Built in 1921 by Ziyadat Allah, the reigning Aghlabid sovereign, the ribat at Sousse is a well-preserved example of the ribat building type. Square in plan, the building measures about 35 meters on each side. The southeast corner of the exterior wall is fortified with a large square tower that supports a cylindrical watch tower; this cylindrical tower rises above and is accessed from the roof. The other three corners are fortified by circular bastion towers. Three additional semicircular fortification towers are located in the center of the west, north, and east exterior walls.
A rectangular tower attached to the south wall provides entry to the building. The monumental entrance portal is flanked by two reused columns which have different capitals; these support fragments of an ornamental stone band with circular floral patterns. Above the two columns is a semicircular arch. A small vestibule, square in plan with a three-story-high ceiling, leads into a low antechamber that leads axially into the inner court. The central courtyard is surrounded on three sides by arcades of slightly pointed arches supported by heavy piers. The north-facing façade on the courtyard contains two sets of (mirrored) stairs leading to the second floor (i.e., the first floor above ground level).
The second floor consists of an open walkway surrounding the courtyard and a series of interior spaces of varying sizes that also encircle the courtyard, running between the exterior wall and the inner walkway. On the south side of the building is the mosque, which comprises the largest interior space. The mosque is entered through four small doors located equidistant from one other. These doors are nearly identical; each is topped by a large monolithic stone that in turn supports a small semicircular opening. The prayer hall is two bays deep and eleven bays wide. Running parallel to the south wall along its entire width is a row of ten heavy piers. These piers and the exterior walls support the cross-vaulted bays of the mosque. A small mihrab is located close to the center of the south wall; it falls almost directly above the entrance vestibule.
A small stair outside the westernmost mosque door leads to the third floor (the roof). This open flat roof has two important features: the cylindrical watchtower in the southeast corner and a small domed space located directly above the entrance vestibule. The tower, which rises three stories, changes slightly in radius at the top and is accessed by a small door that leads to a spiral staircase. A marble panel located above this door contains Quranic inscriptions. The small domed chamber above the vestibule has three parallel thin floor openings that look down to the entrance vestibule. This stark space is entered through a small door flanked by two miniature columns.
Sources:
Ettinghausen, Richard, Oleg Grabar, and Sheila Blair. 1987. The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250. The Pelican History of Art. New York: Penguin Books, 101.
Hill, Derek, and Lucien Golvin. 1976. Islamic Architecture in North Africa. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 99.
Hillenbrand, Robert. 1994. Islamic Architecture: form, function, and meaning. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 331-334.
Michell, George. 1978. The Architecture of the Islamic World. London: Thames and Hudson, 70, 220.
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