Under the Almohads and the Hafsids, from the 12th to the 16th
century, Tunis was considered one of the greatest and wealthiest
cities in the Islamic world. Some 700 monuments, including
palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains, testify to
this remarkable past. Outstanding Universal Value Located in a
fertile plain region of north-eastern Tunisia, and a few
kilometres from the sea, the Medina of Tunis is one of the first
Arabo-Muslim towns of the Maghreb (698 A.D.). Capital of several
universally influential dynasties, it represents a human
settlement that bears witness to the interaction between
architecture, urbanism and the effects of socio-cultural and
economic changes of earlier cultures. Under the Almohads and the
Hafsids, from the 12th to the 16th century, Tunis was considered
one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in the Arab world.
Numerous testimonies from this and earlier periods exist today.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, new powers endowed the city
with numerous palaces and re