Different explanations exist for the origin of the name ''Tunis''. Some scholars relate it to the Phoenician goddess ''Tanith'' ('Tanit or Tanut), as many ancient cities were named after patron deities. Some scholars claim that it originated from ''Tynes'', which was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Polybius in the course of descriptions of a location resembling present-day Al-Kasbah, Tunis's old Berber village.