Gafsa قفصة | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Gafsa Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates:34°25′21″N8°47′03″E / 34.42250°N 8.78417°E /34.42250; 8.78417 | |
| Country |  Tunisia |
| Governorate | Gafsa Governorate |
| Delegation(s) | Gafsa North, Gafsa South |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Helmi Belhani (Nidaa Tounes) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 120,739 |
| Time zone | UTC1 (CET) |
Gafsa (Arabic:قفصة qafṣah/gafṣahGafsˤaⓘ) is the capital ofGafsa Governorate inTunisia. With a population of 120,739, Gafsa is theninth-largest Tunisian city and is 335 km from the country's capital,Tunis.
Gafsa is the capital ofGafsa Governorate, in southwesternTunisia and is both ahistorical oasis and the home to the mining industry of Tunisia. The city had 111,170 inhabitants at the 2014 census, under the rule of the mayor, Helmi Belhani.[1] Lying 369 km (229 mi) by road southwest of the country's capital,Tunis, Gafsa has its geographical coordinates34°25′N8°47′E / 34.417°N 8.783°E /34.417; 8.783.
Excavations atprehistoric sites in the Gafsa area have yielded artefacts and skeletal remains associated with theCapsian culture. ThisMesolithic civilisation has beenradiocarbon dated to between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE. The associated ancient population, known as theSnail eaters, are known for their extensivemiddens ofsnail shells. They are believed to be theancestors of the modernBerbers.[2]
The city was originally called Capsa inLatin. Gafsa lends its Latin name of Capsa to theMesolithicCapsian culture. It belonged toKing Jugurtha, who deposited his treasures there. It was captured byGaius Marius in 106 BC and destroyed, later becoming reestablished under the Punic-style magistracy ofsufetes before being granted the status of a Romancolonia.[3][4] Capsa was an important city ofRoman Africa near theFossatum Africae.[5] Roman cisterns are still evident in the city ruins.[5]
TheVandals conquered the Roman city and ruled it until the death ofGenseric (477). The Berbers then occupied it, making it the capital of aRomano-Berber kingdom until subjected toByzantium underJustinian I (527–565) and the era ofByzantine North Africa. He made Capsa the capital of the province ofByzacena. The Duke of Byzacena resided there. In 540, the Byzantine governor generalSolomon built a new city wall, naming the city Justiniana Capsa.[3]
The Arab army ofUqba ibn Nafi conquered Gafsa in 688, in spite of resistance from the Berbers.[6] After theArab conquest, Capsa started to lose importance, replaced byMuslim-foundedKairouan.
Historians such as Camps and Laverde consider Gafsa the place in North Africa whereAfrican Romance last survived, until the 13th century, as a spoken language. Al Yacoubi reports that this time its inhabitants were considered Romanized Berber andAl-Idrissi says they continued to speak an African Latin and part of them remained faithful to theChristian religion.
Al-Idrisi described the city in the 12th century:[7]
The city of Gafsa is a fine city, surrounded by a wall, with a flowing river whose water is purer than that of Castile. At its center lies the spring known asal-Tarmīdh. It has bustling markets, abundant trade, and thriving industries. The city is encircled by numerous date palms, bearing remarkable varieties of dates. Gafsa is also adorned with beautiful gardens, orchards, and well-maintained palaces. Various crops are cultivated there, including henna and cotton. Its inhabitants are largely Berbers, and most of them speak the Latin-African tongue.
Phosphate mines were discovered in 1886, and Gafsa today is home to one of the largest mines ofphosphate in the world.
The travel-book ‘Fountains in the Sand’ (1912) by British authorNorman Douglas gives an in-depth account of life and work in Gafsa.
In the Second World War, Gafsa suffered heavybombardment from both theGerman and Italian side and the Allies. Part of itsKasbah was destroyed.
On 27 January 1980, a group of dissidents armed and trained byLibya occupied the city to contest therégime ofHabib Bourguiba. 48 people were killed in the battles.
The Gafsa region has had an active political voice throughout its history, and various events there have shaped its political developments in the various phases of modern Tunisia.
In 2008, Gafsa was the center of riots directed against the government of PresidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali. The government was swift and brutal in its suppression of the uprising, but this movement has since been credited with sowing the first seeds of theJasmine Revolution that removedZine El Abidine Ben Ali from power three years later, igniting theArab Spring across much of North Africa and the Middle East.
In 2014, alake suddenly appeared around 25 kilometers from the town. The cause of the lake's formation is currently unknown.[8]
Extant documents give the names of a few of the bishops of Capsa.[9][10][11]
In the 3rd century, Donatulus took part in the council that SaintCyprian convoked inCarthage in 256 to discuss the problem of thelapsi.
In the 4th century, at theCouncil of Carthage (349), Fortunatianus of Capsa was present, mentioned as the first among the bishops ofByzacena. ADonatist bishop of Capsa called Quintasius was at the council held atCabarsussi in 393 by a breakaway group ofDonatists led byMaximianus.
In the 5th century, at the jointCouncil of Carthage (411) attended byCatholics andDonatists, Gams and Morcelli say Capsa was represented by the Donatist Donatianus, and that it had no Catholic bishop.[10][11] According to the more recent Mesnage, Donatianus was instead the Donatist bishop of Capsus in Numidia, and Capsa in Byzacena was represented by the Catholic Fortunatus and the Donatist Celer, whom the earlier sources attributed to Capsus.[9] All three sources agree in attributing to Capsa the Vindemialis who was one of the Catholic bishops whomHunericsummoned to Carthage in 484 and then exiled. However, the latest editions of theRoman Martyrology, which commemorates Vindemialis on 2 May, call him bishop of Capsus in Numidia.[12]
Capsa still had resident bishops at the end of the 9th century, being mentioned in aNotitia Episcopatuum ofLeo VI the Wise (886–912).[9] but a community may have lasted until the early 12th century[13]
No longer a residentialbishopric, Capsa is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[14]
Gafsa has ahot desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWh).
| Climate data for Gafsa (1991–2020, extremes 1950–2022) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) | 32.0 (89.6) | 36.9 (98.4) | 38.0 (100.4) | 42.8 (109.0) | 46.1 (115.0) | 46.5 (115.7) | 45.7 (114.3) | 43.5 (110.3) | 39.5 (103.1) | 35.5 (95.9) | 29.0 (84.2) | 46.5 (115.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.8 (60.4) | 17.5 (63.5) | 21.3 (70.3) | 25.4 (77.7) | 30.3 (86.5) | 35.3 (95.5) | 38.4 (101.1) | 37.9 (100.2) | 32.9 (91.2) | 27.8 (82.0) | 21.2 (70.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.0 (50.0) | 11.4 (52.5) | 14.9 (58.8) | 18.6 (65.5) | 23.2 (73.8) | 27.8 (82.0) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.6 (87.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.0 (51.8) | 20.2 (68.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) | 5.3 (41.5) | 8.4 (47.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 16.1 (61.0) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.3 (73.9) | 20.4 (68.7) | 15.6 (60.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 5.5 (41.9) | 13.6 (56.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) | −4.3 (24.3) | −2.1 (28.2) | 1.8 (35.2) | 6.0 (42.8) | 9.1 (48.4) | 13.8 (56.8) | 15.1 (59.2) | 10.3 (50.5) | 2.6 (36.7) | −1.2 (29.8) | −4.9 (23.2) | −5.5 (22.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 15.1 (0.59) | 10.6 (0.42) | 15.7 (0.62) | 16.4 (0.65) | 13.4 (0.53) | 3.4 (0.13) | 3.4 (0.13) | 5.9 (0.23) | 20.2 (0.80) | 18.0 (0.71) | 18.2 (0.72) | 13.7 (0.54) | 154.1 (6.07) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 22.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 65 | 61 | 58 | 55 | 52 | 47 | 43 | 48 | 55 | 61 | 65 | 68 | 56 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 201.2 | 214.9 | 246.4 | 268.9 | 311.4 | 333.3 | 359.5 | 331.4 | 261.8 | 243.2 | 214.4 | 200.6 | 3,187 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 6.6 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 8.8 |
| Source 1: Institut National de la Météorologie (humidity 1961-1990, sun 1981–2010)[15][16][17][18][note 1] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA(humidity and daily sun 1961–1990)[20][21][22] | |||||||||||||
Gafsa is developing thanks to the mining ofphosphates, the deposit of which discovered in 1886 is one of the largest in the world.Tunisia extracted nearly five million tonnes of phosphates in 2011. Production fell after the revolution to reach 3,500,000 tonnes in 2016. Tunisia has thus fallen from seventh in the world to tenth. TheCompagnie des phosphates de Gafsa had its own private railway line until 1966, on the basis of an agreement signed on 25 August 1896. Paradoxically, the city is quite poor and does not benefit from income from phosphate.[23]
Gafsa – Ksar International Airport is located in the city.
El Kawafel Sportives de Gafsa (Arabic: القوافل الرياضية بقفصة, often referred to as EGSG) is the main football club of Gafsa.
Radio stations:
and other government and private Tunisian radios broadcast in Gafsa as Shems FM, RTCI, Youth Radio, Culture Radio, Zitouna, and the National Radio.
Gafsa istwinned with:
Naples, Italy[24]
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Romano-Berber cities in Roman North Africa | ||
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Sorted by contemporary national borders | ||
| Morocco | %2c_Algeria_04966r.jpg) | |
| Algeria |
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| Tunisia | ||
| Egypt | ||
| Spain | ||
| Kingdoms and provinces | ||
| Related articles | ||
1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites2 Proposed | ||
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