Timeline / 400 to 1300 / TUNISIA
Date Country | Description
533 A.D. Tunisia
Byzantine reconquest of Africa led by the Byzantine general Belisarius. End of the Vandal kingdom.
534 - 548 A.D. Tunisia
Berber insurrections threaten the Byzantine army, which suffered repeated setbacks.
582 - 602 A.D. Tunisia
Reorganisation of the Byzantine Empire and institution of the Exarchate of Carthage, consolidating the pre-eminence of the military.
647 A.D. Tunisia
First expedition of Muslim Arabs in Ifriqiya. Victory at Sufetula (Sbeitla).
665 A.D. Tunisia
Second Arab expedition. Victory at Hadrumetum (Sousse).
670 A.D. Tunisia
Third Arab expedition led by ‘Uqba (Okba) ibn Nafi, who founds the town of Kairouan.
698 A.D. Tunisia
Carthage conquered by the Arabs under the leadership of Hassan ibn Numan.
705 A.D. Tunisia
Musa ibn Nossayr becomes the first governor of Ifriqiya.
711 A.D. Tunisia
The Muslims begin the conquest of Spain under the leadership of Tarik ibn Ziyad.
739 - 742 A.D. Tunisia
Berber insurrections shake the country. Arab pacification puts an end to the insecurity and prompts economic growth.
827 A.D. Tunisia
The Aghlabids begin the conquest of Sicily. Date Country | Description
836 A.D. Tunisia
Construction of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
863 A.D. Tunisia
Construction of the Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis.
876 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of the town of Raqqada a few kilometres outside Kairouan.
921 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of the town of Mahdia, capital of the Fatimids.
947 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of princely town of Sabra-al Mansuriya.
971 - 973 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of Cairo (Egypt). The Fatimids leave for Cairo.
1007 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of the Qal’at Bani Hammad (Algeria).
1015 A.D. Tunisia
The Zirid princes share out the kingdom of Ifriqiya and the fortress of the Bani Hammad.
1016 - 1062 A.D. Tunisia
Foundation of the kingdom of al-Mu‘izz ibn Badis, which splits from the Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo.
1050 - 1052 A.D. Tunisia
Ifriqiya is invaded by Hilalian tribes from Egypt. Split into several different kingdoms, Ifriqiya falls to the invaders.
1118 - 1156 A.D. Tunisia
Norman incursions on the coast of Ifriqiya. The Djerba and Kerkennah islands, along with the towns of Gabès, Sfax, Mahdia and Sousse, are occupied by the Normans.
1160 A.D. Tunisia Date Country | Description
Reconquest of the coast by the Almohads and reunification of Ifriqiya.
1184 - 1209 A.D. Tunisia
The powers of the Almohads declines.
1228 - 1236 A.D. Tunisia
The Hafsid Kingdom of Tunis exerts a remarkable influence in politics, economics and culture.
1253 A.D. Tunisia
The socio-cultural movement in Ifriqiya flourishes with individuals such as Sidi Bou Saïd and Sidi Mehrez venerated as patron saints.
1270 A.D. Tunisia
Death of Louis IX at the gates of Carthage during the Eighth Crusade against the Kingdom of Tunis.
1277 - 1370 A.D. Tunisia
The century is marked by trials and crises that shake the Hafsid kingdom: civil wars, foreign incursions and cholera epidemics.