Jendouba ( ar, جندوبة ; Formerly known as Souk El Arba until 30 April 1966) is a city in northwestern

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

, and capital of the

Jendouba Governorate Jendouba Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia. It is predominantly in the high hills of the Tell Atlas north-western Tunisia, bordering Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea. It covers an area of 3,102 km2 and h ...

. It is an important crossroads with many road links to other towns such as

El Kef El Kef ( ar, الكاف '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate. El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a ...

Tabarka Tabarka ( ar, طبرقة ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka's history is a mosaic of Berber, Punic, Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic, Genoese and Turkish culture. The town is dominated by ...

, Ain Draham and

Béja Béja ( ar, باجة ') is a city in Tunisia. It is the capital of the Béja Governorate. It is located from Tunis, between the Medjerdah River and the Mediterranean, against the foothills of the Khroumire, the town of Béja is situated on the ...

. The main economic activity is agriculture. It is close to the famous ancient Roman city of Bullaregia or

Bulla Regia Bulla Regia was a Berber, Punic, and Roman town near present-day Jendouba, Tunisia. Its surviving ruins and archaeological site are noted for their Hadrianic-era semi-subterranean housing, a protection from the fierce heat and effects of the sun ...

, as well as the ancient marble quarry of

Chemtou Chemtou or Chimtou was an ancient Roman-Berber town in northwestern Tunisia, located 20 km from the city of Jendouba near the Algerian frontier. It was known as Simitthu (or Simitthus in Roman period) in antiquity. History Chemtou was found ...

. The city's name is derived from Amazigh with the exact translation being “land of grain.”

History

Historically, this region was important and wealthy. During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

the town was called Libertina and was a civitas of the

Roman Province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, t ...

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 historical importance of the area is evidenced by the nearby great Roman cities of

and

. Several other historical sites witness the role this city played centuries ago in the economic life of the region. Around 670 the town fell to the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb ( ar, الْفَتْحُ الإسلَامِيُّ لِلْمَغرِب) continued the century of rapid Muslim conquests following the death of Muhammad in 632 and into the Byzantine-controlled territories of ...

. Under the French, Jendouba Ville is remembered as the Tunisian area where the civil demand for independence from French colonization started on April 9, 1934. The protests started in the town of Oued Meliz on April 4, 1934, before arriving in the capital and becoming a national movement. The "events of April 9, 1938 " ( 9 أحداث أفريل 1938) were street protests demanding political reforms, including the establishment of a parliament, a major step towards the independence of Tunisia whilst a French protectorate. They resulted in a bloody shootout that marked the start of the Tunisian national movement. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

there was an airfield outside the village. During Operation Torch, the town and was captured by paratroops of the British 1st Parachute Brigade on 16 November 1942.Kurowski, F. (1982) Endkampf in Afrika, Leoni-am-Starnberger See:Druffel-Verlag, p.54. (German language). It is also the birthplace of former Dallas Mavericks center

Salah Mejri Salah Mejri ( ar, صالح الماجري; born June 15, 1986) is a Tunisian professional basketball player for Beirut Club. He also represents the senior Tunisian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he plays at the center p ...

Climate

Jendouba has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa''). In winter there is much more rainfall than in summer. The average annual temperature in Jendouba is . About of precipitation falls annually.

References

Notes

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