or Al-Qayraw 0101; n
City (pop., 1994: 102,600), northeastern Tunisia.
A religious centre of Islam , it was founded in 670 by the Arab general S 012B; d 012B; 02BD; Uqbah and became the first Arab city in the Maghrib . It was chosen as the Maghrib capital by the Aghlabid dynasty 0441; 800. It served as an administrative, commercial, religious, and intellectual centre under the F 0101; timid and Z 012B; rid dynasties. The rise of Tunis , the new capital, led to Kairouan's decline and its devastation by Bedouin in the 11th century. It is the site of the 9th-century Great Mosque of the Qayraw 0101; n, one of the city's 150 mosques.