Sousse  (sōōs)  A city of northeast Tunisia on an inlet of the Mediterranean Sea. Founded in ancient times by the Phoenicians, it was an important city under the Romans and Carthaginians and later under the Arabs (9th-11th centuries) and the French (19th-20th centuries). Population: 173,000. |
Sousse
town located in east-central Tunisia. It is an important port and commercial centre that originated as the Phoenician settlement of Hadrumetum. Used by Hannibal as his base during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), Sousse changed its allegiance during the Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) and consequently gained the status of a free town. It declined under Arab control but was revived by the Aghlabid rulers of Kairouan (Al-Qayrawan) in the 9th century, whose port it remained until the invasions of the Bedouin Arabs in the 11th century. Sousse was reestablished as a prominent port under the French protectorate (1881-1955); during World War II, the town and its port were seriously damaged.
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