Tunis. Tunis is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as Grand Tunis, has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. As of 2020, it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region and the eleventh-largest in the Arab world. Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf, behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette, the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At its core lies Ancient Medina, a World Heritage Site. East of the Medina, through the Sea Gate, begins the modern city Ville Nouvelle, traversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba, where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. Further east by the sea lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said. As the capital of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life and also the center of the country's commercial and cultural activities. Tunis is the transcription of the Arabic name which can be pronounced as Tunus, Tunas, or Tunis. All three variations were mentioned by the Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in his Mu'jam al-Buldan. Different explanations exist for the origin of the name Tunis. Some scholars relate it to the Phoenician goddess Tanith, as many ancient cities were named after patron deities. Some scholars claim that it originated from Tynes, which was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Polybius in the course of descriptions of a location resembling present-day Al-Kasbah, Tunis's old Berber village. Another possibility is that it was derived from the Berber verbal root ens which means to lie down or to pass the night. The term Tunis can possibly mean camp at night, camp, or stop, or may have referred to as the last stop before Carthage by people who were journeying to Carthage by land. There are also some mentions in ancient Roman sources of such names of nearby towns as Tuniza, Thunusuda, Thinissut, and Thunisa. As all of these Berber villages were situated on Roman roads, they undoubtedly served as rest-stations or stops. For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Tunis. Main articles: Carthage, Ancient Carthage, and History of Carthage The historical study of Carthage is problematic. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian primary historical sources survive. While there are a few ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in Northwest Africa, the main sources are Greek and Roman historians, including Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus. These writers belonged to peoples in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage. Greek cities contended with Carthage over Sicily, and the Romans fought three wars against Carthage. Not surprisingly, their accounts of Carthage are extremely hostile; while there are a few Greek authors who took a favourable view, these works have been lost. Tunis was originally a Berber settlement. The existence of the town is attested by sources dating from the 4th century BC. Situated on a hill, Tunis served as an excellent point from which the comings and goings of naval and caravan traffic to and from Carthage could be observed. Tunis was one of the first towns in the region to fall under Carthaginian control, and in the centuries that followed Tunis was mentioned in the military histories associated with Carthage. Thus, during Agathocles' expedition, which landed at Cape Bon in 310 BC, Tunis changed hands on various occasions. During the Mercenary War, it is possible that Tunis served as a center for the native population of the area, and that its population was mainly composed of peasants, fishermen, and craftsmen. Compared to the ancient ruins of Carthage, the ruins of ancient Tunis are not as large. According to Strabo, it was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC during the Third Punic War. Both Tunis and Carthage were destroyed; Tunis, however, was rebuilt first under the rule of Augustus and became an important town under Roman control and the center of a booming agricultural industry. The city is mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana as Thuni.