CChronica Maps

Kairouan: History, Former Names & Timeline

The first Arab city of North Africa and the centre from which the Maghreb became Muslim.

Map showing Kairouan in AD 900Kairouan
Border map for AD 900. See Europe in AD 900.

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Former names of Kairouan

FromNameNote
AD 670Kairouan

Timeline of Kairouan

YearEvent
AD 670Uqba ibn Nafi founds the city and its Great Mosque
AD 800The Aghlabids rule from Kairouan
AD 909The Fatimids overthrow the Aghlabids
1057The Banu Hilal tribes sack Kairouan
1881French troops occupy the city

Who ruled Kairouan

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–201 BCCarthaginian Empire
200 BC–101 BCCarthage
100 BC–2 BCRoman Republic
1 BC–299Roman Empire
300–399Rome (Maximian)
400–499Western Roman Empire
500–599Vandals
600–699Eastern Roman Empire
700–799Umayyad Caliphate
800–999Aghlabid Emirate
1000–1299Fatimid Caliphate
1300–1599Hafsid Caliphate
1600–1782Ottoman Empire
1783–1879Tunis
1880–1899Ottoman Empire
1900–todayTunisia

Battles and sites near Kairouan

Nearby cities

Further reading

Questions about Kairouan

Which states have ruled Kairouan?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Kairouan lies within 15 different states: Carthaginian Empire, Carthage, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Rome (Maximian), Western Roman Empire, Vandals, Eastern Roman Empire, Umayyad Caliphate, Aghlabid Emirate and others.

What are the key dates in the history of Kairouan?

AD 670: Uqba ibn Nafi founds the city and its Great Mosque. AD 800: The Aghlabids rule from Kairouan. AD 909: The Fatimids overthrow the Aghlabids. 1057: The Banu Hilal tribes sack Kairouan. 1881: French troops occupy the city.

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.