Tunisia Political Geography

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Sfax

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa | 2004 | | Copyright

SFAX

Tunisian seaport on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Gabès.

Sfax (also Sfaqes or Safaqis) was a Phoenician trading center before it was settled in the eighth century by Arab invaders spreading Islam; they built a mosque in the mid-ninth century. It continued as an important seaport for the Mediterranean olive oil trade and was one of the few Tunisian towns to resist the French occupation after the protectorate of 1881, thus suffering bombardment. After Tunisia became independent in 1956, Sfax became the center of a governorate and the second-largest Tunisian city, with a population of some 232,000 (as of 1984).

Today it has a medical school, one of three appellate courts, a large prison, the regional radio station, an international airport and an air-force base, and a busy port that handles mainly phosphates and olive oil.

Bibliography

Nelson, Harold D., ed. Tunisia: A Country Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986.

matthew s. gordon

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Gordon, Matthew S.. "Sfax." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gordon, Matthew S.. "Sfax." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424602422.html

Gordon, Matthew S.. "Sfax." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424602422.html

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Safaqis

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Safaqis or Sfax , city (1994 pop. 230,900), E Tunisia, on the Gulf of Qabis (Gabès), an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It is Tunisia's second largest city and has exports of phosphates, olive oil, cereals, and sponges. A major fishing port, there are oil fields nearby. Safaqis was the site of Phoenician and Roman colonies. It was briefly held by Roger II of Sicily (c.1150) and by the Spanish (16th cent.). Later it became a stronghold of the Barbary pirates.

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"Safaqis." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Safaqis." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Safaqis.html

"Safaqis." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Safaqis.html

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Sfax

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Sfax (Ṣafāqis), Tunisia Taparura Built on the site of the Roman Taparura, the fortified monastery had grown into a town by the 9th century. It fell to a French attack in 1881. The name is said to be derived from the Arabic for ‘City of Cucumbers’, although why this should be so is not known.

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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sfax." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sfax." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sfax.html

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sfax." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sfax.html

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