Tunisia is Africa's northernmost country, situated between Algeria, Libya and the Mediterranean. The country is named after its capital Tunis.
The area has always been inhabited by Berber tribes, but it was the Phoenician colony Carthage that marked its classical history. The Carthaginians built an empire stretching over most of coastal Mahgreb, Sicily and the Iberian peninsula. It was the largest rival to Rome, and the famous Roman senator and speaker Cato ended all his speeches with the following phrase: Cetero censeo Carthaginem esse delendam, or Furthermore, I am of the opinion that Carthage should be destroyed. (So much for my school Latin
). The Romans did indeed destroy Carthage in 146 BC, after a series of wars known as the Punic wars. To finish the job the Romans sold the entire population into slavery. The region of Carthage was now known as the Roman province of Africa.Map of the Carthaginian Empire:
After the fall of the Roman Empire the Vandals and Byzantians ruled present-day Tunisia until the Arab conquests. The Arabs developed advanced irrigation systems that allowed Tunisia to flourish. In the middle ages, Tunisia's economy declined, was attacked by Crusaders and became one of the Barbary States involved in piracy in the Mediterranean.
The Spanish ruled Tunisia for a part of the 16th century, but after the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars Spanish presence in all of North Africa was ended and 3 centuries of Ottoman rule started. Similar to other Ottoman provinces, Tunisia was ruled by a bey and was relatively autonomous.
In 1881 the French invaded Tunisia and made it a protectorate. The dynasty of beys continued, but now under French rule. In 1956 Tunisia became an independent republic. It is a relatively modern country with close ties to Europe and a popular tourist destination since the 1970's. Presidents Bourguiba and Ben Ali ruled rather autocratically, which eventually led to the Tunisian revolution in 2011, which became a catalyst for the Arab Spring. Tunisia became a positive example of the Arab Spring, which had mostly negative outcomes in other countries in the Arab world. However, islamist terrorism and lawlessness in Libya pose a large threat to stability in Tunisia, and especially the recent terrorist attacks on the Bardo Museum and a beach resort in Sousse are a sad reminder of that.
Currency
The Phoenicians are the inventors of currency, and as such Carthage was one of the first places in the world where coins were used.
The Ottomans introduced the Rial, worth 16 Kharub. The Kharub in turn was worth 13 Fals. By 1855 the Rial was linked to gold and worth slightly more than 60 Centimes of the LMU French Franc. When the French introduced the Tunisian Franc in 1891, a conversion rate of 60 Centimes per Rial was used.
The Tunisian Franc was equal to the French Franc but had its own coins right from 1891. They are a nice blend of Arab and French designs. Over two world wars, the French Franc devalued a lot, and after independence the Tunisian Dinar was introduced for 1000 Old Francs, and pegged to USD for 0.42 TND. The Tunisian Dinar was always a strong currency, but lost a bit of value in recent years. A Dinar is currently worth around half a US Dollar.
Tunisian coins from after independence can be recognised by memorising a few designs:
1, 2 and 5 Millims:
10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Millims:
Half and 1 Dinar with Tunisian coat of arms:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/carthage-1.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/tunisie-1.html
