north-west;[1] (2) ordinary Berbers, dolichocephalous, and of brown complexion, found over the greater part of Tunisia, especially in the east and south centre; (3) the short-headed Berbers, found in part of the Matmata country, part of the Sahara, the island of ]erba, the Cape Bon Peninsula, and the vicinity of Susa, Kairwan, and Sfax; (4) Berbers of a blond type, that is to say, with a tendency to brown or yellow moustaches, brown beard and head hair, and grey eyes. These are met with in the west and north-west of Tunisia, and in one patch on the coast of the Cape Bon Peninsula, near Nabeul.
The Arabs of more or less unmixed descent are purely nomads. They are met with in a long strip of country south of the Majerda, between the Algerian frontier and the sea-coast north of Susa; also inland, to the south-west of Susa, and near Kef; also in another long strip between the vicinity of Sfax on the north and the lerid on the south. They are descended from the second Arab invasion which began in the 11th century (see History). The extreme south of Tunis is ranged over by Berber Tawareq[2] or Tamasheq. Berber dialects are still spoken in Tunisia in the island of Jerba, in the Matmata country, and in the Tunisian Sahara. Elsewhere to a remarkable degree the Arabic language has extinguished the Berber tongue, though no doubt in vulgar Tunisian a good many Berber words remain. Short vocabularies of the Berber spoken in the Tunisian Sahara have been published by Sir H. H. Johnston in the Geog. Journ. (1898), vol. xi., and by Mr G. B. Michell in the Journ. African Soc. (1903). The Berbers are organized in tribes with purely democratic government and laws of their own, which are not those of the Koran.
On the north-eastern littoral of Tunisia the population is very mixed. The inhabitants of the Cape Bon Peninsula show evident signs of Greek blood arising from Greek' invasions, which began in prehistoric times and finished with the downfall of the Byzantine Empire in North Africa. The presence of the Romans, and the constant introduction of. the Italians, first as slaves, and quite recently as colonists, has also added an Italian element to the north Tunisian population. But from the fact that the bulk of the Tunisian population belongs to the Iberian section of the Berbers, and to this being no doubt the fundamental stock of most Italian peoples, the intermixture of the Italianized Berber with his African brother has not much affected the physique of the people, though it may have slightly tinged their mental characteristics.
The Phoenicians have left no marked trace of their presence; but inasmuch as they were probably of nearly the same race as the Arabs, it would not be easy to distinguish the two types. Arab and Berber have mingled to some extent, though no considerable fusion of the two elements has taken place. In fact, it is thought by some French students of the country that the Arab element will probably be eliminated from Tunisia, as it is the most unsettled. It is considered that these nomads will be gently pushed back towards the Sahara, leaving cultivable Tunisia to the settled Berber stock, a stock fundamentally one with the peoples of Mediterranean Europe. The inhabitants of the coast towns belong, in large. part, to the class generally known as “Moors.” The pure Turks and the Kuluglis (sons of Turkish fathers by Moorish women. or slave girls) are no longer numerous. Among the “Moors” the descendants of the Andalusian refugees form an exclusive and aristocratic class.
The present population of Tunisia numbers approximately 2,000,000, and consists of:—
| Berbers, more or less of pure race, say | 620,000, |
| Arabs | 500,000 |
| Mixed Arab and Berber peoples, say | 520,000 |
| “Moors” (chiefly the population of the principal cities, of mixed Roman, Berber, Spanish, Moor and Christian races), say | 110,000 |
| Sudanese negroes and natives of Morocco, Tripoli and Turkey, say | 40,000 |
| Jews (mostly natives of Tunis, indeed, some descended from families settled at Carthage before the destruction of Jerusalem) | 68,000 |
| Europeans (Christians)[3] | 163,000 |
Towns.—Besides the capital, Tunis, the chief towns of Tunisia are Sfax, Susa and Kairwan. These places are noticed separately, as are also Goletta (formerly the port of Tunis), Bizerta (a naval port and arsenal), Kef, Porto Farina, and the ruins at Carthage and Sbeitla (Sufetula). Other towns of Tunisia are, on the east coast, Nabeul, pop. about 5000, the ancient Neapolis, noted for the mildness of its climate and its pottery manufactures; Hammamet with 3700 inhabitants; Monastir (the Ruspina of the Romans), a walled town with 5600 inhabitants and a trade in cereals and oils; Mahdiya or Mahdia (q.v.; in ancient chronicles called the city of Africa and sometimes the capital of the country) with 8500 inhabitants, the fallen city of the Fatimites, which since the French occupation has risen from its ruins, and has a new harbour (the ancient Cothon or harbour, of Phoenician origin, cut out of the rock is nearly dry but in excellent reservation); and Gabes (Tacape of the Romans, Qabis of the Arabs), on the Syrtis, a group of small villages, with an aggregate population of 16,000, the port of the Shat country and a dépôt of the esparto trade. The chief town of the Majerda basin is Beja (pop. 5000), the ancient Vaga, an important corn market. The principal mosque at Beja was originally a Christian basilica, and is still dedicated, to Sidna Aissa (our Lord Jesus). Gafsa, in the south of Tunisia, is a most interesting old Roman town, with hot springs. It is in railway communication with Sfax. West of Gafsa are immense beds of phosphates. Almost all the towns of Tunisia were originally Roman or womanized Berber settlements; consequently the remains of Roman buildings form a large part of the material of which their existing structures are composed.
Antiquities and Art.—The principal Roman and other ruins in the regency, are the aqueducts near the capital (Tunis) and the temple at Zaghwan, described under Tunis city; the great reservoir near Carthage (q.v.); the amphitheatre at El Jem (see Susa), the temples and other ruins of Sbeitla (q.v.); the ruins of Dugga, near Tebursuk, in the north-west of the regency (the amphitheatre of Dugga, the ancient Thugga, is a magnificent spectacle); the baths, amphitheatre and temples. of Feriana (the ancient Thelepte); the Whole route between Feriana (which is in the south of Tunisia, 33 m. north-west of Gafsa) and Tebessa in Algeria is strewn on both sides with Roman ruins; the old houses and other ruins at and near Thala; the baths and other ruins of Gafsa; the baths at Tuzer, El Hamma and Gabes. There is an interesting Phoenician burial-ground near Mahdia. There are Roman ruins, scarcely known, in the vicinity of Beja and the country of the Mogods (the district behind Cape Serrat). In short, Tunisia is as much strewn with Roman remains as is Italy itself.
Saracenic art has perhaps not attained here the high degree it reached in western Algeria, Spain and Egypt; still it presents much that is beautiful tosee and worthy to be studied. One of the most ancient, as it is one of the loveliest fragments, strange to say, is found at Tuzer, in the Jerīd, the mahrab of a ruined mosque.[4] There are some very beautiful doorways to mosques and other specimens of Moorish art at Gabes. Examples of this art found at Tunis and Kairwan have been noticed under those headings. But the visible remains of Saracenic art in Tunis and its vicinity are of relatively recent date, the few mosques which might offer earlier examples not being open to inspection by Christians. It may be noted, however, as a general condition that the native towns and villages of Tunisia, where they have not been spoiled by the shocking tastelessness of Mediterranean Europe, are exceedingly picturesque, and offer exceptional attractions to the painter.
Industries.—Agriculture is the principal industry. Oats, wheat and barley are the chief crops in the north. In the central region
- ↑ In this Matmata country are the celebrated Troglodytes, people living in caves and underground dwellings now, much as they did in the days when the early Greek geographers alluded to them. See “A Journey in the Tunisian Sahara,” by Sir H. H. Johnston, in the Geog. Journ. (June 1898).
- ↑ Tawareq (Tuareg) is the Arab designation of the Libyan or Desert Berbers. It is the plural form of Tarqi, “a raider.” The Tawareq call themselves by some variant of the root Masheq—Tamasheq, Imoshagh, &c.
- ↑ Of recent introduction for the most part, consisting (census of 1906) of 81,156 Italians, 34,610 French, 10,330 Maltese, about 1000 Greeks and the remainder British, German, Austrian, &c. The French army of occupation (20,360 men) is not included in these figures.
- ↑ Since this was written the mahrab in question has been removed to Paris.
