Chebba

Chebba (La Chebba, Ash Shabbah, aš-Šābbah, Sheba) is a small city in the Mahdia Governorate of Tunisia in North Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.^[2]

Chebba
Chebba Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 35°14′14″N 11°06′54″E
Country	Tunisia
Governorate	Mahdia Governorate
Population  (2014)[1]
• Total	22,227
Time zone	UTC1 (CET)

History

Ruined tower of Bordj Khadidja at Ras Kaboudia.

The city of Chebba derives its name from the headland 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the east, which was classically known as Caput Vada (headland above the shoals).^[3][4][5]

The Byzantine general Belisarius landed here in 533 and went on to inflict a devastating defeat on the Vandals.^[6] The town of Chebba was founded by Justinian about 534 CE after the defeat of the Vandals,^[3] and named Justinianopolis.^[7]

The headland (Caput Vada) is now known as Ras Kaboudia^[3] and is site of the ruins of the bordj (harbor fortress) of Bordj Khadidja, which was built upon Byzantine foundations.^[8] The fortress guarded the harbor entrance and was one of a chain of similar forts built by the Abbasids along the coast of North Africa in the 8th century. It was later renamed after Khadija Ben Kalthoum, a poet of the eleventh century, who was born in Chebba.^[9]