Many empires have controlled Tunisia, including the Phoenicians (as early as the 12th century B.C.), Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, various Arab and Berber kingdoms, and Ottomans. In 1818, France established a protectorate over Tunisia, which the French later recognized as an independent state in 1956. CIA’s World Factbook is a public resource providing basic information on 258 world entities, including country profiles and one-page factsheets. Learn more. https://www.cia.gov/the-wo