Tabarka Explained

Official Name:Tabarka
Native Name:طبرقة
Native Name Lang:ar
Pushpin Map:Tunisia
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Tunisia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Tunisia
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:Jendouba Governorate
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2022
Population Total:22,119
Population Density Km2:3894
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:1
Coordinates:36.9544°N 8.7581°W
Elevation M:4.7
Postal Code Type:Postal Code
Postal Code:8110

Tabarka (Arabic: طبرقة ) is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka was occupied at various times by Punics, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Genoese and Ottomans. The town is dominated by an offshore rock on which there remains a Genoese castle. Nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba, later president of post-independence Tunisia, was exiled on Tabarka by the French colonial authorities in 1952.[1] Tourist attractions include coral fishing, the Coralis Festival of underwater photography,[2] and its annual jazz festival.[3]

Name

Tabarka was known to the Carthaginians as (). This was transcribed into Greek as Thaúbraka (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Θαύβρακα) and into Latin as Thabraca.[4] [5] In modern day Berber it is known as Tabarka or Tbarga, while its Arabic name is Ṭbarqa (Arabic: طبرقة).

History

Although older sources placed Thabraca within the Roman province of Numidia, recent ones agree on placing it in the Roman province of Africa, known also as Africa Proconsularis.[6] [7] [8] It was a Roman colony. It was connected by a road with Simitthu, which it served as a port for the export of its famous marble. The rebellious Roman official Gildo, the brother of Firmus, committed suicide in Thabraca. Under the Vandal king Gaiseric, the town had a monastery for men and a convent for women.From 1540 to 1742, the Genoese maintained a garrison on the adjacent island, also called Tabarka, which lies about 365yd off the town. In 1540 the island was given by the Ottoman Bey of Tunis as a concession to the Genoese Lomellini family.[9] The Genoese were in the service of Spain during 1553 at the request of Emperor Charles V who was interested in coral fishing. The Lomellini were part of the circle of Andrea Doria, Doge of Genoa, and were related to the Grimaldi family. The grant was possibly due to a secret ransom for the release of the pirate Turkish Dragut, captured in 1540 by Giannettino Doria, nephew of Andrea Doria. The Lomellini colonized Tabarca with a group of inhabitants of Pegli,[10] near Genoa, where they had various properties and a huge palace. The community of Pegliesi lived in Tabarka for several centuries.

In 1738 due to the exhaustion of the coral reefs and the deterioration of relations with the Arab population a large group of "Tabarkini" moved to San Pietro Island off Sardinia, then uninhabited, where they founded a new town of Carloforte. The transfer was made possible thanks to the King of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia who wanted to colonize those of his lands which were not yet inhabited. The name of Carloforte was chosen in honor of the sovereign. Another group of Tabarkini was resettled in the town of Calasetta on the adjacent Island of Sant'Antioco, whose population still speaks a variant of Genoese dialect originating from Tabarka.[11] Others were moved to the Spanish island of New Tabarca.[12] In 1741 or 1742, the Genoese fortress surrendered to the (nominally Ottoman but essentially autonomous) Bey of Tunis. At Tabarka, the ruins consists of a pit once used as a church and some fragments of walls which belonged to Christian buildings. There were also two Ottoman Turkish fortresses, one of which has been repaired. A French expedition was dispatched to capture Tabarka but failed.

Under French colonial rule it was annexed to the civil district of Souk el-Arba, now in the Tunisian governorate of Jendouba, and a rather important fishing centre. Tabarka Jazz Festival was established in 1973.

Ecclesiastical history

Thabraca became a Christian bishopric that is no longer a residential see but is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[13] was also the seat of an ancient Bishopric and in antiquity it had a monastery for men and one for women,[14] and several church Buildings and Christian cemeteries have been uncovered.[15] The city contains several Christian cemeteries, many of the tombs covered with curious mosaics. An inscription (C.I.L., VIII, 173-82) mentions the cult of the martyr Anastasia and her companions.

Bishops

The bishops of Thabraca, who met with the other bishops of Proconsular Africa, included:

The Bishopric was founded during the Roman Empire and survived through the arian Vandal and Orthodox Byzantine empires, only ceasing to function with the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. The diocese was re-founded in name at least in the 20th century as a titular see of the Roman Catholic church.[17] [18]

Titular bishops

Weather

Climate

The weather in Tabarka is usually variable from year to year. Summers are mostly hot and dry, but milder than the Saharan hinterland. It barely rains in July and August. The average temperatures for this season is 28.2C. Winters are mostly rainy and mild. The average temperature for this season is 12C.

Transport

The airport in Tabarka was named Airport 7 Novembre until the Tunisian revolution; it was then renamed Tabarka-Ain Draham International Airport.

See also

Featured in film, The Golden Salamander, with Trevor Howard, Herbert Lom and Anouk Aimee.

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Derek Hopwood & Sue Mi Terry, Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia:The Tragedy of Longevity, Springer 2016 p.72
  2. Elżbieta Lisowscy, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Tunisia, Dorling Kindersley 2011 p.41
  3. Donna Wheeler, Paul Clammer & Emilie Filou, Tunisia: Lonely Planet, 2010 p.284
  4. Web site: Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary. https://web.archive.org/web/20140228181231/http://nlp.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DT%3Aentry+group%3D16 . 2014-02-28 . dead . 28 March 2016.
  5. Book: The Roman World. Chapot, V.. 1928. Knopf. 9780819603678. 385. 28 March 2016.
  6. Book: The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Hornblower, S.. Spawforth, A.. Eidinow, E.. 2012. OUP Oxford. 9780199545568. 33. 28 March 2016.
  7. Book: Staying Roman: Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439-700. Conant, J.. 2012. Cambridge University Press. 9780521196970. 48. 28 March 2016.
  8. Book: Letters 1-99. Saint Augustine. Rotelle, J.E.. Teske, R.J.. 2001. pt. 2, v. 1. New City Press. 9781565481633. 264. 28 March 2016.
  9. Thomas Allison Kirk, Genoa and the Sea, JHU Press, 2013
  10. Web site: L'Isola di Tabarka e le tracce dei genovesi . www.lastampa.it . May 2012. 4 February 2017.
  11. Web site: Calasetta. Sardegna Turismo . 4 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170205014819/https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en/point-of-interest/calasetta . 5 February 2017.
  12. Book: Varela, Santiago. Alicante / Alacant, Tabarca: Rutas de aproximación al patrimonio cultural valenciano / Rutes d'aproximació al patrimoni cultural valencià. Juan Calduch; Joaquín Lara (graphic dessing). 1983. es, ca. Servicio de patrimonio arquitectónico: Conselleria de Cultura, Educación y Ciencia: Generalidad Valenciana. Nueva Tabarca / Nova Tabarca: 1. Generalidades / 1. Generalitats.
  13. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013,), p. 979
  14. https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=11405 Thabraca
  15. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14552a.htm Thabraca
  16. A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Anterior to the Division of the East and West, Volume 17 (J.H. Parker, 1844) p294.
  17. http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1684.htm Titular Episcopal See of Thabraca
  18. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2t10.html Thabraca
  19. https://www.weather2travel.com/tunisia/tabarka/climate/?r=home Weather2Travel - Tabarka