History of Al Monastir City

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Monastir was originally an old Phoenician trading city called Rous that was in neighborhood of the larger city of Hadrumete (Sousse) . This old city was the place where Julius Caesar , in AD 46 , came and settled himself in order to prepare for his battle of Thapsus , where he successfully defeated Pompey who was in turn settling on the Sousse side . The city after that was called the Roman town of Ruspina .

The town of Ruspina had a Ribat , still preserved till today , that was used for monitoring the sea for any hostile ships . The Ribat was also a favorite and nice place where Muslim scholars came to stay for contemplation . In modern times , this Ribat was featured in films like Monty Python's Life Of Brian .

The city of Al-Monistir in modern times was also the place where Habib Bourguiba was born and lived on its outskirts .