Sāḥil, Al-

Al-Sāḥil, also spelled Sahel, Latin Byzacium, coastal plain in the eastern Mediterranean littoral of Tunisia that includes a sandy coast with large bays and lagoons of the Mediterranean and is situated between the sea and the steppe country of central Tunisia. The region extends from the town of Al-Nafīdah on the central coast of the Gulf of Hammamet in the north to the town of Gabès (Qābis) on the Gulf of Gabes in the south, but Al-Sāḥil (Arabic: “shore”) in particular designates the stretch of land between the towns of Sousse (Sūsah) and Sfax (Ṣafāqis). The islands of Jerba (Jarbah) and Chergui (Al-Sharqī) are also considered a part of Al-Sāḥil. The region receives sufficient rainfall for irrigation because of the sharqī (easterly) wind.

Al-Sāḥil was first inhabited by the Phoenicians in the 9th century bce. Cereal growing is traditional, especially wheat and barley, and Hannibal introduced the cultivation of olive trees about 203 bce. In 1091 ce Muslim refugees from Sicily settled in the region.

The chief industries are based on the pressing of olive oil and the manufacture of soaps. Weaving, fishing, and pottery making are also economically important. Al-Sāḥil is densely populated and characterized by closely spaced villages. The inhabitants are referred to as either Sāḥilī, in Arabic, designating persons “from the coastal region,” or Āfāqī, a local term designating “sedentary villagers.” The main towns include Sousse, locally referred to as the pearl of Al-Sāḥil; Monastir (Al-Munastīr), the birthplace of the first Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba; Mahdia (Al-Mahdiyyah), the marketplace of the villagers; and Sfax, an important port and a trading centre.