Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/616

* TUNIS. 536 TUNNEL. the Vandals under Genseric in 429. The Vandals held the country until their King, Geliraer, was conquered and talcen prisoner in 534 by Beli- sarius (q.v. ), the general of the Byzantine Era- ]ieror Justinian. Tunis then remained under Byzantine rule until the conquest by the Arabs in the seventh century. Under Jlolianiniedan rule the city of Kairwan rose to great splendor. After having formed for more than a century a part of the dominions of the caliphs, the coini- try was ruled successivel.v by the dynasties of the Aglabites, Fatimites. Almohades, and Meri- nides. In the middle of the twelfth century it was for a short time under the rule of Roger II. of Sicily. In 1270 Louis IX. of France, having undertaken a crusade, died during his invasion of Tunis, and in 1390 the French under the Duke of Bourbon were again unsuccessful, being re- pulsed at JIahdiya. In the fourteenth century Tunis became independent under the Hafsite rulers and had an era of comparative prosperity. In 1535 Charles V. undertook an expedition against the famous corsair Khair-ed-Din (Bar- barossa), who had established himself at Tunis, captured the city, and liberated over 20.000 Christian slaves. In 1575 Sinan Pasha con- quered the country and incorporated it with the Ottoman Empire. The government was placed in the hands of a Turkish pasha, a divan or council, composed of the officers of the Turkish garrison, and the commander of the janizaries. After a few years, however, an insurrection of the soldiery broke out, and a new government was established, the head of which was a "c'.ey' possessing limited authority, the chief power being at first exercised by the military divan. But gradually an officer, with the title of 'b^y,' whose original functions were confined to the collection of tribute and taxes, acquired a su- premacy over the other authorities, and finally obtained a kind of hereditary sovcreigntv. The beys of Tunis made conquests on the mainland and piratical enterprises against Cbristian pow- ers at sea. During the eighteenth century Tunis became tributary to Algeria. About the begin- ning of the nineteenth century Hamuda Pasha put an end to this dependence, subdued the Turk- ish militia, and created a native Tunisian army, in consequence of which Tunis virtually attained independence. The subsequent rulers, Achmet Bey (1837,55), Mohammed Bey (1855-59), and Mohammed Sadyk Bey (1859-82), were liberal, enlightened sovereigns. In 1871 the Sultan renounced the tribute formerly exacted, and fixed the future relations of the Sublime Porte to Tunis, The Bey was to receive his investi- ture from Constantinople : without the Sultan's authority he could neither declare war, conclude peace, nor cede territory; the Sultan's name was to appear on all the coinage; t'le army was to be at the disposal of the Porte. In internal mat- ters, however, the power of the Bey was to be absolute. In 1881 France, with the ostensible purpose of chastising the Khnunirs. who had made raids into Algerian territory, sent an ex- pedition into Tunis. .t the same time a French squadron appeared before the capital and the Bey was forced to enter into an engagement estab- lishing a French protectorate over the country. Thereupon an insurrection broke out. and it was only after much bloodshed that the French were able to compel submission. In .July, 1881, they took Sfax, and in October they occupied Kairwan. By the close of the year the country was subdued. The French protectorate has con- tributed to the material progress and prosperity of Tunis. BiiiLiooR.PHY. Desgodinsde Souhesmes, Tma is .• liistoirc, iiitrurs, gouvernenietit (Paris, 1880) ; Reid, The Land of the Bey (London, 1SS2); Hesse-Wartegg, Tunis, Land und Leute (Vienna, 1SS2; Eng. trans., London, 1899) : Graham and Asliliee, Trarels in Tunisia (London, 1887), wliicb has a bibliography; Olivier, La Tunisie (Paris, 1S98) ; Desfosses, La question tunisienne et VAfrique septentrionale (ib., 1881); Rivi&re, La Tunisie; geographie, evinements de 1S81, or- ganisation, politique et adminisitration (ib., 1886) ; Lallemand, La Tunisie, pays de protec- torat fran^ais (ib., 1891); Faucon, La Tunisie avant et depuis I'occupation fran(aise (ib., 1893); La Tunisie franfaise (ib., 1896), publislied by the Giovernment; Bertholon. Les popnhitions et les races en Tunisie (ib.. 1896) ; Leroy-Beaulieu. L'Algerie et la Tunisie (2d ed., ib., 1897); Tissot, Exploration scientifique de la Tunisie (ib., 1884-88); Carton. Decouvertes rpigraphiques et archeologiqiies, faites en Tunisie (Lille. 1895) ; Clarin de'la Rive, Bistoire geni- rale de la Tunisie (Paris, 1895). TUNIS. The capital of Tunis. It is situated near the southwestern extremity of the Lake of Timis. about three miles from the ruins of ancient Carthage (Map; Africa, F 1). The lagoon or Lake of Tunis is shallow, and com- numicates with the Gulf of Tunis, an inlet of the Mediterranean, by a narrow strait known as the cliannel of Cioletta. The gulf itself is 45 miles broad at the entrance. The town occupies rising ground, and both the city proper and the suburbs are surrounded by walls. The streets of the inner town are narrow, unpaved, and dirty, but the bazaars are well furnished, and many of the mosques are splendid, par- ticularly the Mosque of Yussuf. The palace of the bey is probably the finest building in Tunis. The citadel, begun by Charles V. and finished by Don .Tohn of Austria, is interesting from its collection of old arms. The newer French or foreign quarter, established since iS93, has a European aspect. The city contains a ilohannnedan university and a national museum of arts and antiquities. Water is supplied by means of a restored ancient aqueduct from .Jebel Zaghwan. Tunis is the commercial centre of the State, and carries on an important trade with Europe and Central Africa. Ocean-going vessels reach the town directly by means of a canal opened in 1893. Tunis has silk and woolen manufactures of shawls, tapestries, mantles, burnooses, caps, turbans, colored cloths; also leather, soap, wax, and olive oil. all of which it exports, together with grain, fruits, cattle, fish, ivorv, sold dust, coral, etc. The climate is un- heal'thful. Tunis (ancient Tunes) was a Carthaginian city, frequently mentioned in connection Avith the Punic wars. It became important imder the Arabs. (See Tunis. Protectorate.) The popu- lation is estimated at about 170.000, of which 50.000 arc Europeans and 40,000 .Tews. TUNKERS. See German Baptist Brethren. TUNNEL (OF. tonnel, tunnel, tun, pipe, ton- nelle. arbor, arched vault, tunnel, diminutive of