Sbeitla

Coordinates: 35°13′47″N 9°7′46″E / 35.22972°N 9.12944°E / 35.22972; 9.12944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sbeitla / Sufetula
UTC1 (CET)
Postal code
1250[2]
WebsiteSbeitla Official Website

Sbeitla or Sufetula (

Muslim conquest of North Africa
.

Sbeitla is the capital of the largest delegation in Kasserine Governorate with an area of 1133.5 km2.[3] It is located in 33 km in the west of the governorate, and 264 km to Tunis. It has a population of 23,844 (2014 estimate).[1] Sbeitla is mentioned in Norman Douglas's Fountains in the Sand as being wooded by junipers and Aleppo pines as late as the 19th century, though he found them "bleak and bare" in the early 20th century.[citation needed]

History

See also: Sufetula (see)
See also: Archaeological site of Sbeitla

The oldest traces of civilisation in the zone are

megaliths and funereal stelae
.

The region was inhabited by nomadic tribes until the

bishopric in the Roman province of Byzacena
.

Some inscriptions found in the city suggest that the settlement had success along the lines of others in North Africa during the 2nd century, reaching great prosperity through the olive industry, whose cultivation benefited from excellent climatic conditions in the region. The olive presses found in the ruins of the city further bolster this conclusion. The resulting prosperity made possible the construction of a splendid forum and other important buildings.

The city began to decline during the

Late Empire, during which the city was surrounded and occupied by Vandals, a fact that is demonstrated by the appearance of temples dedicated to their gods.[citation needed
]

The

Abdullah ibn Saad. The Battle of Sufetula ended in a decisive Muslim victory, which shook Byzantine control over the region and signalled the beginning of the Muslim conquest of North Africa
.

  • Capitoline temples
    Capitoline temples
  • Public baths
    Public baths
  • Arch of Antoninus Pius and Capitoline temples
    Arch of Antoninus Pius and Capitoline temples

The

Barqa, Uqba ibn Nafi and his troops joined the main army and the two commanders prepared together the plan to conquer Sbeitla. The battle was long and hard, and Caliph Uthman sent reinforcement under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
. The three leaders prepared a new battle plan and they finally succeeded in taking Sufetula.

The Muslim conquest marked the end of the

titular bishopric
.

Geography

Sbeitla is located in western central Tunisia. By road it is 33 kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Kasserine, 246 kilometres (180 mi) south-west of Tunis, and 166 kilometres (141 mi) south-west of Sousse. The city is known by its semi-arid climate.

Culture

Thanks to the well preserved archaeological site with its prestigious Roman forum, the cultural activities in Sbeitla have prospered. An annual festival is organised in the forum.

Museums

The archaeological museum of Sbeitla houses several sculptures and

mosaics. It consists of three exhibition rooms: the first one is about the Capsian culture, the second about the rest of Dionysus
' empire, and the third contains two mosaics.

Festivals

Since 2000, the city holds its

Mahmoud Yacine and authors like Mahmoud Messadi were honored.[7] The city celebrates also its international festival named also festival abadelah of Sbeitla. It was founded in 2000, and it became international in 2013.[8]

Economy

The economy of Sbeitla relays on handicraft, agricultural and petroleum production managed by

oil field of Douleb
.

Smuggling goods and oil from Algerian Borders represent a major parallel economy activity in the region.

Agricultural

The city is surrounded by a large field of agriculture of

deep wells, a mountain lake and a mountain dam the irrigated Area remains limited to 2930 hectares.[9]

Distribution of irrigated areas in 2008.[10]
Irrigables Areas (ha) irrigated Areas (ha) Usage Rate (%) Densification Rate (%)
Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total
992 2374 3366 794 2136 2930 80 100 90 110 111 111

Petroleum industries

The

Oil field of Douleb is one of the fields explored by ETAP, since April 12, 1968 and it produces 230 000 barrels\year. In 1974, the field reached it maximal productivity with 1200m3 per day.[11]

Handicraft

Tunisian barnous

The majority of handicraft known in Sbeitla relay on wool processing. Tunisian barnous is one of those handcrafts.

Sports

Sbeitla's most popular sport club is Union Sportive Sbeitla also known as USS, the club plays in the Tunisian ligue professionnelle 3 before being promoted to ligue 2 in the 2013 season . The team currently plays in the Third Tunisian League.

On June 5, 2013, the club advanced to the

Quarter-finals of Tunisian Cup for the first time in its history. After defeating Stade Tunisien, the club was eliminated by CA Bizertin.[12]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b National Institute of Statistics - Tunisia
  2. ^ Postal code of Sbeïtla, GeoPostcodes
  3. ^ (in Arabic) Sbeitla in the official website of Kasserine Governorate
  4. ^ L'Univers: histoire et description de tous les peuples ... (in French). F. Didot fréres. 1844.
  5. ^ Afrique (in French). Editions Bouslama. 1842.
  6. ^ Avezac, Armand d' (1844). Afrique. Esquisse générale de l'Afrique et Afrique ancienne (in French). Firmin Didot frères.
  7. ^ (in French) Official website of the Festival.
  8. ^ (in French) Sbeitla Festival International, did you said?, jetsetmagazine.net, Asma DRISSI, July 4, 2013
  9. ^ Official website of Sbeitla: Water Resources.
  10. ^ Annual CRDA 2007-2008 Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ (in Arabic) The Oil field of Doulab, ETAP Website
  12. ^ (in French)" Tunisian Cup : Stade Tunisien was eliminated by Union Sportive Sbeitla ", Mosaïque FM, juin 9, 2013
  13. ^ "Mongi Soussi Zarrouki Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  14. ^ (in French) Biography of Lotfi Ben Jeddou, Minister of the Interior, Express FM, January 27, 2014

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sbeitla.
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