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The coast of Tunisia was settled in 10th cent. B.C.
by Phoenicians. In the 6th cent. B.C.,
Carthage rose to power, but it was conquered by Rome (2d cent.
B.C.), and the region became one of the granaries of Rome. It was
held by Vandals (5th cent. A.D.) and Byzantines (6th
cent.). In the 7th cent. it was conquered by Arabs, who founded Al-Qayrawan. The region became known as Ifriqiya and the Berber population
was converted to Islam. Successive Muslim dynasties ruled, interrupted by
Berber rebellions. The reigns of the Aghlabids (9th cent.) and of the Zirids
(from 972), Berber followers of the Fatimids, were especially prosperous. When
the Zirids angered the Fatimids in Cairo (1050), they latter ravaged Tunisia.
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