The oasis at
Tozeur
has been inhabited since Capsian times (from 8000 BC) as an important staging-point on the caravan route from the Sahara to the northeastern Mediterranean coast . The city later went under the Roman control and acquired the name 'Thuzuros' . In Christian times , the town became the see of a bishop but no remains from this era had survived . But the place had witnessed some persecutions done to many early Christians during the period of Vandal rule (fifth century onwards) . The stability was later restored with the
Byzantine
fortifications installed in the sixth century with the help of the local Berber tribes . A fort was established to defend the southern frontier of Tozeur against the desert nomads . When the city came under the Arabs' rule (the 7th century) , peace and prosperity prevailed and the economic state reached its peak with the trans-Saharan camel caravans becoming very blooming especially at the 14th century . Tozeur was generally referred to as the "gateway to the desert" as an important staging-point on the caravan routes . In the 15th century , however , Tozeur was struck with an economic decline together with a ruthless epidemic of cholera that resulted in a huge loss of lives . This deterioration made it so easy for the French to take over Tozeur
