Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the

suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bo ...

in Sidi Bouzid, it was the site of the first clashes of the Tunisian Revolution and a catalyst for other protests in the region, often known as the Arab Spring.

History

Antiquity

Ruins at Henchir-Simindja, Bou-Zid have been identified with the Roman era town of

Simingi Simingi was a Roman era civitas (town) of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis. The town was the seat of an ancient bishopric, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Carthage.Stefano Antonio Morcelli, ''Africa christiana'', Volume I, (Brescia, 18 ...

. Simingi was a

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () o ...

of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Africa Proconsularis Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Roman era Simingi was also the seat of an ancient

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 ...

, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Carthage.

World War II

It was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

which took place in February 1943, part of the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. T ...

of World War II. This battle began on 14 February 1943 at nearby Faid Pass when the German 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions attacked elements of the US 1st Armored Division and 168th Infantry. This Battle of Sidi Bou Zid was the opening act in what became known as the Battle of Kasserine Pass.

Role in the Tunisian revolution

On 17 December 2010, clashes occurred in Sidi Bouzid between residents and the police following the public

. Bouazizi worked as one of the city's street Named ( Rahba ) vendors selling fruit. He set fire to himself on 17 December as protest against the authorities' seizure of his goods, after an alleged refusal to pay a bribe to officials, and the police harassment and violence he suffered as a result. He died of his injuries on 4 January 2011. Mohamed Bouazizi's grave and tombstone

In early January 2011, more clashes with the police in Sidi Bouzid led to at least 20 deaths. Protesters in Sidi Bouzid began taking pictures, but most importantly video clips, of these events and the violence meted out to them (including firing live rounds) using 'smart phones' and other mobile devices. They were then posted extensively on the web using

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

sites. As a direct result, violent protests soon spread through the country, eventually reaching the capital of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. As the uprising intensified, President Ben Ali fled the country on 14 January 2011. The success of protesters from Sidi Bouzid in publicizing their efforts and plight via social media has been seen as the most distinctive and decisive feature in facilitating the following uprisings across North Africa and other Arab nations.

'Secession' from Tunisia

In late July, 2013, officials declared that their city had seceded from Tunisia and would not return to control of the central government unless Islamist government led by Ennahda party was removed from power.

Climate

Sidi Bouzid has a borderline

hot semi-arid Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot District ...

/ hot desert climate (''BSh''/''BWh'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

Sports

The city is represented by the

Étoile Olympique de Sidi Bouzid EO Sidi Bouzid (french: Étoile Olympique de Sidi Bouzid; ar, النجم الأولمبي بسيدي بوزيد) is a Tunisian football club founded in 1959 in the city of Sidi Bouzid. The club is currently evolving in the Ligue 1 Ligue 1 ...

in the Tunisian football competitions. It played in the national Tunisian football league for the first time in 2016 and after 2 years it return to the second division.

References

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia Catholic titular sees in Africa