Sufetula / Sbeitla

Situated at the borderline of the ridge and the steppe of central Tunisia, Sufetula is one of the most attractive ancient sites in Tunisia. Berber in origin, as its toponym indicates, Sufetula rapidly climbed the scales of municipalisation, evolving from a free city to a colony, which shows its romanisation and its economic and cultural integration. With the advent of Christianity, it became a see and after the Vandal period, later, it was fortified by the Byzantines who made it their capital in the first half of the seventh century, at the secessionist request of Gregory. In 647 A.D., the city fell under the attacks of the Arab army led by Abdullah Ibn Saad.
The site of Sufetula is characterised by a regular urban pattern where the straight-line streets intersect at a right angle delineating areas reserved for the dwellers. A noticeable forum houses for example a capitol composed of three temples dedicated to the Capitoline triad, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. In addition, the site possesses a well-preserved theatre, a thermal compound, temples, churches - where multi-coloured baptismal cisterns can be seen - an attractive triumphal arch dating from the reign of Diocletian, fortlets from the Byzantine time... What is more, in order to protect the many and beautiful artefacts disinterred by the excavators, Sbeitla has endowed herself with an original museum of antiquities.