Mahdia

Mahdia stands on a narrow peninsula on the eastern coast of Tunisia. The Fatimid caliph al-Mahdi chose it as his capital in the early tenth century, creating a fortified city with a harbor and a great mosque. Its position made it an important naval base in the central Mediterranean. In 1550 Spanish forces captured Mahdia during the struggle with the Ottomans for control of the coast; the city’s fortifications bear witness to its strategic importance.