page_title: Mahdia Governorate
section_title: Synopsis of history
hierarchical_section_title: Mahdia Governorate / Economic summary / Synopsis of history
caption_attribution_description: fouilles de Mahdia; ancre, musée du Bardo (Tunisie)
context_page_description: Mahdia Governorate is in central-eastern Tunisia, named after its largest town and administrative centre. It comprises an area of coastal relative lowland, but extends further inland than its coastal length. It is one of the twenty-four governorates. It covers an area of 2,966 km², and has a population of 410,812. Four other governorates are its neighbours - clockwise from south, Sfax, Kairouan, Sousse and Monastir Governorates.
context_section_description: The two main coastal cities are of historic note to Greek, Roman, and early Muslim societies. They include the Mahdia shipwreck – a sunken ship found off Mahdia's shore, containing Greek art treasures – dated to about 80 BC, the early part of Roman rule in this region.  The old part of Mahdia corresponds to the Roman city called Aphrodisium and, later, called Africa (a name perhaps derived from the older name), or Cape Africa.
caption: Ship's anchor of the Mahdia shipwreck, many of the artefacts of which are in the Bardo National Museum in Tunis.
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