page_title: Sahel, Tunisia
section_title: Caliphates
hierarchical_section_title: Sahel, Tunisia / History / Caliphates
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vue du bordj de Mahdia à partir du cimetière marin
context_page_description: The Tunisian Sahel or more precisely the Central East Tunisia Region is an area of central eastern Tunisia and one of the Six Tunisian Regions. It stretches along the eastern shore, from Hammamet in the north to Mahdia in the south, including the governorates of Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax, and Sousse. Its name derives from the Arabic word sāḥil, meaning "shore" or "coast".
  The regions' economy is based especially on tourism and it contains the second biggest airport in Tunisia: Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport.
context_section_description: With the arrival of Islam and the establishment of the capital of Ifriqiya, Kairouan, in the region, the Sahel's maritime ports became the key to its security. This explains the construction of several ribats in the region, which served defensive, religious and Maraboutic purposes. The most important ribats are those of Monastir, built by governor Harthama ibn A'yun in 796, and of Sousse, built by the Aghlabid emirs.
caption: Fort of Mahdia
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