Sousse was an important commercial and military port during the Aghlabid period (800–909) and is a typical example of a town dating from the first centuries of Islam. With its kasbah, ramparts, medina (with the Great Mosque), Bu Ftata Mosque and typical ribat (both a fort and a religious building), Sousse was part of a coastal defence system.

Brief synthesis Located in the Tunisian Sahel, the Medina of Sousse constitutes a harmonious archaeological complex that reflects Arabo-Muslim urbanism applied to a coastal town exposed through its history to piracy and dangers from the sea. With the Medina of Monastir, it constitutes the unique prototype of military coastal architecture of the first centuries of Islam that has been passed down to us. Several monuments of the medina bear witness to this robust, ascetic and imposing architecture, notably the Ribat, the Great Mosque, the Bou Ftata Mosque, the Kasbah and the ramparts. The Ribat, both a fort and a religious building, is an eminent example of this type of construction. The Medina also comprises juxtaposed dwellings divided into quarters that separate the winding alleys and narrow paths, a fast disappearing type of layout threatened by modern life and the evolution of architectural techniques. It also contains an ensemble of unique monuments dating from Aghlabid and Fatimid times, enabling study of the evolution of Islamic art in its first period. Criterion (iii): With the Ribat, the Kasbah, ramparts, Bou Ftata Mosque and the Great Mosque, the Medina of Sousse bears exceptional witness to the civilization of the first centuries of the Hegira. The Medina was conceived according to a regular plan with its meridian axis running from Bab el Kabli to the ribat and the ancient interior port, and its east-west axis running from Bab el Jedid to Bab el Gharbi. It…