Tunisia
Home > Exhibition Trails > Tunisia > Ifriqiya > Itinerary XIIFRIQIYA
Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia
Region: all of Tunisia
ITINERARY XI: Ibadite Architecture
See Also
<< Previous Itinerary |
Description |
|
Local tradition recalls the arrival of a Jewish community who towards the middle of the 6th century BC had left Jerusalem as refugees and who found Jerba a favourable place in which to propagate their faith. Passing into the hands of the Romans after they had taken Carthage, Jerba underwent an even greater boom as can be seen by the size of the city of Meninx, which became the island's capital, and by the construction of a reef linking the island to the continent. With no traces left of the Vandal episode, the island continued to welcome all religions, as illustrated by the fact that, at the end of the reign of Justinian, it housed a solid Christian diocese. Conquered by the Arabs in 273/887, the island appears to have be unaffected by the events that were acted out on the continent. It was only with the arrival of Ibadism, which slowly gained interest in the Muslim West during the 3rd/9th century, that Jerba was taken note of. |