Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, bordered by Libya to the east and Algeria to the west. It is the easternmost and smallest of the Maghreb countries situated along the Atlas mountain range. Forty-five percent of Tunisia is made up of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of fertile plains, and easily accessible coasts. There are mountains in the north. The climate is temperate in the north, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The desert is in the south.
At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was originally inhabited by Berber tribes. The Phoenicians settled the coastal region as early as the 10th century BC. Carthage was founded in the 8th Century B.C. by settlers from Tyre, now in modern day Lebanon, who brought their culture and religion from the Phoenician and Canaanite legacy. Carthage rose to power in the 6th century BC to eventually became the dominant Mediterranean power after a series of wars with Greece. While the Romans referred to the new empire based in the city of Carthage as Punic or Phoenician, it was an independent political entity from other Phoenician settlements in the Western Mediterranean.
A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal almost halted the rise of the Roman Empire but Carthage was eventually conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century BC, a turning point which saw Mediterranean civilization influenced primarily by European rather than North African cultures. Following the Roman conquest, Tunisia became one of the granaries of the Roman empire.
Tunisia was next conquered by the Vandals in the 5th century AD, then by the Byzantines in the 6th century. In the 7th century it was conquered by Arab Muslims, who founded the Al Qayrawan mosque and university. Successive Muslim dynasties followed, interrupted by Berber rebellions, the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century, the Spanish and the Ottomans, under whom Tunisia attained virtual independence. Many Spanish Moors and Jews arrived at the end of the 15th century following their expulsion from Catholic Spain. In the late 16th Century the Tunisian coast became stronghold of the Barbary pirates.
The French invaded Tunisia in 1880 and declared it a French protectorate in 1881. The scene of the major military operations during World War II, Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956.
Tunisia has a diverse economy based on agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Increased foreign trade and tourism have seen steady economic growth. Although most modern Tunisians speak Arabic and identify as Arabs, they are mainly the descendants of indigenous Berbers. Most Tunisians (98%) are Muslim.