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Mahdia, Arabic: المهدية (al-Mahdiya), is a Tunisian coastal city with 37,000 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.

Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It has an important fishing harbour and associated fish-processing industry. The larger Gouvenorat of Mahdia has an area of 2966 km² and a population of 340,000 inhabitants.

History

A city already existed at this site during the time of the Phoenicians and Romans, but was destroyed during the Arab conquest of North Africa. Mahdia was founded by the Fatimids under the Caliph Abdallah al-Mahdi in 921 and named after their self-proclaimed Mahdi. It was made the capital city of Ifriqiya. In 1087 the town was attacked by raiding ships from Genoa and Pisa. The Zirids had their residence here in the 11th century, until this role was taken over by Tunis in the 13th century during the Hafsid Dynasty. Some buildings still exist from the 10th and 11th centuries, such as the Great Mosque and the Casbah, which have helped make the city an important tourist attraction.

External links

• http://www.tourismtunisia.com/togo/mahdia/mahdia.html (engl.)

See also: Mahdia shipwreck

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