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
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, 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 popu ...
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. 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".
The city's origins date back to the
Zirid dynasty
The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from m ...
. Under the
Hafsid
The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (western ...
sultan
Muhammad I al-Mustansir, 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 sefa ...
and Muslim
Andalusians
The Andalusians ( es, andaluces) are a European ethnic group, native to Andalusia, an autonomous community in southern Spain. Andalusia's statute of autonomy defines Andalusians as the Spanish citizens who reside in any of the municipalitie ...
, who sought refuge in
Ifriqiya 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 ...
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 __NOTOC__
Gammarth ( aeb, ڨمرت ) is a town on the Mediterranean Sea in the Tunis Governorate of Tunisia, located some 15 to 20 kilometres north of Tunis, adjacent to La Marsa. It is an upmarket seaside resort, known for its expensive hotels an ...
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 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 Sha ...
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
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