It is located 105 kilometers (65 mi) from Tunis, between the Medjerdah River and the Mediterranean, against the foothills of the Khroumire, the town of Béja is situated on the sides of Djebel Acheb, facing the greening meadows, its white terraces and red roofs dominated by the imposing ruins of the old Roman fortress.

Originally the town was named Waga, which became Vacca and then Vaga under the Romans and eventually Baja under the Arabs and Béja under the French.

On April 24, 1881, Béja in its turn was occupied by the column led by Logerot who had arrived from Algeria through the Kef.

On November 16, 1942, a German military delegation came to Béja to give Mayor Jean Hugon a 24-hour ultimatum to surrender the city.

The next day, Friday November 20, Béja was heavily bombed by German airplanes for many hours, because of its key position leading to the roads of Tabarka, Mateur, Bizerte and Algeria.

The town became the stage for ferocious battles between the Germans and the Allies who fiercely defended it, at the expense of severe military and civil losses.

The final German assault Operation Ochsenkopf – was launched from Mateur and was halted 15 kilometres (10 mi) from Béja, on the night of February 28, 1943, by British troops.

Located in North West Tunisia on the White Hill and crossed by the Medjerda River, the features made the city famous for its fertile soil, Béja drew all the masters of the Mediterranean.

In the past there was a small community of Jews and a bigger one of Christians (most of them were European colons), but after the independence of Tunisia from France, all of them quit the city to Europe, North America and Israel.

After the settlement of the French protectorate in Tunisia, many Europeans come to the city to exploit the rich agricultural land, so to satisfy their religious demands the colonial authorities decided a church which was completed in 1883.

The Mausoleum played a major role during the Husainid-Pechist civil war, it's also an important cultural and political center of Béja.