Bab Jebli (
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: باب الجبلي) is one of the
gates
Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to:
People
* Gates (surname), various people with the last name
* Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player
* Gates McFadd ...
of
the medina of Sfax, located in the center of the northern facade of its walls between
Bab Nahj El Bey and
Bab Jebli Jedid.
The gate gives access to a popular vegetables market and
Sidi Bouchaicha Mosque inside the medina, and to a covered market in its outside.
History
In his book ''History of Sfax'', ''Boubaker Abdelkafi'' suggests that Bab Jebli and
Bab Diwan are the oldest and the unique entrances of the medina until the end of the 19th century.
It was built during the reign of the
Aghlabid dynasty
The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...
that ruled
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of ...
for the whole 9th century
According to the commemorative epigraphic plaque on top of the gate, it was restored by the
Hafsid
The Hafsid dynasty ( ) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. that ruled Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia, w ...
sultan
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II () (reigned 1394–1434) was a Hafsid Caliph of Ifriqiya.
Life
He proceeded to further consolidate the kingdom after his father Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II had restored its integrity. A strong monarch and an orthodox Musli ...
in 1419.
Later, between 1756 and 1809, the
Husainid rulers renovated it again.
Description
Bab Jebli's architecture has a typical Aghlabid style. It represents a fortified entrance built with
dimension stone
Dimension stone is natural stone or Rock (geology), rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled or ground) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, Texture (geology), texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are ...
s like all the other ifryqiyian monuments of the 9th century. It has the shape of a vaulted ''Skifa'' with only 10 meters of depth.
Between its outer and inner entrances, the lobby used to serve for guards dwellings with Borj Bab Jebli's tower on top of it.
References
Jebli
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