(, "Defenders of the Homeland") is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

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 ...

; the text was written by Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie and

Aboul-Qacem Echebbi Aboul-Qacem Echebbi (, ; (24 February 1909 – 9 October 1934) was a Tunisian poet. He is probably best known for writing the final two verses of the current National Anthem of Tunisia, '' Humat al-Hima'' (''Defenders of the Homeland''), which ...

History

The lyrics come from a poem written in the 1930s by Egyptian poet Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie. Although some say the melody of this march was composed by

Mohammed Abdel Wahab Mohamed Abdel Wahab (), also transliterated ''Mehammad Abdelwehab'', (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known for his Romantic and Egyptian patriotic songs. He ...

, Tunisian

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Salah El Mahdi claims the melody was composed by the poet while the original music for the poem was composed by Zakariyya Ahmad. The very last verses of the lyrics were written by

. According to El Mahdi, these verses were appended to the lyrics in June 1955 by nationalist

Mongi Slim Mongi Slim (; September 15, 1908October 23, 1969) was a Tunisian diplomat who became the first African to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1961. He received a degree from the faculty of law of the University of Paris. ...

. Known as the "Hymn of the Revolution", it was sung during the meetings of the ruling party, the

Neo Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party (, '; French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 in Dar Ayed, the house of independence activist Ahmed Ayed, by a g ...

, which later changed its name to the

Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ' ; ; ) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on ...

. "Ḥumat al-Ḥima" was temporarily used as a national anthem between the end of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

on 25 July 1957, when it replaced the " Salam al-Bey", and 20 March 1958, when it was replaced by " Ala Khallidi". "Ḥumat al-Ḥima" was later brought back again following the coup d'état that brought

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisian Arabic: , ; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine, was a Tunisian politician who served as the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tun ...

to power on 7 November 1987.

Lyrics

On occasions requiring brevity, a short version is sung consisting of the chorus, the third verse (not repeated) and the chorus again.

Notes

References

External links

Tunisia: ''Humat al-Hima'' – Audio of the national anthem of Tunisia, with information and lyricsarchive link

(MP3 Formet)
{{Authority control Music of Tunisia National symbols of Tunisia African anthems Compositions in A-flat major