Ariana ( ar, أريانة ') is a coastal city in north-eastern
Tunisia, part the agglomeration of
Tunis, also called "Grand Tunis". It is located at the north of Tunis city center, around . It is the capital of
Ariana Governorate and the country's eighth largest city.
History
The city's name seems to date back to the period of the
Vandal Kingdom in pre-Islamic
North Africa: the Vandals, in fact, were of
Arian faith
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Roman Egypt, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (C ...
. It could also be a reference to
Persian settlers from the Islamic invasion of the Maghreb as Persians refer to themselves as "
Aryan
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
".
The city's origins date back to the
Zirid dynasty. Under the
Hafsid sultan
Muhammad I al-Mustansir
Muhammad I al-Mustansir (; ) was the second ruler of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya and the first to claim the title of Khalif. Al-Mustansir concluded a peace agreement to end the Eighth Crusade launched by Louis IX of France in 1270. Muhamma ...
, Ariana became the residence of the
Sephardi Jews and Muslim
Andalusians, who sought refuge in
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
in the thirteenth century.
Geography
The city, whose area covers
hectares, and is the pole of an agglomeration covering seven districts for a population basin of inhabitants. It is located in the middle of a vast plain bordered by the beaches of Raoued and
Gammarth as well as the city of Carthage and the hill of
Sidi Bou Saïd.
Economy
Ariana owes its fame to its