Zaghouan (or Zaghwan; Arabic: زغوان Zaġwān; Berber languages: ⵣⴻⵖⵡⴰⵏ / Zeɣwan) is a town in the northern half of Tunisia.

Zaghouan
زغوان
ⵣⴻⵖⵡⴰⵏ
Zaghouan Governorate
Zaghouan Governorate
Zaghouan is located in Tunisia
Zaghouan
Zaghouan
Location in Tunisia
Coordinates: 36°24′20″N 10°08′35″E / 36.40556°N 10.14306°E / 36.40556; 10.14306
Country Tunisia
GovernorateZaghouan Governorate
Delegation(s)Zaghouan
Government
 • MayorTarek Zoughari (Independent)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
22,637
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)

Situated on a low ridge of the Dorsale Mountains, the town has a mild climate and presents a green aspect. Cold water from here was taken by the Zaghouan Aqueduct to Carthage. The town is famous for its roses, originally cultivated by Muslim refugees from Spain in the seventeenth century. The town is located around 60 km due south of Tunis and around 50 km inland (west) from the Gulf of Hammamet and has an estimated population of around 20,837 (2014). It is the capital of the Zaghouan Governorate.

On the mountain south of the city is the Roman Water Temple Djebel Zaghouan (Temple de Eaux), source of an aqueduct which used to take water to the city of Carthage over 100 km away. The ruins here are illustrated in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1840, as 'Temple and Fountain of Zagwhan', the painting being by Sir Greenville Temple with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.[1]

Ecclesiastical history

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Zagwan is the presumed site of the Ancient city of Zica (or Ziqva).[2] The city was among the many of sufficient importance in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis to become a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan of Carthage, in the papal sway, yet was to fade completely, probably at the seventh century advent of Islam.

Its historically documented bishops were :

Climate

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Climate data for Zaghouan (1991–2020, extremes 1953–2017)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.5
(81.5)
31.5
(88.7)
35.6
(96.1)
39.9
(103.8)
43.3
(109.9)
47.6
(117.7)
48.0
(118.4)
46.5
(115.7)
42.8
(109.0)
41.0
(105.8)
30.5
(86.9)
31.5
(88.7)
48.0
(118.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)
16.3
(61.3)
19.2
(66.6)
22.3
(72.1)
27.3
(81.1)
32.5
(90.5)
35.7
(96.3)
36.0
(96.8)
31.0
(87.8)
26.6
(79.9)
21.0
(69.8)
16.9
(62.4)
25.1
(77.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.8
(51.4)
10.9
(51.6)
13.2
(55.8)
16.0
(60.8)
20.2
(68.4)
24.7
(76.5)
27.6
(81.7)
28.2
(82.8)
24.7
(76.5)
20.7
(69.3)
15.7
(60.3)
11.9
(53.4)
18.7
(65.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 5.7
(42.3)
5.5
(41.9)
7.3
(45.1)
9.7
(49.5)
13.1
(55.6)
16.8
(62.2)
19.5
(67.1)
20.4
(68.7)
18.4
(65.1)
14.9
(58.8)
10.4
(50.7)
7.0
(44.6)
12.4
(54.3)
Record low °C (°F) −3.0
(26.6)
−2.0
(28.4)
−2.2
(28.0)
0.4
(32.7)
3.0
(37.4)
6.5
(43.7)
9.5
(49.1)
10.4
(50.7)
7.3
(45.1)
5.0
(41.0)
0.1
(32.2)
−3.0
(26.6)
−3.0
(26.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 64.5
(2.54)
42.6
(1.68)
45.5
(1.79)
45.0
(1.77)
27.7
(1.09)
10.3
(0.41)
4.5
(0.18)
19.2
(0.76)
49.2
(1.94)
48.3
(1.90)
43.5
(1.71)
59.4
(2.34)
459.5
(18.09)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.6 6.4 5.6 5.6 3.7 1.6 0.5 2.1 5.4 4.8 5.3 6.8 54.4
Average relative humidity (%) 75.0 75.0 71.8 66.9 62.9 56.4 50.8 53.4 62.8 67.6 70.8 72.7 65.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 154.6 164.1 211.3 230.6 279.0 306.7 345.2 322.4 240.1 211.1 168.7 147.2 2,781
Source 1: Institut National de la Météorologie (humidity 1961-1990, sun 1981–2010)[3][4][5][6][note 1]
Source 2: NOAA[8]
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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Station ID for Zaghounan is 12929111.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1840). "picture". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1841. Fisher, Son & Co. Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1840). "poetical illustration". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1841. Fisher, Son & Co.
  2. ^ Bowman, Alan; Wilson, Andrew (30 May 2013). The Roman Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment, and Production. OUP Oxford. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-19-966572-3. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Les normales climatiques en Tunisie entre 1981 2010" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Données normales climatiques 1961-1990" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Les extrêmes climatiques en Tunisie" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Période ensoleillée 1981-2010 climatiques en Tunisie" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Réseau des stations météorologiques synoptiques de la Tunisie" (in French). Ministère du Transport. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Climate Normals 1991-2020". NOAA.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
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Bibliography - Zica bishopric
  • J. Mesnage, L'Afrique chrétienne, Paris 1912, pp. 237–238