which allowed the First Crusade to be supplied by sea. The Zirid dynasty , which succeeded the Fatimids in the Maghreb, moved their capital here in 1057. Their rule was brought to an end by the Norman conquest of the city in 1148. In 1160 the city came under Almohad rule . The role of

180-626: The capital was taken over by Tunis in the 12th century during the Almohad era, which it remained during the Hafsid Dynasty . Later the city was subject to many raids. In 1390 it was the target of the Barbary Crusade , when a French army laid siege to the city but failed to take it. The city was captured by the Spaniards in 1550. A Spanish garrison remained there until 1553. Charles V then offered

198-558: The charge of the town to the Order of Saint John who ruled Malta but they refused it deeming it too expensive. The emperor ordered the Viceroy of Sicily, Juan de Vega , to dismantle Mahdia despite it being a strategically important stronghold. The demolition tasks were carried out by Hernando de Acuña. Shortly after Mahdia was reoccupied by the Ottomans, but only to live by fishing and oil-works, and

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216-451: The leadership of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon . A relief army reportedly 40,000 men strong was brought up by Hafsid Sultan Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II supported by the kings of Bejaia and Tlemcen who camped nearby, avoided pitched battle, but started to harass the crusaders. The Crusaders had to build a wall around their camp and fortify it. The Berbers sent out a negotiating party asking why the French would attack them, they had only troubled

234-428: The older name), or Cape Africa . The Catholic Church 's list of titular sees includes a no longer residential bishopric called Africa and, since there is no record of an episcopal see in Roman times called by either of these names (nor by that of Alipota, another Roman town that Charles Tissot suggested tentatively might be represented by present-day Mehdia), it is supposed that the episcopal see of Africa

252-467: The predominantly Sunni city of Kairouan (the traditional capital of Ifriqiya up to that point). Construction began in 916 and the new city was officially inaugurated on 20 February 921, although some construction continued afterward. In addition to its heavy fortified walls, the city included the Fatimid palaces, an artificial harbor, and a congregational mosque (the Great Mosque of Mahdia ). Most of

270-485: The siege not only frustrated them, but their logistical systems started to weaken. When a final assault on the city was repelled they were ready to settle for a treaty. On the opposing side the Berbers realized that they could not overcome the heavier armed invaders. Both sides looked for a way to end the hostilities. The siege was lifted with the conclusion of a treaty negotiated through the Genoese party. The treaty stipulated

288-544: The town lost its logistic and commercial importance. It remained under Turkish rule until the 19th century . During the Nazi Occupation of Tunisia in World War II , Mahdia was the site where Khaled Abdelwahhab hid approximately two dozen persecuted Jews . Gare Mahdia forms the southern terminus of the metre-gauge Sahel Metro railway line, which runs from Sousse and Monastir . Barbary Crusade In

306-580: Was established when the city was held by the Kingdom of Sicily , as a part of the Kingdom of Africa (1147–1160) and when Pope Eugene III consecrated a bishop for it in 1148. An inventory of movable property of the church of Africa ( inventarium thesauri Africani ) exists in an archive of the Cappella Palatina of Palermo in Sicily. Salim Dev identified Mahdia instead with ancient Ruspae or Ruspe , which

324-413: Was ready to supply ships, supplies, 12,000 archers and 8,000 foot soldiers, if France would provide the knights. The proposal by the doge Antoniotto Adorno was presented as a crusade . As such it would give prestige to its participants, a moratorium on their debts, immunity from lawsuits, and papal indulgence . The French force also included some English participants and consisted of 1,500 knights under

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