​BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert; Fr.Bizerte), aseaport of Tunisia, in 37° 17′ N., 9° 50′ E. Pop. about 12,000.Next to Toulon, Bizerta is the most important naval port ofFrance in the Mediterranean. It occupies a commandingstrategical position in the narrowest part of the sea, being 714 m.E. of Gibraltar, 1168 m. W.N.W. of Port Said, 240 m. N.W. ofMalta, and 420 m. S. by E. of Toulon. It is 60 m. by rail N.N.W.of Tunis. The town is built on the shores of the Mediterraneanat the point where the Lake of Bizerta enters the sea through anatural channel, the mouth of which has been canalized. Themodern town lies almost entirely on the north side of the canal.A little farther north are the ancient citadel, the walled “Arab”town and the old harbour (disused). The present outer harbourcovers about 300 acres and is formed by two converging jettiesand a breakwater. The north jetty is 4000 ft. long, the eastjetty 3300 ft., and the breakwater—which protects the port fromthe prevalent north-east winds—2300 ft. long. The entrance tothe canal is in the centre of the outer harbour. The canal is2600 ft. long and 787 ft. wide on the surface. Its banks arelined with quays, and ships drawing 26 ft. of water can mooralongside. At the end of the canal is a large commercialharbour, beyond which the channel opens into the lake—inreality an arm of the sea—roughly circular in form and coveringabout 50 sq. m., two-thirds of its waters having a depth of 30to 40 ft. The lake, which merchant vessels are not allowedto enter, contains the naval port and arsenal. There is atorpedo and submarine boat station on the north side of thechannel at the entrance to the lake, but the principal navalworks are at Sidi Abdallah at the south-west corner of thelake and 10 m. from the open sea. Here is an enclosed basincovering 123 acres with ample quayage, dry docks and everythingnecessary to the accommodation, repair, revictualling andcoaling of a numerous fleet. Barracks, hospitals and waterworkshave been built, the military town, called Ferryville,being self-contained.

Fortifications have been built for the protection of the port.They comprise (a) the older works surrounding the town; (b) agroup of coast batteries on the high ground of Cape Bizerta orGuardia, 4 m. north-north-west of the town; these are groupedround a powerful fort called Jebel Kebir, and have a commandof 300 to 800 ft. above sea-level; (c) another group of batterieson the narrow ground between the sea and the lake to the eastof the town; the highest of these is the Jebel Tuila battery265 ft. above sea-level.

TheLake of Bizerta, called Tinja by the Arabs, abounds inexcellent fish, especially mullets, the dried roe of which, calledbotargo, is largely exported, and the fishing industry employs alarge proportion of the inhabitants. The western shore of thelake is low, and in many places is covered with olive trees to thewater’s edge. The south-eastern shores are hilly and wooded,and behind them rises a range of picturesque hills. A narrowand shallow channel leads from the western side of the lake intoanother sheet of water, the Lake of Ishkul, so called from JebelIshkul, a hill on its southern bank 1740 ft. high. The Lake ofIshkul is nearly as large as the first lake, but is very shallow. Itswaters are generally sweet.

Bizerta occupies the site of the ancient Tyrian colony, HippoZarytus or Diarrhytus, the harbour of which, by means of aspacious pier, protecting it from the north-east wind, wasrendered one of the safest and finest on this coast. The townbecame a Roman colony, and was conquered by the Arabs in the7th century. The place thereafter was subject either to therulers of Tunis or of Constantine, but the citizens were noted fortheir frequent revolts. They threw in their lot (c. 1530) with thepirate Khair-ed-Din, and subsequently received a Turkishgarrison. Bizerta was captured by the Spaniards in 1535, butnot long afterwards came under the Tunisian government.Centuries of neglect followed, and the ancient port was almostchoked up, though the value of the fisheries saved the town fromutter decay. Its strategical importance was one of the causeswhich led to the occupation of Tunisia by the French in 1881.In 1890 a concession for a new canal and harbour was grantedto a company, and five years later the new port was formallyopened. Since then the canal has been widened and deepened,and the naval port at Sidi Abdallah created.