Sousse

Roman and Vandal eras

The city allied itself with Rome during the Punic Wars, thereby escaping damage or ruin and entered a relatively peaceful 700-year period under the Pax Romana. Livy wrote that Hadrumetum was the landing place of the Roman army under Scipio Africanus in the second Punic War. Roman usurper Clodius Albinus was born in Hadrumetum.

As part of Bonifacius's revolt against Constantinople, the Vandals were invited in and they took Hadrumetum in 434 AD and renamed the town Hunerikopolis. During the Vandalic War Justinian retook the town in 534 and restored its Roman name.

Arab conquest

In the 7th century AD Arab-Islamic armies conquered what is now Tunisia and rapidly spread Arab culture across what had been a thoroughly Romanized and Christianized landscape. The Arabs seized the city, which in the aftermath of Rome's fall was but a remnant of its former self.^[1] They renamed the city Sûsa and within a few decades elevated it to the status of the main seaport of the Aghlabid Dynasty. When the Aghlabids invaded Sicily in 827, Sûsa was their main staging ground.

After the Byzantine city of Melite (modern Mdina, Malta) was captured by the Aghlabids in 870, marble from its churches was used to build the castle of Sousse.^[2]

Subsequent History

In the centuries that followed, Sûsa was briefly occupied by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century and in the 18th century was the target of bombardments by the Venetians and the French. The French called the city Sousse.

Today

Despite the turmoil around it, Sousse's character had retained the solidly Arabian look and feel it had assumed in the centuries after Islam's wars of conquest. Today it is considered one of the best examples of seaward-facing fortifications built by the Arabs. Ribat of Sousse, a soaring structure that combined the purposes of a minaret and a watch tower, is in outstanding condition and draws visitors from around the world.

Sousse was the site of Chess interzonal in 1967 which was made famous when American Grandmaster Bobby Fischer withdrew from the tournament even though he was in first place at the time.^[3]

These days, Sousse, with a population of about 200,000, retains a medieval heart of narrow, twisted streets, a kasbah and medina, its ribat fortress and long wall on the Mediterranean. Surrounding it is a modern city of long, straight roads and more widely spaced buildings.

Historical names

Through history Sousse has come under the rule of 5 major cultures. Each of those cultures gave a new or modified name to the town. Each of those names may appear in various forms. From oldest to newest some of these names and forms of spelling/transliteration are:

• Hadrumetum^[4] OR Hadrumete^[1] (Punic)
• Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetina OR Hadrumetum^[1] OR Hadrumentum (Roman)
• Hunericopolis^[1] OR Hunerikopolis (Vandal)
• Justiniana^[1] OR Justinianopolis^[1] OR Iustinianopolis^[4] (Byzantine)
• Susa (Berber), Sūsa (Arabic), Sousa OR Sousse (French)

As the following reference shows, the above list represents only a fraction of the spellings and transliterations of the names for Sousse which were known in 1903^[5] (PDF page 366).

Roman circus

A PDF file^[5] (in French), available from the site of the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie / National Heritage Institute (INP), containing over 400 pages from various reports and papers produced by the SOCIÉTÉ ARCHÉOLOGIQUE DE SOUSSE around 1903, contains some 10 references to the word cirque in the context of Sousse. This document makes absolutely clear that in 1903 the Roman circus of Sousse was considered the only public monument of Sousse whose location was known^[5] (PDF page 204).

From the discussion in this file, and from an aerial photograph^[8] it would appear certain that the Roman circus of Sousse was located, with a north-south orientation, about 1 km (0.6 mi) north-west of the walls of the medina at a location^[9] which, today, is partially occupied by a sports ground.

Tourism

Sousse is an important tourist resort. It has a hot semi-arid climate, with the seaside location moderating the climate, making it an all-season resort with hot, dry summers and warm, mild wet winters. The fine sandy beaches are backed by orchards and olive groves.

Only 20 km (12 mi) from Monastir and Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport, hotel complexes with a capacity of 40,000 beds extend 20 km (12 mi) from the old city (Medina) north along the seafront to Port El Kantaoui. Some 1,200,000 visitors come every year to enjoy its hotels and restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, beaches and sports facilities.

Sousse is considered to be a popular tourist destination, especially due to its nightlife and vibrating nightclubs that will keep your head banging until the early hours. Well-known nightclubs are Bora Bora, Living, Rediguana, Platinum, the saloon.. Well known festivals fairground..The top producers and DJs in dance come and play at the various clubs. The season traditionally begins at the start of June and finishes on the first weekend of October with the Closing Parties.

On June 26, 2015 a lone gunman, later identified as Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi opened fire on tourists sunbathing on a beach near Riu Imperial Marhaba and Soviva hotel killing 38 and wounding 39 before being shot dead by the police.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Sousse is twinned with: