The Kroumirie (also spelled Khroumirie) is a mountainous region located in northwestern

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 ...

and northeastern

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 ...

. The region is named after its people, the Khumayr (locally ''Khmīr''). The Kroumirie is an eastern extension 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 ...

. Depending on the definition it encompasses an area of or an area as large as . It has extensive

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...

, over 70% of the trees being

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, ...

and 20% zean oak. Other species include

wild olive Wild olive is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Bontia daphnoides'' * Several species in the genus ''Elaeagnus'' (family Elaeagnaceae), particularly: **''Elaeagnus angustifolia'' **'' Elaeagnus latifolia'' *'' Halesia carolina' ...

and the undergrowth comprises mostly

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s. Owing to a relatively high rainfall it is the most well watered region in Tunisia ( a year).

Snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

fall is common at higher elevations. In the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, the Kroumirie was crossed by three important roads: that from

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

Hippo Regius Hippo Regius (also known as Hippo or Hippone) is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of the Vandal Kingdom from AD ...

and those from Simitthu and

Vaga VAGA is an artists collective dedicated to improving mental health and fighting cognitive decline through art therapy. The organisation brings together artists, clinicians and academic psychologists to foster research collaboration and the develo ...

to Thabraca (Tabarka). The latter was the port from which the products of the mountains—lumber, wild animals, oil, wheat and minerals—were exported. The Kroumirie is completely unmentioned in written sources from 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 ...

. The Khumayr had friendly commercial relations with the Genoese of Tabarka after 1540. Only in more modern times did it earn a reputation as a place of resistance against the forces of governments both Tunisian and foreign.

Notes

References

External links

Ain Kroumir - Regional Website of the Kroumirie
{{Coord, 36.5833, N, 8.41667, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title category:Regions of Tunisia Geography of Tunisia Atlas Mountains Mountain ranges of Tunisia Mountain ranges of Algeria