Carthage (/ˈkɑːrθɪdʒ/ KAR-thij; Arabic: قرطاج, romanized: Qarṭāj) is a commune in Tunis Governorate, Tunisia. It is named for, and includes in its area, the archaeological site of Carthage.
Established in 1919, Carthage is some 15 km to the east-northeast of Tunis, situated between the towns of Sidi Bou Said to the north and Le Kram to the south. It is reached from Tunis by the R23 road via La Goulette, or by the N9 road via Tunis–Carthage International Airport.
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Tunis (Arabic: تونس, ) is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. As of 2020, it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casablanca and Algiers) and the eleventh-largest in the Arab world.
Situated on the Gulf of Tunis, behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Ḥalq il-Wād), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At its core lies the Medina, a World Heritage Site. East of the Medina, through the Sea Gate (also known as the Bab el Bhar and the Porte de France), begins the modern part of the city called "Ville Nouvelle", traversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba (often referred to by media and travel guides as "the Tunisian Champs-Élysées"), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. Further east by the sea lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.
Roman Carthage was an important city in ancient Rome, located in modern-day Tunisia. Approximately 100 years after the destruction of Punic Carthage in 146 BC, a new city of the same name (Latin Carthāgō) was built on the same land by the Romans in the period from 49 to 44 BC. By the 3rd century, Carthage had developed into one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire, with a population of several hundred thousand. It was the center of the Roman province of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the empire. Carthage briefly became the capital of a usurper, Domitius Alexander, in 308–311. Conquered by the Vandals in 439, Carthage served as the capital of the Vandal Kingdom for a century. Re-conquered by the Eastern Roman Empire in 533–534, it continued to serve as a Roman regional center, as the seat of the praetorian prefecture of Africa (after 590 the Exarchate of Africa).
The city was sacked and destroyed by Umayyad Arab forces after the Battle of Carthage in 698 to prevent it from being reconquered by the Byzantine Empire. A fortress on the site was garrisoned by Muslim forces until the Hafsid period, when it was captured by Crusaders during the Eighth Crusade. After the withdrawal of the Crusaders, the Hafsids decided to destroy the fortress to prevent any future use by a hostile power. Roman Carthage was used as a source of building materials for Kairouan and Tunis in the 8th century.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage consists of natural features (physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty. Romania accepted the convention on 16 May 1990, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
As of 2024, there are 11 World Heritage Sites in Romania, nine of which are cultural sites and two of which are natural. The first site in Romania, the Danube Delta, was added to the list at the 15th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Carthage in 1990. Further sites were added in 1993 and 1999 and some of the sites were subsequently expanded. Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape was listed in 2021 and was immediately placed in the list of World Heritage in Danger due to plans to resume mining. The site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is shared among 18 European countries. In addition, there are 17 sites on Romania's tentative list.
Le Kram is a town and commune in the Tunis Governorate of Tunisia. Situated between La Goulette, the port of Tunis, and Carthage, it opens onto the Gulf of Tunis to the east and the Lake of Tunis to the west. As of 2024 it had a population of 88302 . Before 2001, Le Kram was a municipal district within the municipality bordering La Goulette.
The original name of the city was Aga El Kram; it was Gallicised as Le Kram. The word kram in Tunisian Arabic refers to a fig tree or a fruit tree in general. Professor Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour says of the town's founder: