- published: 08 Aug 2015
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Bizerte or Benzert (Arabic: بنزرت Binzart, Berber: Benzert, Italian: Biserta), is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 (2009 census).
Bizerte is known as the oldest and most European city in Tunisia. It was founded around 1000 BC by Phoenicians from Tyre. It is also known as the last town to remain under French control after the rest of the country won its independence from France.
Initially a small Phoenician harbour, the city came under the influence of Carthage after the defeat of Agathocles during the Punic Wars. The city was then occupied by the Romans, under the name of Hippo Diarrhytus or Hippo Zarrytus.
Bizerte was successively conquered by the Arabs in 647 (who gave the city its current name), by the troops of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire in 1535, and then by the Turks in 1574. The city then became a corsair harbour and struggled against the French and the Venetians.
With the occupation of Tunisia in 1881, France gained control of Bizerte and built a large naval harbour in the city.