Founded by the Berbers in the 2nd millennium BCE, the city of Tunis has been controlled by Phoenicians, Romans, Arab Muslims, the Ottomans, the Spanish, the French, and the Germans, finally achieving independence as the capital of Tunisia in 1956. This history has made Tunis a melange of cultures, ancient and modern. The medina is a network of narrow alleyways, mosques, mausoleums, palaces, and a souq where shoppers haggle over the price of everything from filigreed gold to cheap souvenirs.