The Phoenicians founded Carthage (near the present-day city of Tunis) in 814 BCE, and it soon dominated the Mediterranean. In 146 BCE Carthage was conquered by the Romans (Third Punic War), destroyed and then rebuilt.
In 439 CE the Vandals, originally a Germanic tribe, captured the city, and used it as a base to raid throughout the Mediterranean (including the sacking of Rome in 433 CE).
In 534 Carthage was taken by the Byzantine empire (otherwise known as the Eastern Roman empire).
In 670 Islamic Arabs invaded the region and founded Kairouan. At its peak, the Kairouan capital was considered the third most important Islamic city (after Mecca and Medina) and was a center for Quranic learning. From 800 until the 16th century Tunisia (Kairouan) was ruled by a series of dynasties: Aghlabite, Fatimid, and Zirid.
Tunis was captured by the Spanish in 1535 (and again in 1573) and in 1574 it became part of the Ottoman empire. By the early 18th century it was ruled, more or less independently, by the Beys of Tunis.
The region was recognized as a French sphere of influence by the 1878 Congress of Berlin, and became a French protectorate in 1883.
On 20 March 1956 Tunisia gained independence under the rule of Pasha Bey Muhammad al-Amin. On 25 July 1957 the nationalist leader and prime minister, Habib Ali Bourguiba, deposed the Bey and became president of the new Republic of Tunisia. During his presidency, Bourguiba introduced political reforms such as votes for women and free education, and maintained a socialist, secular, and ultimately a heavily autocratic rule. In 1975 Tunisia's parliament voted to make Bourguiba 'president-for-life'.
Tunisia's prime minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, staged a coup against Bourguiba on 7 November 1987 and has been president ever since -- continuing Boruguiba's style of government.
