Ghar el-Melh (, ''Ghar al-Milh'', "Salt

Grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

"), the classical Rusucmona and CastraDelia and colonial is a town and former port on the southern side of

Cape Farina Cape Farina () is a headland in Bizerte Governorate, Tunisia. It forms the northwestern end of the Gulf of Tunis. The Tunisian towns of Ghar el-Melh (the ancient Castra Delia), Rafraf, Lahmeri, and the beach of Plage Sidi Ali Mekki Est are locate ...

Bizerte Governorate Bizerte Governorate ( ' ; ) is the northernmost of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is in northern Tunisia, approximately rectangular and having a long north coast. It covers an area of 3,750 km2 including two large lakes, one coastal hen ...

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 ...

History

Phoenician colony

The

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n settlement, which was called 𐤓𐤔𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍 (meaning "the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Eshmun Eshmun (or Eshmoun, less accurately Esmun or Esmoun; '; ''Yasumunu'') was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon. His name, which means "eighth," may reference his status as the eighth son of the god Sydyk. History Eshm ...

"), at Ghar el-Melh, a little inland from the present site, began around the same time as Utica and its dating presents the same problems. Several classical authors place northern Tunisia's

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

BC but modern archaeology has only found evidence suggestive of a date closer to BC. In either case, the settlement at Ghar el-Melh came to serve as Utica's chief port as the

Medjerda The Medjerda River (), the classical Bagradas, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of , it is the longest river of Tunisia. It is also ...

changed course and began silting up Utica's harbor. Its

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

name Rus Eshmun meant "Cape

", after the Punic name for Cape Farina.

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

landed nearby, took the town, and pillaged the surrounding countryside in 204BC ahead of his siege of Utica during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. A naval battle ending in Roman victory was fought off the town's coast the next year, ahead of Zama and the end of the war.

Roman city

The port fell under Roman rule along with the rest of the

Carthaginian Empire Ancient Carthage ( ; , ) was an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa. Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia, it later became a city-state, and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians ...

during the course of the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

. It sometimes preserved its former name, Latinized as Rusucmona,. but also came to be known as or Delia,. presumably after Scipio's friend and lieutenant G. Laelius. Its peninsula preserved an ancient and important

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

to "

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

", probably representing a continuation of the

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( ) usually refers to the civilisation of ancient Carthage. It may also refer to: * Punic people, the Semitic-speaking people of Carthage * Punic language The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, i ...

worship of the

healing god A health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions. List of health deities A ...

harmonized with the Greco-Roman pantheon. held native city (') status as part of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) (, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, the Roman emperor Dioclet ...

. It flourished from around 30BC to around AD330. During this time the city was also the seat of a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Pirate base

Much later, it became an important base for the

Barbary corsairs The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. Following the conquest of Tunisia by CharlesV in 1534 and 1535, Spaniards tried to remove the pirates unsuccessfully.

John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

also visited the bay during his reconquest of Tunis in October 1573, following his victory at Lepanto. The

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

convert, Ottoman corsair, and Tunisian dey Usta Murad expanded the citythen known as PortoFarinagreatly enough to consider it a second founding. He established fortifications to prevent the harbor's use by Christian powers and attracted refugee Moriscos by the provision of certain liberties at Porto Farina, Rafraf, and

Ras el-Djebel Ras Jebel, also known as Ras el-Djebel, is a town and commune in the Bizerte Governorate of Tunisia. The name of the city refers to the summit or end of the mountain, thus evoking the end of the Atlas Mountains. Geography Ras Jebel is set on a ...

. During this era, it rivaled the size and importance of

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

. In early 1655, an English fleet under Robert Blake

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

d nine warships in Porto Farina's harbor in order to pressure the

dey Dey (, from ) was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine ''deys'' held office from the establishment of the deylicate ...

Mustafa Laz Mustafa () is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Moustafa * Moustafa A ...

to free Englishmen held as

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and to provide compensation for English ships recently seized by local pirates. The dey offered to provide a new treaty going forward but refused emancipation or compensation for people and ships already taken. Any such action, he felt, should begin with the English, one of whose captains had recently sold a company of Tunisian troops as galley slaves to the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

instead of transporting them to

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

(present-day Izmir) as arranged. When Blake maintained his blockade, the dey had his warships' rigging removed, the town's fortifications strengthened, and its garrison increased. On April 14, 1655, Blake finally attacked. Dividing his fleet to attack the warships and the 20-

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

fort simultaneously, he had his men storm and burn the warships in turn before declaring victory and leaving the harbor. Because his sustained assault was able to silence the town's defenses entirely, the engagement is celebrated as the first successful naval attack on shore-based fortifications. The port and its defenses were then quickly rebuilt. The

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

erected Borj el-Loutani as a fort in 1659; Fort Nadur and the "Genovese fort" were also raised around the same time. Borj el-Loutani was later used as an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

base and as a prison; the others gradually fell into disrepair. The town began to be used by British and

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s, as well as Turkish and local corsairs. Muhammad Talak and Ali Bey were arrested and strangled in Porto Farina in 1682 as part of the chaotic struggles of the later Muradid dynasty. Shortly afterward, three ships arriving from Turkey proper infected the town with the plague. When Husain I took advantage of

Ibrahim Sharif Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed () is an opposition political activist in Bahrain, currently serving as the General Secretary of the secular socialist National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).

's Algerian imprisonment to usurp control of

in 1705, the Algerians released Sharif to return home. Husain, intent upon consolidating his power, had Sharif killed en route at Porto Farina. The former dey's tomb lies beside one of the town's forts. Husain established an arsenal at Porto Farina two years later. Locals were calling the town Ghar el-Melh (recorded by a visiting Frenchman as "Gramela") by 1724. French annoyance at piracy in the area prompted to order an attack in 1770 by Admiral de Broves, commanding a squadron consisting of 2 warships (bearing 74 and 50

guns A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...

respectively), 2

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s (24 guns each), a

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

(18 guns), 2

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s, a

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, and some other ships provided by

Hospitaller Malta Hospitaller Malta, known in Maltese history as the Knights' Period (, ), was a '' de facto'' state which existed between 1530 and 1798 when the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo were ruled by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. It was for ...

. The ships fired on Porto Farina for two days. De Brove's fleet also attacked

and Monastir before the

Treaty of Bardo The Treaty of Bardo (, ) or Treaty of Ksar Saïd established a French protectorate over Tunisia that lasted until World War II. It was signed on 12 May 1881 between representatives of France and the Tunisian bey Muhammed as-Sadiq, placing Tun ...

ended hostilities on August 25. Similarly, when

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

took exception to

n-based piracy in the early 1780s, its leaders ordered a series of bombardments that included an attack by Admiral Emo's fleet on Porto Farina on September 6, 1784. This seems, however, to have been the last time a foreign fleet bothered the port; by 1806, it was only a winter port for the bey's warships and it was necessary to take special measures each voyage to get them over the harbor's rising

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. The beylik's arsenal was finally removed in 1818, but fear that a similar fate might befall its navy as had Algeria's caused the bey to hire

dredger Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing dam ...

s and workers to improve conditions; he was again able to bring his fleet into the harbor by December. When a severe storm destroyed the beylik's fleet at anchor off

La Goulette La Goulette (, ), in Arabic Halq al-Wadi ( '), is a municipality and the port of Tunis, Tunisia. La Goulette is located at around on a sandbar between Lake of Tunis, Lake Tūnis and the Gulf of Tunis. The port, located 12km east of Tunis, is th ...

on February 7–8, 1821, however, such efforts were discontinued and the sandbar off Porto Farina was allowed to continue to grow.

Modern town

In 1834 a large private arsenal belonging to a Maltese pirate exploded and destroyed part of the town. Ahmed Bey, the last

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

, decided to clamp down on piracy and attempted to turn the port over to legitimate trade. In 1837, he began efforts to restore the town's arsenal. Although that never proved feasible, the bey established a palace in the city and an attendant garrison. Command was given to a favorite of the bey's, the general

Salah Cheboul ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as ''rak'ah'', include a specific se ...

. The forts were renovated, and the port cleaned and maintained. From 1840, a community of

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, and French settled in the locality.. By 1853, however, the beylik's new frigates could no longer access the harbor and the garrison was reduced. In the early years of Tunisia's French occupation, the Bizerte Port Company () made an attempt to again dredge access to Porto Farina's harbor but a storm from the northeast closed the channel almost immediately after its opening and further attempts were abandoned. The formerly prosperous town's public buildings had already fallen into disrepair and were thoroughly scavenged by locals for other purposes. The prison, which was listed as a Tunisian Historic Monument in 1922, closed in 1964. Today Ghar el-Melh is a small farming town.

Religion

The ancient bishopric survives today as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the current

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

is Geoffrey James Robinson of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Gallery

File:Ras sidi Ali el Mekki.jpg , Ruins at Oum al-Abouab File:VueAerienneGharElMelh 1.jpg , Aerial view of the town File:AerialViewCapFarina2005.jpg , Aerial view of Cape Farina Image:PanoramiqueGhalElMelhJuin2012.jpg , Aerial view of Cape Farina File:El Boj Loutani.jpg , Borj el-Loutani

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . & * . * . {{Authority control Populated places in Bizerte Governorate Catholic titular sees in Africa Populated coastal places in Tunisia Ancient Berber cities Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Barbary Wars Communes of Tunisia Pirate dens and locations Piracy in the Mediterranean Phoenician colonies in Tunisia Eshmun