el-Djerid, also al-Jarīd, (; Derja: ''Jrīd''; ) or more precisely the South Western Tunisia Region is a semi-desert

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

comprising three southern

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n Governorates, Gafsa, Kebili and Tozeur with adjacent parts of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Geography

The region is characterised by bare pink hills with oases and several chotts (salt pans) such as Chott el Djerid in Tunisia. Economically the area is important for

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

mining. Major towns include Gafsa and Tozeur. It remains the principal center of Ibāḍism in North Africa, with remaining Ibāḍī communities on Djerba in

, in the

M'zab The M'zab, or Mzab (Mozabite language, Mozabite: ''Aghlan'', ), is a natural region of the northern Sahara Desert in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. It is located south of Algiers and has approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Geolog ...

, and in Jabal Nafusa in

. In

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times, it often formed a politically separate entity under the control of Ibāḍī ''

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s''.

Location

Jerid, Djerid'' or ''Bled el Djerid (Arabic : الجريد, literally "palm leaf"), is a semi-desert region situated in southwestern

, which extends to the contiguous areas of

. In administrative terms, it is associated in Tunisia with the province (

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

) of Tozeur and, at least in part and according to some sources, also the province of Gafsa and Kebili. The latter is part of the Nefzaoua region, which is sometimes considered part of Jerid. The region is dotted with oases scattered between two chotts (largely dry salt lakes most of the time). Among the chotts stands out Chott el Jerid. In economic terms, the region stands out for its production of dates, namely the superior ''deglet nour'' variety, and since the 1990s tourism has gained importance. There is also the mining of

deposits, mainly in the north of the region ( Gafsa).

History

Jerid region 1960 The Jerid was already inhabited by the

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

ns before the arrival of the Romans in the 3rd century BC. Then came the Romans, who erected

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s, integrated in the limes of the southern border of the province of

Proconsular Africa Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisi ...

, whose purpose was to prevent the incursions of the

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic populations of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. With the arrival of Christianity, the region hosted two episcopal sees, one in Thusurus ( Tozeur) and one in Nepte ( Nefta). After a fleeting passage of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

in the 5th century AD, the rule of the Byzantines continued until the invasion of the Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Empire in the 7th century, who occupied all of

and Arabized and Islamized. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Jerid had remarkable economic progress, mainly due to the strategic position in the caravan routes that connected the Mediterranean Basin to

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. Until the 11th century, the trade routes and movement of gold were managed by Ibadi Arabs of the Djarid. Among the "goods" transported were numerous slaves, who were bought to work in the oases. During the Ottoman period, the region was the scene of revolts against high taxes and nomadic incursions. The relative decline of the region since that time is due in large part to the loss of the strategic and economic importance of the trans-Saharan trade. Biledulgerid was a term used in early European maps for the Maghreb south of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

Population

The population of the province of Tozeur, the central nucleus of the region, was estimated at 104,800 inhabitants in 2011, 4.5% more than in 2007 and 7.5% more than in 2004, concentrating mainly on the cities of Tozeur and Nefta. In the same year it was estimated that Gafsa province to the north would have 341,600 inhabitants, 3.5% more than in 2007 and 5.5% more than in 2004. The estimate for the province of Kebili in the south, Which many authors do not include in the region, was then of 152 200 inhabitants, 3.9% more than in 2007 and 6.3% more than in 2004. In ethnic terms, the population results from the intermarriage of native

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

s, and slaves from

Economy

Jerid has about 1.6 million date palms and is one of Tunisia's most important date-producing regions, especially the most valuable variety, ''

deglet nour Deglet Nour, also spelled Deglet Noor, is a cultivar of the Phoenix dactylifera, date palm that originated in the oasis of Tolga, Algeria, Tolga in Algeria.Pierre Munier, ''Le palmier-dattier'', éd. Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris, 1973, Commonl ...

''. Considering the wider version of Jerid, about 85% of Tunisia's total production of dates comes from the region, which in 2010-2011 produced almost 150,000 tonnes. In the same year, only 0.2% of the deglet nour variety was produced outside the region. Whereas the province of Kebili is not part of Jerid, the percentages fall to about 30% of the total and also 30% of deglet nour, which corresponds respectively to 52,125 and 36,050 tonnes. Despite extreme weather conditions - maximum temperatures are close to 50 °C and annual precipitations are very limited (between 80 and 120 mm) - the Jerid oases are very productive due to their resources in waters currently extracted from very deep underground

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

s through modern bore holes.

References

External links

*
Chott el Djerid at Lexicorient

{{Authority control History of North Africa Regions of Tunisia Geography of Libya Geography of Algeria Natural regions of Africa