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162-910: The history of the Jews in Tunisia extends nearly two thousand years to the Punic era . The Jewish community in Tunisia grew following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its development was hampered in late antiquity by anti-Jewish measures in the Byzantine Empire . After the Muslim conquest of Tunisia , Tunisian Judaism went through periods of relative freedom or even cultural apogee to times of more marked discrimination, with Jews being treated as second-class citizens ( dhimmi ). The community formerly used its own dialect of Arabic . The arrival of Jews expelled from

324-501: A special garb, with a yellow cloth for a head-covering . The living conditions of the Jews in Tunisia were relatively favorable during the reign of the Aghlabids and then Fatimid dynasties . Of the three principal Jewish communities that came into prominence by the 10th century, Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia) was the first to flourish, beginning with the establishment of the Shi'ite caliphate of

486-473: A Jewish governor, and the political influence of the Jews made itself felt in the administration of the country. Especially prosperous at that time was the community of Kairwan ( Kairouan ), which was established soon after the foundation of that city by Uqba bin Nafi in the year 670. Nevertheless, the attitude of Islamic authorities regarding ghiyār (differentiation of non-Muslims from Muslims) begun to harden and in

648-489: A city of great wealth and ruthless in the pursuit of war. Its name was Carthage, and Juno is said to have loved it more than any other place ... But she had heard that there was rising from the blood of Troy a race of men who in days to come would overthrow this Tyrian citadel ... [and] sack the land of Libya." Virgil describes Queen Elissa—for whom he uses the ancient Greek name, Dido, meaning "beloved"—as an esteemed, clever, but ultimately tragic character. As in other legends,

810-471: A decade later in 387 BC. After winning a naval battle off the coast of Catania, Himilco laid siege to Syracuse with 50,000 Carthaginians, but yet another epidemic struck down thousands of them. With the enemy assault stalled and weakened, Dionysius then launched a surprise counterattack by land and sea, destroying all the Carthaginian ships while its crews were ashore. At the same time, his ground forces stormed

972-595: A first development entirely devoted to the history of this community. In Tunisia, following the thesis of Abdelkrim Allagui, a group under the direction of Habib Kazdaghli and Abdelhamid Largueche brought the subject into the field of national academic research. Founded in Paris on June 3, 1997, the Society of Jewish History of Tunisia contributes to the research on the Jews of Tunisia and transmits their history through conferences, symposia and exhibitions. According to Michel Abitbol ,

1134-571: A localised variety known as Punic. Like other Phoenician peoples, its society was urban, commercial, and oriented towards seafaring and trade; this is reflected in part by its notable innovations, including serial production , uncolored glass , the threshing board , and the cothon harbor. Carthaginians were renowned for their commercial prowess, ambitious explorations, and unique system of government , which combined elements of democracy , oligarchy , and republicanism , including modern examples of checks and balances . Despite having been one of

1296-571: A long and difficult expedition. Herodotus claims that the Tyrians refused to cooperate due to their affinity for Carthage, causing the Persian king to abort his campaign. Though it escaped reprisal, Tyre's status as Phoenicia's leading city was significantly circumscribed; its rival, Sidon, subsequently garnered more support from the Persians. However, it too remained subjugated, leading the way for Carthage to fill

1458-666: A minority of the Jews of Tunisia. On the other hand, indigenous elites didn't wish to give up their power to newcomers, unlike their Maghreb neighbors, probably due to the later arrival of the Granas in Tunisia. The Granas also differed geographically from the Tuansa, settling in the European district of Tunis, thus avoiding the Hara , and more culturally approach the Europeans than their co-religionists. However,

1620-553: A modest social position. This is why, contrary to what was happening elsewhere in the Maghreb, these new populations were hardly accepted, which gradually leads to the division of the Jewish community into two groups. In this context, the Jews played a major role in the economic life of the country, in commerce and crafts, but also in trading and banking. Despite the tariffs being higher than those paid by Muslim or Christian traders (10% vs. 3%),

1782-540: A monopoly on an area's natural resources, satisfying the demand for trade goods, and finding areas where they could trade freely without outside interference. Over time many Phoenicians also sought to escape their tributary obligations to foreign powers that had subjugated the Phoenician homeland. Another motivating factor was competition with the Greeks, who became a nascent maritime power and began establishing colonies across

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1944-481: A mythical, fatalistic backdrop for a century of bitter conflict between Rome and Carthage. These stories typify the Roman attitude towards Carthage: a level of grudging respect and acknowledgement of their bravery, prosperity, and even their city's seniority to Rome, along with derision of their cruelty, deviousness, and decadence, as exemplified by their practice of human sacrifice. To facilitate their commercial ventures,

2106-469: A new city abroad. Upon landing in North Africa, she is greeted by the local Berber chieftain, Iarbas (also called Hiarbas) who promises to cede as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide. With her characteristic cleverness, Dido cuts the hide into very thin strips and lays them end to end until they encircle the entire hill of Byrsa . While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement,

2268-403: A night in either of these cities; and only by special permission of the governor were they allowed to enter them during the day. Although the difficulty of the economic context leads to a surge of probabilism , the triumph of Maliki Sunnism with little tolerance towards the "people of the book" meant material and spiritual misery. The massive settlement of Jewish-Spanish scholars fleeing from

2430-667: A saddle. From the 16th century Tunisia and more particularly Tunis had an influx of Sephardi Jewish families, who initially settled in Livorno ( Tuscany , Italy), and who later moved to work in other trading centers. These new settlers, called granas in Arabic or gorneyim (Hebrew: גורנים ) in Hebrew after the name of the city in both languages, were wealthier than the Jewish natives called tuansa . They spoke and wrote in Italian but gradually adopted

2592-449: A separate cemetery. This state of affairs was endorsed by a takkanah (rabbinic decree) signed in July 1741 between the great rabbis Abraham Taïeb and Isaac Lumbroso . This agreement was renewed in 1784 before being annulled in 1899. This takkanah sets, among other rules, the fact that every Israelite from a Muslim country was attached to the Tuansa, while every Israelite from a Christian country

2754-545: A spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury , to remind Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome . The Trojan departs, leaving Dido so heartbroken that she commits suicide by stabbing herself upon a funeral pyre with his sword. As she lies dying, she predicts eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own, proclaiming "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" in an invocation of Hannibal . Aeneas sees

2916-487: A steady influx of Jewish immigrants from the Levant to the end of the eleventh century, and their communities participated in these economic and intellectual exchanges. Monopolizing the goldsmiths' and jewelers' crafts, they also worked in the textile industry, as tailors, tanners and shoemakers, while the smallest rural communities practiced agriculture (saffron, henna, vine, etc.) or breeding of nomadic animals. The departure of

3078-515: A tradition, the Jews of the island of Djerba are the descendants of that tribe. In 793 Imam Idris was poisoned at the command of caliph Harun al-Rashid (it is said, by the governor's physician Shamma, probably a Jew), and circa 800 the Aghlabite dynasty was established. Under the rule of this dynasty, which lasted until 909, the situation of the Jews in Tunis was very favorable. As of old, Bizerta had

3240-473: A treaty to keep their commercial planes separate from each other. Carthage focused on growing their population by taking in Phoenicians colonies and soon began controlling Libyan, African, and Roman colonies. Many Phoenician cities also had to pay or support the Carthaginian troops. Punic troops would defend cities and these cities had few rights. Unlike the existential conflict of the later Punic Wars with Rome,

3402-563: Is a term for non-Muslims, originally Jews and Christians as People of the Book , living an Islamic state and refers to the state's obligation to protect the lives of these communities as well as their freedom of religion and right to administer their own laws in certain regards (i.e. the Jewish halakhic courts), in return for the payment of the jizya , the poll tax. Jews were economically, culturally and linguistically integrated into society, while retaining their cultural and religious peculiarities. If it

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3564-508: Is also credited with initiating, or at least expanding, the practice of recruiting subject peoples and mercenaries, as Carthage's population was too small to secure and defend its scattered colonies. Libyans , Iberians , Sardinians and Corsicans were soon enlisted for the Magonid expansionist campaigns across the region. By the beginning of the fourth century BC, the Carthaginians had become

3726-552: Is clear that the purpose of the patch was not merely ghiyār, but also dhull (humiliation) in keeping with the koranic injunction (Sura 9:29) that non-Muslims should be humbled. A period of reaction set in with the accession of the Zirite Al-Mu'izz (1016–62), who persecuted all heterodox sects, as well as the Jews. The persecution was especially detrimental to the prosperity of the Kairwan community, and members thereof began to emigrate to

3888-411: Is greeted by Iarbas , and after he offers as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide, she cuts the hide into very thin strips and encircles all of Byrsa . While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of a horse, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of

4050-734: Is slow, arabization is faster in urban areas, following the arrival of Jews from the East in the wake of the Arabs , and in the wealthy classes. In 788, when Idris I of Morocco proclaimed Mauritania 's independence of the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad , the Tunisian Jews joined his army under the leadership of their chief, Benjamin ben Joshaphat ben Abiezer. They soon withdrew, however; primarily because they were loath to fight against their coreligionists of other parts of Mauritania, who remained faithful to

4212-490: Is unknown what factors influenced the citizens of Carthage, unlike those of other Phoenician colonies, to create an economic and political hegemony; the nearby city of Utica was far older and enjoyed the same geographical and political advantages, but never embarked on hegemonic conquest, instead coming under Carthaginian influence. One theory is that Babylonian and Persian domination of the Phoenician homeland produced refugees that swelled Carthage's population and transferred

4374-458: Is why its empire took the form of a hegemony based on treaties and political arrangements more than conquest. By contrast, the Romans focused on expanding and consolidating their control over the rest of mainland Italy, and would aim to extend its control well beyond its homeland. These differences would prove key in the conduct and trajectory of the later Punic Wars. By the third century BC, Carthage

4536-607: The Aeneid —written over a century after the Third Punic War—tells the mythical story of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his journey towards founding Rome, inextricably tying together the founding myths, and ultimate fates, of both Rome and Carthage. Its introduction begins by mentioning "an ancient city" that many readers likely assumed was Rome or Troy, but goes on to describe it as a place "held by colonists from Tyre, opposite Italy . ..

4698-613: The Arab world , to which was added nationalist agitation, nationalization of enterprises, Arabization of education and part of the administration. Jews left Tunisia en masse from the 1950s onwards because of the problems raised and the hostile climate created by the Bizerte crisis in 1961 and the Six-Day War in 1967. According to the Jewish Virtual Library , the Jewish population of Tunisia,

4860-516: The Atlantic . The same year, the Iberian colonies seceded, cutting off Carthage from a major source of silver and copper . The loss of such strategically important mineral wealth, combined with the desire to exercise firmer control over shipping routes, led Hannibal Mago , grandson of Hamilcar, to make preparations to reclaim Sicily. In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily with his force. He captured

5022-489: The Balearic archipelago . Tripoli remained autonomous under the authority of local Libyco-Phoenicians , who paid nominal tribute. Among the ancient world's largest and richest cities, Carthage's strategic location provided access to abundant fertile land and major maritime trade routes . Its extensive mercantile network reached as far as west Asia and northern Europe , providing an array of commodities from all over

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5184-669: The Castile in 1391 and again in 1492 was mainly carried out in Algeria and Morocco , and the Tunisian Jews, abandoned by this phenomenon, were led to consult Algerian scholars such as Simeon ben Zemah Duran . In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Jews of Tunis were treated more cruelly than those elsewhere in the Maghreb. While refugees from Spain and Portugal flocked to Algeria and Morocco , only some chose to settle in Tunis. The Tunisian Jews had no eminent rabbis or scholars and had to consult those of Algeria or Morocco on religious questions. In

5346-495: The Greeks of Syracuse , who also sought control of the central Mediterranean. Founded in the mid seventh century BC, Syracuse had risen to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek city states, and the preeminent Greek polity in the region. The island of Sicily, lying at Carthage's doorstep, became the main arena on which this conflict played out. From their earliest days, both the Greeks and Phoenicians had been attracted to

5508-591: The Hafsid dynasty , which was established in 1236 as a breakaway from the Almohad dynasty , the condition of the Jews improved. Jews could again practice their religion and thus reconstituted the communities that existed before the Almohad period. Systematic persecution, social exclusion and hindrance to worship disappeared, but the dhimma was strict, especially in matters of dress. The Hafsids followed late Almohad practice and forced

5670-646: The Iberian Peninsula , often through Livorno , greatly altered the country. Its economic, social and cultural situation has improved markedly with the advent of the French protectorate before being compromised during the Second World War , with the occupation of the country by the Axis . The Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 and following 1948 Arab–Israeli War provoked a widespread anti-Zionist reaction in

5832-660: The Israel Folktale Archives in University of Haifa , the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Ben Zvi Institute , collect material evidence (traditional clothing, embroidery, lace, jewelry, etc.), traditions (folk tales, liturgical songs, etc.) and manuscripts as well as Judeo-Arabic books and newspapers. Paul Sebag is the first to provide in his 1991 book History of the Jews of Tunisia: from origins to our days

5994-600: The Jarawa and Nefzaouas quoted were of Christian confession before the arrival of Islam . In any case, even if the hypothesis of the massive conversion of whole tribes appears fragile, individual conversions seem more probable. With the Arab conquest and the arrival of Islam in Tunisia in the eighth century, the " People of the Book " (including Jews and Christians) were given a choice between conversion to Islam (which some Jewish Berbers have done) and legal status as dhimmi . The dhimmi

6156-463: The Pagans Stigmatized again, they are excluded from any public office, their synagogues were to be transformed into churches, their worship is proscribed and their meetings forbidden, though the legislation was hardly enforced. If the emperor Maurice attempts to repeal these measures, his successors return there and an imperial edict imposes baptism on them. Nevertheless, in the 7th century,

6318-576: The Punic qrt-ḥdšt ( Punic : 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 , lit.   'New City'). Punic , which is sometimes used synonymously with Carthaginian, derives from the Latin poenus and punicus , based on the Ancient Greek word Φοῖνιξ ( Phoinix ), pl. Φοίνικες ( Phoinikes ), an exonym used to describe the Canaanite port towns with which the Greeks traded. Latin later borrowed

6480-581: The Roman Empire , the Jews of Roman Africa were romanized after hundreds of years of subjection and would have adopted Latinized names, worn togas , and spoken Latin. According to St. Augustine , only their morals, modeled by Jewish religious precepts ( circumcision , kashrut , observance of Shabbat , modesty of dress ), distinguish them from the rest of the population. On the intellectual level, they devote themselves to translation for Christian clients and to

6642-466: The Romans a capitation tax of 2 shekels . Under the dominion of the Romans and (after 429) of the fairly tolerant Vandals , the Jews of Tunis increased and prospered to such a degree that early African church councils deemed it necessary to enact restrictive laws against them. Al-Qayrawani relates that at the time of the conquest of Hippo Zaritus (Arabic: Bizerta ) by Hasan ibn al-Nu'man in 698

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6804-618: The Spartan Kingdom (subject peoples serving as serfs for the Punic elite and state) and, to a lesser extent, the Roman Republic (allies contributing manpower and tribute for Rome's war machine). In 509 BC, Carthage and Rome signed the first of several treaties demarcating their respective influence and commercial activities. This is the first textual source demonstrating Carthaginian control over Sicily and Sardinia. The treaty also conveys

6966-423: The ancient world , in addition to lucrative exports of agricultural products and manufactured goods . This commercial empire was secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean , and an army composed heavily of foreign mercenaries and auxiliaries , particularly Iberians , Balearics , Gauls , Britons , Sicilians , Italians , Greeks , Numidians , and Libyans . As

7128-463: The messiah had not come, they were to be forced to embrace Islam . Accordingly, Jews as well as Christians were compelled either to embrace Islam or to leave the country. 'Abd al-Mu'min's successors pursued the same course, and their severe measures resulted either in emigration or in forcible conversions. Soon becoming suspicious of the sincerity of the new converts, the Almohadis compelled them to wear

7290-526: The qaid charge of the Jews (qdyd el yihud) and that of Receiver General of Finance under the authority of the Treasurer of the Kingdom (khaznadar). He was an intermediary between the bey and his community and therefore enjoyed entry to the court. He had a very important bureaucratic power over those co-religionaries in whom he apportioned the payment of the jizya – of which they were collectively liable – according to

7452-412: The siege of Agrigentum , Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, which claimed Hannibal Mago himself. His successor, Himilco, managed to extend the campaign, capturing the city of Gela and repeatedly defeating the army of Dionysius of Syracuse. But he, too, was struck with plague and forced to sue for peace before returning to Carthage. By 398 BC, Dionysius had regained his strength and broke

7614-401: The western Mediterranean . By 300 BC, through its vast patchwork of colonies , vassal states , and satellite states , held together by its naval dominance of the western and central Mediterranean Sea, Carthage controlled the largest territory in the region, including the coast of northwest Africa , southern and eastern Iberia , and the islands of Sicily , Sardinia , Corsica , Malta , and

7776-451: The "New City" Carthage. In just seven years since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians build a successful kingdom under Dido's rule. She is adored by her subjects and presented with a festival of praise. Virgil portrays her character as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who had recently escaped from Troy . The two fall in love during a hunting expedition, and Dido comes to believe they will marry. Jupiter sends

7938-466: The "superior power" of the western Mediterranean , and would remain so for roughly the next three centuries. Carthage took control of all nearby Phoenician colonies, including Hadrumetum , Utica , Hippo Diarrhytus and Kerkouane ; subjugated many neighboring Libyan tribes, and occupied coastal North Africa from Morocco to western Libya . It held Sardinia, Malta , the Balearic Islands , and

8100-569: The 2nd or 4th century, was discovered in Naro (present Hammam Lif ) in 1883. The mosaic covering the floor of the main hall, which includes a Latin inscription mentioning sancta synagoga naronitana ("holy synagogue of Naro") and motifs practiced throughout Roman Africa, testified to the ease of its members and the quality of their exchanges with other populations. Other Jewish communities are attested by epigraphic or literary references to Utique, Chemtou, Hadrumète or Thusuros (present Tozeur ). As elsewhere in

8262-580: The 3rd–5th century CE was discovered by the French captain Ernest De Prudhomme in his Hammam-Lif residence in 1883 called in Latin as sancta synagoga naronitana ("holy synagogue of Naro"). After the fall of the Second Temple , many exiled Jews settled in Tunis and engaged in agriculture, cattle-raising, and trade. They were divided into clans governed by their respective heads ( mokdem ), and had to pay

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8424-608: The Beylic Court, they performed executive functions of court – collectors of taxes, treasurers and intermediaries without authority over Muslims – and noble professions in medicine, finance or diplomacy. Even if they settled in the same neighborhoods, they had virtually no connection with the Tuansa, to which Jews from the rest of the Mediterranean Basin have assimilated. The Tuansa spoke the Judeo-Tunisian dialect, and occupied

8586-479: The European mainland, in what are today Genoa and Marseilles . Foreshadowing the later Sicilian Wars, settlements in Crete and Sicily continually clashed with the Greeks, and Phoenician control over all of Sicily was brief. Nearly all these areas would come under the leadership and protection of Carthage, which eventually founded cities of its own, especially after the decline of Tyre and Sidon . The site of Carthage

8748-479: The Fatimids in 909. The Fatimids, in general, were more tolerant towards dhimmi subjects than interpretations in orthodox Sunni Islam. Jews were employed in the civil service, sumptuary laws for non-Muslims were repealed, and the discriminatory tariffs were not imposed. Jews worked in the service of the dynasty, as treasurers, doctors, or tax collectors but their situation remained precarious. Kairouan (Qayrawan), now

8910-458: The Fatimids to Egypt in 972 led their Zirid vassals to seize power and eventually break their bonds of political and religious submission in the middle of the eleventh century. The Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym , were sent in retaliation against Tunisia by the Fatimids, took Kairouan in 1057 and plundered it, which empties it of all its population then plunges it into the doldrums. Combined with

9072-519: The Granas managed to control and prosper trade with Livorno. Their trading houses also engaged in credit banking activities and participated in the purchase of Christian slaves captured by privateers and resold. The Tuansa saw themselves conceding the monopoly of the leather trade by the Muradid and then Husainid beys . Jews who were traveling as Tunisians worked in the retail trade in the souks of Tunis , thus shipping imported products from Europe under

9234-702: The Greek term a second time as phoenix , pl. phoenices . Both Punic and Phoenician were used by the Romans and Greeks to refer to Phoenicians across the Mediterranean; modern scholars use the term Punic exclusively for Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, such as the Carthaginians. Specific Punic groups are often referred to with hyphenated terms, like "Siculo-Punic" for Phoenicians in Sicily or "Sardo-Punic" for those in Sardinia. Ancient Greek authors sometimes referred to

9396-470: The Greeks with respect to Sicily , and the Romans over dominance of the western Mediterranean. Inevitably, foreign accounts of Carthage usually reflect significant bias, especially those written during or after the Punic Wars, when the interpretatio Romana perpetuated a "malicious and distorted view". Excavations of ancient Carthaginian sites since the late 19th century has brought to light more material evidence that either contradict or confirm aspects of

9558-464: The Jewish population was augmented by Spanish immigrants, who, fleeing from the persecutions of the Visigothic king Sisebut and his successors, escaped to Mauritania and settled in Byzantine cities. Some Jews have fled the Byzantine-controlled cities to settle in the mountains or on the confines of the desert and fight there with the support of the Berber tribes, many of whom would have been won by their proselytism. According to other historians,

9720-459: The Jews a privileged status confirmed by the Magna Charta pro Judaeis under the Roman Empire . These Jews were joined by Jewish pilgrims , expelled from Rome for proselytizing, 20 by a number of defeated in the First Jewish–Roman War , deported and resold as slaves in North Africa, and also by Jews fleeing the repression of revolts in Cyrenaica and Judea under the reigns of the emperors Domitian , Trajan , and Hadrian . According to Josephus,

9882-402: The Jews and collection of Jewish taxes . Three kinds of taxes were imposed on Tunisian Jews: In addition to these, every Jewish tradesman and industrialist had to pay an annual tax to the guild . After the 13th century, taxes were collected by a qaid , who also served as an intermediary between the government and the Jews. His authority within the Jewish community was supreme. The members of

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10044-427: The Jews of Tunisia (until the establishment of the French protectorate) was first studied by David Cazès in 1888 in his Essay on the History of the Israelites of Tunisia ; André Chouraqui (1952) and later by Haim Zeev Hirschberg (1965), in the more general context of North African Judaism . The research on the subject was then enriched by Robert Attal and Yitzhak Avrahami. In addition, various institutions, including

10206-405: The Jews, who were the only non-Muslim religionists left, to wear yellow turban and garments and caliph Muhammad I al-Mustansir renewed these regulations in 1250. The yellow patch Tunisian Jews wore from this time until the nineteenth century became so emblematic that they became commonly referred to as shikliyyun . Besides Kairwan, there were at that time important communities in Mehdia , Kalaa ,

10368-410: The Judaization of the Berbers would have taken place four centuries earlier, with the arrival of Jews fleeing the repression of the Cyrenaic revolt; The transition would have been made progressively through a Judeo-Pagan syncretism with the cult of Tanit , still anchored after the fall of Carthage. Whatever the hypothesis, the historian of the fourteenth century Ibn Khaldun confirms their existence on

10530-437: The Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The first Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean grew up on the two paths to Iberia's mineral wealth: along the northwest African coast and on Sicily , Sardinia , and the Balearic Islands . As the largest and wealthiest city-state among the Phoenicians, Tyre led the way in settling or controlling coastal areas. Strabo claims that the Tyrians alone founded three hundred colonies on

10692-464: The Muslims sometimes did. Moreover, they were periodically obliged to carry out public works and were subjected to forced labor which affected mainly the poorest of the communities. Regarding dress code, the chechia that served as their headdress had to be black and wrapped in a dark turban, unlike the Muslims who wore a red chechia surrounded by a white turban. The Granas, dressed in European fashion, wore wigs and round hats like Christian merchants. At

10854-444: The Phoenicians established numerous colonies and trading posts along the coasts of the Mediterranean. Organized in fiercely independent city-states, the Phoenicians lacked the numbers or even the desire to expand overseas; most colonies had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and only a few, including Carthage, would grow larger. Motives for colonization were usually practical, such as seeking safe harbors for their merchant fleets, maintaining

11016-559: The Punic Wars, and to varying degrees were shaped by the hostilities. Popular and scholarly attitudes towards Carthage historically reflected the prevailing Greco-Roman view, though archaeological research since the late 19th century has helped shed more light and nuance on Carthaginian civilization. The name Carthage / ˈ k ɑː r θ ɪ dʒ / is the Early Modern anglicisation of Middle French Carthage /kar.taʒ/ , from Latin Carthāgō and Karthāgō (cf. Greek Karkhēdōn ( Καρχηδών ) and Etruscan *Carθaza ) from

11178-410: The Punic-speakers in North Africa called themselves Chanani (Canaanites), but it has recently been argued that this is a misreading. Numismatic evidence from Sicily shows that some western Phoenicians made use of the term Phoinix. Compared to contemporaneous civilizations such as Rome and Greece, far less is known about Carthage, as most indigenous records were lost in the wholesale destruction of

11340-433: The Romans deported 30,000 Jews to Carthage from Judea after the First Jewish-Roman War. It is very likely that these Jews founded communities on the territory of present-day Tunisia. A tradition among the descendants of the first Jewish settlers was that their ancestors settled in that part of North Africa long before the destruction of the First Temple in the 6th century BCE. The ruins of an ancient synagogue dating back to

11502-480: The Second Punic War, but was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC after the Third Punic War . The Romans later founded a new city in its place. All remnants of Carthaginian civilization came under Roman rule by the first century AD , and Rome subsequently became the dominant Mediterranean power, paving the way for its rise as a major empire . Despite the cosmopolitan character of its empire, Carthage's culture and identity remained rooted in its Canaanite heritage, albeit

11664-626: The Talmudic academies of Babylonia, acting as intermediaries between them and his own community. Jacob ibn Shahin was succeeded by his son, Nissim ben Jacob , considered the greatest of the Qayrawan sages. Another academy was founded by Chushiel ben Elchanan , originally from Bari , developed the simultaneous study of the Talmud of Babylon and the Jerusalem Talmud . His son and disciple Chananel ben Chushiel

11826-458: The Tuansa . The socio-cultural and economic differences between these two communities have increased in the nineteenth century. The Granas, due to their European origins and higher standard of living, but also to their economic, family and cultural ties with Livorno, found it difficult to cope with their indigenous coreligionists, the Tuansa, who were considered less "civilized". The Granas were an important contributions whereas they represented only

11988-589: The Tyrian colony of Cadiz in southern Spain, which supplied raw materials for manufacturing in Tyre, and the other between North Africa and the northern Mediterranean, namely Sicily, Italy, and Greece. In contrast to most Phoenician colonies, Carthage grew larger and more quickly thanks to its combination of favorable climate, arable land, and lucrative trade routes. Within just one century of its founding, its population rose to 30,000. Meanwhile, its mother city, which for centuries

12150-571: The Tyrians discover the head of an ox, an omen that the city would be wealthy "but laborious and always enslaved". In response they move the site of the city elsewhere, where the head of a horse is found, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of Carthage, derived from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht , meaning "New City". The city's wealth and prosperity attracts both Phoenicians from nearby Utica and

12312-595: The United States consul in Tunis, Mordecai Manuel Noah , gave the following account of the situation of the Tunisian Jews: With all the apparent oppression, the Jews are the leading men; they are in Barbary the principal mechanics, they are at the head of the custom-house, they farm the revenues; the exportation of various articles, and the monopoly of various merchandise, are secured to them by purchase, they control

12474-502: The agreement of the authorities, under a law of 423. However, various councils held by the Church of Carthage , recommending Christians not to follow certain practices of their Jewish neighbors, testify to the maintenance of their influence. At the beginning of the 5th century the arrival of the Vandals has opened a period of respite for the Jews. The Arianism of the new masters of Roman Africa

12636-596: The ancient western and central Mediterranean Sea . Following the Punic Wars , Carthage was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, who later rebuilt the city lavishly. Carthage was settled around 814 BC by colonists from Tyre , a leading Phoenician city-state located in present-day Lebanon . In the 7th century BC , following Phoenicia's conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire , Carthage became independent, gradually expanding its economic and political hegemony across

12798-442: The authorities didn't seem to intervene. An observer declared that the Jews were recognized "not only in their black costume, but also in the imprint of a curse they carry on their foreheads". At the end of the eighteenth century, Hammouda Pasha denied Jews the right to acquire and possess real estate properties, while the learning of literal Arabic and the use of the Arabic alphabet was also prohibited during this period. Finally,

12960-695: The authors attached to this community, and that the associations of Jews originating from one or another community (Ariana, Bizerte, etc.) or Tunisia multiply. As for the fate of the Jewish community during the period of the German occupation of Tunisia (1942–1943), it remains relatively uncommon, and the Symposium on the Jewish Community of Tunisia held at the University of La Manouba in February 1998 (the first of its kind on this research theme) does not mention it. However,

13122-556: The beginning of the eighteenth century, the political status of the Jews improved somewhat thanks to the growing influence of the political agents of the European powers who, seeking to improve the living conditions of the Christian residents, also pleaded the Jews. But if the wealthy Jews – who held positions in administration or trade – succeeded in being respected, especially through the protection of influential Muslim personalities, poor Jews were often victims of bullying and even murder, and

13284-507: The behavior of the Muslim population towards the communities varied from the will to rigorous application of the dhimma by the Ulama to the absence of hostility of the rural population, marginalized urban fringes but assured of impunity. Communities were structured under the authority of a leader of the "Jewish nation" with the title of hasar ve ha-tafsar, a prestigious and powerful post containing both

13446-551: The besiegers' lines and routed them. Himilco and his chief officers abandoned their army and fled Sicily. Once again, the Carthaginians were forced to press for peace. Returning to Carthage in disgrace, Himilco was met with contempt and committed suicide by starving himself. Notwithstanding consistently poor luck and costly reversals, Sicily remained an obsession for Carthage. Over the next fifty years, an uneasy peace reigned, as Carthaginian and Greek forces engaged in constant skirmishes. By 340 BC, Carthage had been pushed entirely into

13608-418: The caliphate of Baghdad; and secondarily, because of some indignities committed by Idris against Jewish women. The victorious Idris avenged this defection by attacking the Jews in their cities. The Jews were required to pay a capitation-tax and provide a certain number of virgins annually for Idris' harem . The Jewish tribe 'Ubaid Allah preferred to migrate to the east rather than to submit to Idris; according to

13770-651: The capital of the Aghlabids, was the seat of the most important community in the territory, attracting migrants from Umayyad, Italy, and the Abbasid Empire. This community would become one of the major poles of Judaism between the ninth and eleventh centuries, both economically, culturally and intellectually, ensuring, through correspondence with the Talmudic academies in Babylonia . Many major figures of Judaism are associated with

13932-476: The caprices of princes and outbursts of fanaticism. Petty officials were allowed to impose upon them the most difficult drudgery without compensation. They were obliged to wear a special costume, consisting of a blue frock without collar or ordinary sleeves (loose linen sleeves being substituted), wide linen drawers, black slippers, and a small black skull-cap; stockings might be worn in winter only. They might ride only on asses or mules, and were not permitted to use

14094-614: The city after the Third Punic War. Sources of knowledge are limited to ancient translations of Punic into Greek and Latin, Punic inscriptions on monuments and buildings, and archaeological findings of Carthage's material culture. The majority of available primary sources about Carthage were written by Greek and Roman historians , most notably Livy , Polybius , Appian , Cornelius Nepos , Silius Italicus , Plutarch , Dio Cassius , and Herodotus . These authors came from cultures that were nearly always in competition with Carthage;

14256-599: The city of Tunis, which speedily gained in population and in commercial importance. The conquest of Tunisia by the Almohad Caliphate in the 1150s proved disastrous to the Jews of Tunis. The rise of the Almohad Caliphate shaked both the Jewish communities of Tunisia and the Muslims attached to the cult of the saints, declared by the new sovereigns as heretics . Jews were forced to apostasy by Caliph Abd al-Mu'min . Many massacres took place, despite many formal conversions by

14418-838: The city. Among them is Isaac Israeli ben Solomon , a private doctor of the Aghlabide Ziadet Allah III and then of the Fatimids Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah and Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah and author of various medical treatises in Arabic which would enrich the medieval medicine through their translation by Constantine the African , adapting the teachings of the Alexandrian school to the Jewish dogma. Israeli's works in Arabic were studied in their Hebrew and Latin translations in both medieval and Renaissance Europe. Dunash ibn Tamim , his disciple,

14580-448: The city. This quarter, called the "Hira," constituted until 1857 the ghetto of Tunis; it was closed at night. In 1270, in consequence of the defeat of Louis IX of France , who had undertaken a crusade against Tunis, the cities of Kairwan and Ḥammat were declared holy; and the Jews were required either to leave them or to convert to Islam. From that year until the conquest of Tunis by France (1857), Jews and Christians were forbidden to pass

14742-480: The coast to Himera, making camp before engaging in battle against the forces of Syracuse and its ally Agrigentum . The Greeks won a decisive victory, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians, including their leader Hamilcar, who was either killed during the battle or committed suicide in shame. As a result, the Carthaginian nobility sued for peace. The conflict proved to be a major turning point for Carthage. Though it would retain some presence in Sicily, most of

14904-488: The colonies, the Carthaginians appointed magistrates to directly control their own (a policy that would lead to a number of Iberian towns siding with the Romans during the Punic Wars ). In many other instances, Carthage's hegemony was established through treaties, alliances, tributary obligations, and other such arrangements. It had elements of the Delian League led by Athens (allies shared funding and manpower for defense),

15066-611: The common people. By 410 BC, Carthage had recovered from its serious defeats in Sicily. It had conquered much of modern-day Tunisia and founded new colonies across northern Africa. It also extended its reach well beyond the Mediterranean; Hanno the Navigator journeyed down the West African coast, and Himilco the Navigator had explored the European Atlantic coast. Expeditions were also led into Morocco and Senegal , as well as

15228-502: The conflict between Carthage and the Greeks centered on economic concerns, as each side sought to advance their own commercial interests and influence by controlling key trade routes. For centuries, the Phoenician and Greek city-states had embarked on maritime trade and colonization across the Mediterranean. While the Phoenicians were initially dominant, Greek competition increasingly undermined their monopoly. Both sides had begun establishing colonies, trading posts, and commercial relations in

15390-678: The council of elders, as well as the rabbis, were nominated at his recommendation, and no rabbinical decision was valid unless approved by him. During the conquest of Tunis by the Spaniards in 1535, many Jews were made prisoners and sold as slaves in several Christian countries. After the victory of the Ottomans over the Spaniards in 1574, Tunisia became a province of the Ottoman Empire led by deys, from 1591, then by beys, from 1640. In this context, Jews arriving from Italy have played an important role in

15552-452: The culture, wealth, and traditions of Tyre to Carthage. The threat to the Phoenician trade monopoly—by Etruscan and Greek competition in the west, and through foreign subjugation of its homeland in the east—also created the conditions for Carthage to consolidate its power and further its commercial interests . Another contributing factor may have been domestic politics: while little is known of Carthage's government and leadership prior to

15714-557: The dominant power of the western Mediterranean, Carthage inevitably came into conflict with many neighbours and rivals, from the Berbers of North Africa to the nascent Roman Republic . Following centuries of conflict with the Sicilian Greeks , its growing competition with Rome culminated in the Punic Wars (264–146 BC), which saw some of the largest and most sophisticated battles in antiquity. Carthage narrowly avoided destruction after

15876-561: The earlier work of Trogus . Princess Dido is the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre, who upon his death bequeaths the throne jointly to her and her brother Pygmalion. After cheating his sister out of her share of political power, Pygmalion murders her husband Acerbas (Phoenician: Zakarbaal), also known as Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart , whose wealth and power he covets. Before her tyrannical brother can take her late husband's wealth, Dido immediately flees with her followers to establish

16038-444: The end of the fifteenth century, converted back to Judaism at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and left Tuscany to settle in Tunisia, in the framework of the establishment of commercial relations. They spoke and wrote Tuscan and sometimes Spanish, and constituted a highly influential economic and cultural elite in the rest of the Italian community. Their surnames recalled their Spanish or Portuguese origin. Quickly introduced to

16200-407: The eve of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb on the basis of eleventh-century Arab chronicles. However, this version is fairly questioned: Haim Zeev Hirschberg recalls that the historian wrote his work several centuries after the facts, Mohamed Talbi that the French translation is not totally exact since it does not render the idea of the contingency expressed by the author, and Gabriel Camps that

16362-537: The extent to which Carthage was, at the very least, on equal terms with Rome, whose influence was limited to parts of central and southern Italy. Carthaginian dominance of the sea reflected not only its Phoenician heritage, but an approach to empire-building that differed greatly from Rome. Carthage emphasized maritime trade over territorial expansion, and accordingly focused its settlements and influence on coastal areas while investing more on its navy. For similar reasons, its ambitions were more commercial than imperial, which

16524-435: The fifteenth century, each community was autonomous – recognized by power from the moment it counts at least ten major men – and has its own institutions; Their communal affairs were directed by a chief (zaken ha-yehudim) nominated by the government, and assisted by a council of notables (gdolei ha-qahal) made up of the most educated and wealthy family heads. The chief's functions consisted in the administration of justice among

16686-727: The foreign subjugation of the Phoenician homeland, led to its supplanting of Sidon as the supreme Phoenician city state. Carthage's empire was largely informal and multifaceted, consisting of varying levels of control exercised in equally variable ways. It established new colonies, repopulated and reinforced older ones, formed defensive pacts with other Phoenician city states, and acquired territories directly by conquest. While some Phoenician colonies willingly submitted to Carthage, paying tribute and giving up their foreign policy , others in Iberia and Sardinia resisted Carthaginian efforts. Whereas other Phoenician cities never exercised actual control of

16848-531: The governor of that district was a Jew. When Tunis came under the dominion of the Arabs , or of the Arabian caliphate of Baghdad , another influx of Arabic-speaking Jews from the Levant into Tunis took place. The first documents attesting to the presence of Jews in Tunisia date from the second century. Tertullian describes Jewish communities alongside which Pagan Jews of Punic, Roman and Berber origin and, initially, Christians; The success of Jewish proselytism led

17010-456: The impetus for her escape is her tyrannical brother Pygmalion, whose secret murder of her husband is revealed to her in a dream. Cleverly exploiting her brother's greed, Dido tricks Pygmalion into supporting her journey to find and bring back riches for him. Through this ruse she sets sail with gold and allies secretly in search of a new home. As in Justin's account, upon landing in North Africa, Dido

17172-542: The indigenous Libyans, whose king Iarbas now seeks Dido's hand in marriage. Threatened with war should she refuse, and also loyal to the memory of her deceased husband, the queen orders a funeral pyre to be built, where she commits suicide by stabbing herself with a sword. She is thereafter worshiped as a goddess by the people of Carthage, who are described as brave in battle but prone to the "cruel religious ceremony" of human sacrifice, even of children, whenever they seek divine relief from troubles of any kind. Virgil's epic poem

17334-404: The island of Djerba , and the city of Tunis. Considered at first as foreigners, the Jews were not permitted to settle in the interior of Tunis, but had to live in a building called a funduk . Subsequently, however, a wealthy and humane Muslim , Sidi Mahrez , who in 1159 had rendered great services to the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min , obtained for them the right to settle in a special quarter of

17496-502: The island would remain in Greek (and later Roman) hands. The Carthaginians would never again expand their territory or sphere of influence on the island to any meaningful degree, instead turning their attention to securing or increasing their hold in North Africa and Iberia. The death of King Hamilcar and the disastrous conduct of the war also prompted political reforms that established an oligarchic republic. Carthage would henceforth constrain its rulers through assemblies of both nobles and

17658-442: The king of Tyre who gave tribute to Shalmaneser III in 841 BC, with 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤏𐤑𐤅𐤓 ‎ Ba‘al-'azor (Phoenician form of the name) or Baal-Eser/Balazeros (Greek form of the name), Dido's grandfather. The Nora Stone , found on Sardinia, has been interpreted by Frank Moore Cross as naming Pygmalion as the king of the general who was using the stone to record his victory over the local populace. On paleographic grounds,

17820-575: The land presently known as Tunisia: However, if these hypotheses were verified, it is probable that these Israelites would have assimilated to the Punic population and sacrificed to their divinities, like Baal and Tanit . Thereafter, Jews from Alexandria or Cyrene could have settled in Carthage following the Hellenization of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin . The cultural context allowed them to practice Judaism more in keeping with ancestral traditions. Small Jewish communities existed in

17982-401: The large, centrally-located island, each establishing a large number of colonies and trading posts along its coasts; battles raged between these settlements for centuries, with neither side ever having total, long-term control over the island. In 480 BC, Gelo , the tyrant of Syracuse , attempted to unite the island under his rule with the backing of other Greek city-states . Threatened by

18144-468: The late ninth century the Aghlabid ruler but also Maliki qadi of Kairuoan issued decrees that ordered dhimmis to wear a white patch on the shoulder of their garment. The patch for Jews had the image of an ape, an image based on koranic interepretation that became standard in-anti-dhimmi propaganda and was polemic when referring to Jews. It is not clear how long these humiliating decree remained in force, but it

18306-427: The later days of Punic domination over North Africa, without it being possible to say whether they developed or disappeared later. Jews have in any case settled in the new Roman province of Africa , enjoying the favors of Julius Caesar . The latter, in recognition of the support of King Antipater in his struggle against Pompey , recognized Judaism and the status of Religio licita , and according to Josephus granted

18468-486: The leadership of a Muslim amine, or in the Jewish quarter. In 1710, a century of friction between the two groups led to a coup de force of the Livornese community, with a tacit agreement of the authorities. By creating its own community institutions, it creates a schism with the indigenous population. Each of them had their council of notables, their grand rabbi, their rabbinical court , synagogues, schools, butcher's shop and

18630-556: The life of the country and in the history of Tunisian Judaism. During the Spanish occupation of the Tunisian coasts (1535–74) the Jewish communities of Bizerte , Susa , Sfax , and other seaports suffered greatly at the hands of the conquerors; while under the subsequent Turkish rule the Jews of Tunis enjoyed a fair amount of security. They were free to practice their religion and administer their own affairs. Nevertheless, they were subject to

18792-528: The local Arabic while introducing their traditional liturgy to their new host country. From the beginning of the 18th century the political status of the Jews in Tunis improved. This was due to the increasing influence of the political agents of the European powers, who, while seeking to ameliorate the condition of the Christian residents, had to plead also the cause of the Jews, whom Muslim legislation classed with Christians. Haim Joseph David Azulai , who visited Tunis in 1772, praised this development. In 1819,

18954-431: The main hub for trade between Africa and the rest of the ancient world, it also provided a myriad of rare and luxurious goods, including terracotta figurines and masks, jewelry, delicately carved ivories, ostrich eggs, and a variety of foods and wine. Carthage's growing economic prominence coincided with a nascent national identity. Although Carthaginians remained staunchly Phoenician in their customs and faith, by at least

19116-463: The middle of the 6th century BC. It had grown into a fully independent thalassocracy , embarking its own colonization efforts across the western Mediterranean. It nonetheless maintained amicable cultural, political, and commercial ties with its founding city and the Phoenician homeland; it continued to receive migrants from Tyre, and for a time continued the practice of sending annual tribute to Tyre's temple of Melqart, albeit at irregular intervals. By

19278-404: The mint and regulate the coinage of money, they keep the bey's jewels and valuable articles, and are his treasurers, secretaries, and interpreters; the little known of arts, science, and medicine is confined to the Jews. If a Jew commits a crime, if the punishment affects his life, these people, so national, always purchase his pardon; the disgrace of one affects the whole community; they are ever in

19440-537: The mixed Punic inhabitants of North Africa ('Libya') as 'Liby-Phoenicians'. It is unclear what term, if any, the Carthaginians used to refer to themselves. The Phoenician homeland in the Levant was natively known as 𐤐𐤕 ( Pūt ) and its people as the 𐤐𐤍𐤉𐤌 ( Pōnnim ). Ancient Egyptian accounts suggest the people from the region identified as Kenaani or Kinaani , equivalent to Canaanite . A passage from Augustine has often been interpreted as indicating that

19602-476: The morals and doctrines of the Jews of Tunisia, meant they as 'dhimmis' (after the disappearance of Christianity in the Maghreb around 1150) isolated from their other coreligionists, and was strongly criticized by the Maimonides . The first Almohad, ' Abd al-Mu'min , claimed that Muhammad had permitted the Jews free exercise of their religion for only five hundred years, and had declared that if, after that period,

19764-486: The most influential civilizations of antiquity, Carthage is mostly remembered for its long and bitter conflict with Rome, which threatened the rise of the Roman Republic and almost changed the course of Western civilization . Due to the destruction of virtually all Carthaginian texts after the Third Punic War, much of what is known about its civilization comes from Roman and Greek sources, many of whom wrote during or after

19926-649: The pagan authorities to take legal measures, while Tertullian wrote a pamphlet against Judaism at the same time. On the other hand, the Talmud mention the existence of several Carthaginian rabbis. In addition, Alfred Louis Delattre demonstrates towards the end of the nineteenth century that the Gammarth necropolis , made up of 200 rock chambers, each containing up to 17 complex tombs (kokhim), contains Jewish symbols and funerary inscriptions in Hebrew , Latin and Greek . A synagogue of

20088-405: The part of the judicial system which was arbitrary in their regard, with the exception of the more tolerant Hanafi courts. Jews were still subjected to the collective payment of the jizya – the annual amount of which varied according to the year, from 10,332 piastres in 1756 to 4,572 piastres in 1806 – and had to pay additional taxes (ghrâma) whenever the sovereign's treasury was in difficulty, as

20250-438: The peace treaty, striking at the Carthaginian stronghold of Motya in western Sicily. Himilco responded decisively, leading an expedition that not only reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messene (present-day Messina). Within a year, the Carthaginians were besieging Syracuse itself, and came close to victory until the plague once again ravaged and reduced their forces. The fighting in Sicily swung in favor of Carthage less than

20412-418: The political level, the community emancipated itself from the exile of Baghdad at the beginning of the eleventh century and acquired its first secular chief. Each community was placed under the authority of a council of notables headed by a chief (naggid) who, through the faithful, disposes of the resources necessary for the proper functioning of the various institutions: worship, schools, a tribunal headed by

20574-514: The potential power of a united Sicily, Carthage intervened militarily, led by King Hamilcar of the Magonid dynasty. Traditional accounts, including by Herodotus and Diodorus, number Hamilcar's army at around 300,000; though likely exaggerated, it was likely of formidable strength. While sailing to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (modern-day Palermo ), he spent three days reorganizing his forces and repairing his battered fleet. The Carthaginians marched along

20736-459: The presence of the bey, every minister has two or three Jewish agents, and when they unite to attain an object, it cannot be prevented. These people, then, whatever may be said of their oppression, possess a very controlling influence, their friendship is worthy of being preserved by public functionaries, and their opposition is to be dreaded. Marrano families, which have been settling in Livorno from

20898-475: The pronunciation of the Shahada . Indeed, many Jews, while outwardly professing Islam, remained faithful to their religion, which they observed in secret, as advocated by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon . Jewish practices disappeared from the Maghreb from 1165 to 1230; Still they were saddened by the sincere adherence of some to Islam, fears of persecution and the relativization of any religious affiliation. This Islamization of

21060-563: The rabbi-judge ( dayan ), etc. The maggid of Kairouan undoubtedly had the ascendancy over those of the communities of smaller size. The Jews participate greatly in the exchanges with Al-Andalus , Egypt , and the Middle East. Grouped in separate quarters (although many Jews settled in the Muslim districts of Kairouan during the Fatimid period), they had house of prayer, schools and a court. The port cities of Mahdia , Sousse , Sfax and Gabès saw

21222-710: The reign of Abu l-Hasan Ali I (1735–1756), he also served as treasurer of the Bey and many of the key posts in the administration of finance – collection of taxes and customs duties, scheduling of expenditure, handling of cash, keeping books of account or paying the salaries of the Janissaries – were occupied by Jewish agents. Ancient Carthage French Algeria (19th–20th centuries) Algerian War (1954–1962) 1990s– 2000s 2010s to present Ancient Carthage ( / ˈ k ɑːr θ ɪ dʒ / KAR -thij ; Punic : 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 , lit.   ' New City ' )

21384-406: The resources of each household. It also refers to those who performed the duties imposed by the authorities. A state farmer, surrounded by some of the most fortunate and educated notables, also collected taxes such as the tithes, the tax on kosher meat and the offerings of the faithful. These allow him to pay for his services, those of his deputies and the rabbis-judges104 and finance the synagogues,

21546-458: The schools linked to them, the ritual abattoir , the cemetery , the relief fund for the needy and the sick and the rabbinical court , which were only in large cities under the presidency of the Grand Rabbi. Administrator of the affairs of the community designated the local secular or religious leaders – with the written approval of the Tunisian authorities – and gives them broad orientations. From

21708-506: The seventh century BC, they had developed a distinct Punic culture infused with local influences. Certain deities became more prominent in the Carthaginian pantheon than in Phoenicia; into the fifth century BC, the Carthaginians were worshiping Greek deities such as Demeter. These trends most likely precipitated the colony's emergence as an independent polity. Though the specific date and circumstances are unknown, Carthage became independent in

21870-429: The sixth century BC, Tyre's power declined further still after its voluntary submission to the Persian king Cambyses ( r.  530–522 BC), which resulted in the incorporation of the Phoenician homeland into the Persian empire. Lacking sufficient naval strength, Cambyses sought Tyrian assistance for his planned conquest of Carthage, which may indicate that the former Tyrian colony had become wealthy enough to warrant

22032-444: The smaller cities of Selinus (modern Selinunte ) and Himera —where the Carthaginians had been dealt a humiliating defeat seventy years prior—before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war. But the primary enemy, Syracuse, remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition to claim the rest of the island. This time, however, he met with fiercer resistance as well as misfortune. During

22194-732: The smoke from the pyre as he sails away, and though he does not know the fate of Dido, he identifies it as a bad omen. Ultimately, his descendants go on to found the Roman Kingdom , the predecessor of the Roman Empire. Like Justin, Virgil's story essentially conveys Rome's attitude towards Carthage, as exemplified by Cato the Elder 's famous utterance, " Carthago delenda est "—"Carthage must be destroyed". In essence, Rome and Carthage were fated for conflict: Aeneas chose Rome over Dido, eliciting her dying curse upon his Roman descendants, and thus providing

22356-720: The southwest corner of the island. Michel Abitbol He is considered an expert on the history of Morocco and the history the Jews of North Africa . In the 80s, he gave courses at Université Paris VIII and Yale University . He is currently professor and chair of the Department of African Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . He is the scientific director of the Center for Research on Moroccan Jewry, founded in Jerusalem in 1994. He writes his books and monographs in French. From 1978 until 1981 and from 1987 until 1994 he

22518-456: The sphere of influence of the modernist currents, plays a dominant role. The vast majority of Tunisian Jews have relocated to Israel and have switched to using Hebrew as their home language . Tunisian Jews living in France typically use French as their first language, while the few still left in Tunisia tend to use either French or Judeo-Tunisian Arabic in their everyday lives. The history of

22680-584: The stone is dated to the 9th century BC. (Cross's translation, with a longer discussion of the Nora stone, is found in the Pygmalion article). If Cross's interpretation is correct, this presents inscriptional evidence substantiating the existence of a 9th-century-BC king of Tyre named (in Greek) Pygmalion. The Roman historian Justin , writing in the second century AD, provides an account of the city's founding based on

22842-468: The study of Judaism in Tunisia has grown rapidly during the progressive dissolution of the Jewish community in the context of decolonization and the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict while Habib Kazdaghli believes that the departure of the Jewish community is the cause of the low number of studies related to the topic. Kazdaghli, however, points out that their production increases since the 1990s, due to

23004-491: The study of the Law, many Rabbis were originally from Carthage. From an economic point of view, they worked in agriculture, livestock and trade. Their situation is modified from the edict of Milan (313) which legalized Christianity. Jews were gradually excluded from most public functions and proselytism was severely punished. The construction of new synagogues was forbidden towards the end of the fourth century and their maintenance without

23166-461: The third century BC, the reign of Mago I ( c. 550–530), and the political dominance of the Magonid family in subsequent decades, precipitated Carthage's rise as a dominant power. Justin states that Mago, who was also general of the army, was the first Carthaginian leader to "[set] in order the military system", which may have entailed the introduction of new military strategies and technologies. He

23328-406: The traditional picture of Carthage; however, many of these findings remain ambiguous. The specific date, circumstances, and motivations concerning Carthage's founding are unknown. All surviving accounts of the city's origins come from Latin and Greek literature, which are generally legendary in nature but may have some basis in fact. The standard foundation myth across all sources is that the city

23490-570: The triumph of Sunnism and the end of the Babylonian gaonate , these events marked the end of the Kairouan community and reversed the migratory flow of the Jewish populations towards the Levant , with the elites having already accompanied the Fatimid court in Cairo . Jews have migrated to the coastal cities of Gabes, Sfax, Mahdia, Sousse and Tunis, but also to Béjaïa , Tlemcen and Beni Hammad Fort . Under

23652-432: The two groups keep the same rites and uses with only a few variants and, outside Tunis, the same community institutions continue to serve all the faithful. Moreover, all the Jews remain under the authority of a single qaid chosen from the Tuansa, presumably to avoid interference with foreigners. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Jews were still subjected to harassing and discriminatory measures, particularly on

23814-407: The vacuum as the leading Phoenician political power. Although the Carthaginians retained the traditional Phoenician affinity for maritime trade and commerce, they were distinguished by their imperial and military ambitions: whereas the Phoenician city-states rarely engaged in territorial conquest, Carthage became an expansionist power, driven by its desire to access new sources of wealth and trade. It

23976-632: The west African coast; though clearly an exaggeration, many colonies did arise in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iberia , and in Libya. They were usually established as trading stations at intervals of about 30 to 50 kilometres along the African coast. By the time they gained a foothold in Africa, the Phoenicians were already present in Cyprus , Crete , Corsica , the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as on

24138-459: The western Mediterranean roughly contemporaneously, between the ninth and eighth centuries. Phoenician and Greek settlements, the increased presence of both peoples led to mounting tensions and ultimately open conflict, especially in Sicily. Carthage's economic successes, buoyed by its vast maritime trade network, led to the development of a powerful navy to protect and secure vital shipping lanes. Its hegemony brought it into increasing conflict with

24300-420: The western half of Sicily, where coastal fortresses such as Motya and Lilybaeum secured their possessions. The Iberian Peninsula , which was rich in precious metals, saw some of the largest and most important Carthaginian settlements outside North Africa, though the degree of political influence before the conquest by Hamilcar Barca (237–228 BC) is disputed. Carthage's growing wealth and power, along with

24462-413: The work of memory of the community exists, with the testimonies of Robert Borgel and Paul Ghez, the novels "The Statue of Salt" by Albert Memmi and Villa Jasmin by Serge Moati as well as the works of some historians. Presently, the earliest verifiable record of the presence in Jews in Tunisia is from the second century. However, there are other, mostly speculative, ideas about when Jews first arrived to

24624-595: Was an ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa . Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia , it later became a city-state and then an empire . Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropoleis in the world. It was the centre of the Carthaginian Empire , a major power led by the Punic people who dominated

24786-479: Was built on a hilly, triangular peninsula backed by the Lake of Tunis, which provided abundant supplies of fish and a place for safe harbor. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, which combined with the rough surrounding terrain, made the city easily defensible; a citadel was built on Byrsa, a low hill overlooking the sea. Finally, Carthage would be conduit of two major trade routes: one between

24948-717: Was closer to the Jewish religion than the Catholicism of the Church Fathers . The Jews probably thrived economically, backing the Vandal kings against the armies of Emperor Justinian , who had set out to conquer North Africa. After the reconquest of Tunisia by Belisarius in 534, the region became part of the Exarchate of Africa . Under the Code of Justinian , Jews were classed with the Arians and

25110-715: Was estimated at 105,000 individuals in 1948. These Jews lived mainly in Tunis, with communities present in Djerba . The 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom by the U.S Department of State stated that "according to members of the Jewish community, there are approximately 1,500 Jewish citizens in the country". The Jewish diaspora of Tunisia is divided between Israel and France, where it has preserved its community identity through its traditions, mostly dependent on Sephardic law and customs , but retaining its own specific characteristics. Djerbian Judaism in particular, considered to be more faithful to tradition because it remained outside

25272-456: Was founded by colonists from the ancient Phoenician city-state of Tyre , led by its exiled princess Dido (also known as Queen Elissa or Alissar). Dido's brother, Pygmalion (Phoenician: Pummayaton) had murdered her husband, the high priest of the city, and taken power as a tyrant. Dido and her allies escaped his reign and established Carthage, which became a prosperous city under her rule as queen. Several scholars have identified Baa‘li-maanzer,

25434-404: Was from the Granas. Moreover, the Granas – a richer community, although only 8% of the total population – then accounted for one third of the payment of the jizya against two-thirds for the Tuansa. This last point indicated that the Livornese community, previously protected by the European consuls, has sufficiently integrated into Tunisia so that its members were considered dhimmis and taxed like

25596-454: Was likely chosen by the Tyrians for several reasons. It was located in the central shore of the Gulf of Tunis, which gave it access to the Mediterranean sea while shielding it from the region's infamously violent storms. It was also close to the strategically vital Strait of Sicily, a key bottleneck for maritime trade between the east and west. The terrain proved as invaluable as the geography. The city

25758-552: Was one of the major commentators of the Talmud in the Middle Ages. After his death, his work was continued by another disciple of his father whom Ignác Goldziher calls Jewish mutazilite: Nissim ben Jacob, the only one among the sages of Kairouan to bear the title of Gaon , also wrote an important commentary on the Talmud and the Hibbour Yafe Mehayeshoua, which is perhaps the first tales collection in Jewish literature. On

25920-473: Was the author (or final editor) wrote, along other works, a philosophical commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah , where he developed conceptions close to his master's thought. Another disciple, Ishaq ibn Imran is considered the founder of the philosophical and medical school of Ifriqiya . Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin, rector of the Center of Studies at the end of the tenth century, is the official representative of

26082-585: Was the center of a sprawling network of colonies and client states. It controlled more territory than the Roman Republic, and became one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean, with a quarter of a million inhabitants. Carthage did not focus on growing and conquering land, instead, it was found that Carthage was focused on growing trade and protecting trade routes. The trades through Libya were territories and Carthage paid Libyans for access to this land in Cape Bon for agricultural purposes until about 550 BC. In around 508 BC Carthage and Rome signed

26244-512: Was the preeminent economic and political center of Phoenician civilization, saw its status begin to wane in the seventh century BC, following a succession of sieges by the Babylonians . By this time, its Carthaginian colony had become immensely wealthy from its strategic location and extensive trade network. Unlike many other Phoenician city-states and dependencies, Carthage grew prosperous not only from maritime commerce but from its proximity to fertile agricultural land and rich mineral deposits. As

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