The city of Kairouan was founded in the year 670 by the general Uqba ibn Nafi.
During the Aghlabid dynasty (800-909) Kairouan was the capital city, the Great Mosque was built and a university was established.
The city is considered in Islam as the holy city of the Maghreb, where seven pilgrimages to the Great Mosque is considered equivalent to one pilgrimage to Mecca.