Ariana ( ar, أريانة ') is a coastal city in north-eastern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, part the agglomeration of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, also called "Grand Tunis". It is located at the north of Tunis city center, around . It is the capital of

Ariana Governorate Ariana Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates (provinces) of Tunisia. It is in northern Tunisia, approximately triangular, having as one of its sides part of the Gulf of Tunis, it covers an area of 482 km² and has a popula ...

and the country's eighth largest city.

History

The city's name seems to date back to the period of the Vandal Kingdom in pre-Islamic

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

: the Vandals, in fact, were of

Arian faith Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Roman Egypt, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (C ...

. It could also be a reference to

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

settlers from the Islamic invasion of the Maghreb as Persians refer to themselves as "

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

". The city's origins date back to the Zirid dynasty. Under the Hafsid sultan

Muhammad I al-Mustansir Muhammad I al-Mustansir (; ) was the second ruler of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya and the first to claim the title of Khalif. Al-Mustansir concluded a peace agreement to end the Eighth Crusade launched by Louis IX of France in 1270. Muhamma ...

, Ariana became the residence of the

Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

and Muslim Andalusians, who sought refuge in

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...

in the thirteenth century.

Geography

The city, whose area covers

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s, and is the pole of an agglomeration covering seven districts for a population basin of inhabitants. It is located in the middle of a vast plain bordered by the beaches of Raoued and Gammarth as well as the city of Carthage and the hill of

Sidi Bou Saïd Sidi Bou Said ( ar, سيدي بو سعيد ') is a town in northern Tunisia located about 20 km from the capital, Tunis. Named for a religious figure who lived there, Abu Said al-Baji, it was previously called Jabal el-Menar. The town it ...

Economy

Ariana owes its fame to its

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

development and to its production of

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, mainly roses. The Rose Garden, located in Bir Belhassen Park, covers some 3000m² and is home to rosebushes and cuttings, 90% of which belong to the variety known as the “Ariana rose". This variety was introduced in

1637 Events January–March * January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy ''Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France. * January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in what is now the Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...

by the Andalusians. The garden is extended by the Galerie de la Rose which develops the historical, natural and cultural aspects of the flower. A rose festival takes place every year in the spring.

Climate

In Ariana, the climate is warm and temperate. In winter there is much more rainfall than in summer. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Csa. The average annual temperature in Ariana is . About of precipitation falls annually.

Gallery

Hédi Berrekhissa dit Balha الهادي بالرخيصة.jpg AvenueHediNouiraEnnasrTunis 1.jpg Ariana 3 - Tunisia.jpg Ariana 5 - Tunisia.jpg Ariana 4 - Tunisia.jpg

References

Populated places in Ariana Governorate Populated coastal places in Tunisia Communes of Tunisia Cities in Tunisia {{Tunisia-geo-stub