Great Mosque of Sousse

The Great Mosque of Sousse is a historic mosque in the coastal city of Sousse, Tunisia, in the old town near Martyrs Square. It dates to 851, the period of the Aghlabid dynasty, who ruled as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate, and it is regarded as a major monument of Aghlabid architecture from the early Islamic period. Standing next to the ribat, the mosque shares its fortified appearance, with a crenellated wall and two watchtowers facing the shore. It is a listed monument of Tunisia and forms part of a World Heritage Site.

Construction of the Great Mosque began in 236 AH (850 CE) on the orders of the Aghlabid emir Abu al-Abbas Muhammad ibn al-Aghlab. The work is said to have lasted a little over a year, and completion is dated to 237 AH (851 CE).

In the following centuries the mosque was renovated and its prayer hall was enlarged several times. Sources mention changes and additions during the tenth and seventeenth centuries. The neighbouring ribat gave the complex its fortified look, with a crenellated enclosure and two watchtowers facing a shore from which raiders could attack by sea.