Abbir Germaniciana also known as Abir Cella is the name of a Roman and Byzantine-era

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the Roman province of Africa proconsularis (today northern Tunisia). The city was also the seat of a bishopric, in the ecclesiastical province of Carthage, and is best known as the home town of the Pre Nicaean father, Cyprian, who was bishop of Abbir Germaniciana around 250AD.

Location

The location of Abbir Germaniciana is unknown but: * Adolf Harnack suggests it may have been near Membressa, in the Medjerda River Valley. *Today Henchir el Naam, a location west of

El Fahs El Fahs ( ar, الفحص) is a town and commune located in the Zaghouan Governorate, 60 kilometers south-west of Tunis, Tunisia. Its population in 2014 was 23,561. It is located in the Wadi Miliane valley, surrounded by mountains, in particular ...

and north of Theveste near lake Sebkhet el Kourzia, has support as the location of Abbir Maius. This would place the city on the Meliane Wadi. *Others, citing Roman sources, claim in the vicinity of Theveste, as Abbir Germaniciana is mentioned by the '' Geographer of Ravenna'' as just ''the Germana'', and

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

as '' Ad Germani'', and both authors place it in the vicinity of Theveste. Which ever location it was in, it was definitely on along the coastal hinterlands of the Maghreb. *Still others suggest ruins of Ksour-el-Maïete near the Cherita and the

Sebkhet de Sidi El Hani The Sebkha Sidi El Hani () is a salt lake in the Sousse Governorate of Tunisia, southwest of the city of Sousse and southeast of the city of Kairouan. It covers an area of 36,000 hectares and consists of three depressions: the Sidi El Hani sebk ...

lakes, in

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

ern Tunisia.

Bishopric

The town was also the seat of an ancient bishopric. The city appears to have been Catholic before the

Diocletian Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

but was taken into the Vandal Kingdom around 429 AD, and with the arrival of the Islamic armies at the end of the 7th century the bishopric ceased to effectively function. In 1933 the diocese was re-established in name at least, as a titular see. Known bishops *

St. ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

Cyprian of Carthage Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

fl 250. *Successus, the Bishop of Abbir Germaniciana Pope St. Sixtus II at ''New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia''. fl258. martyredCypr. Epistle. lvii., lxvii., lxx., lxxx. *Annibonius (Catholic bishop)

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

411 *Candidus (Catholic bishop) fl. 416–419 *Felix fl436–484. * Paul Bouque (1964–1976) * Aloisio Sinesio Bohn of Brasília (1977–1980) * Hermann Josef Spital of Münster (Germany) 1980–1981. *

Leo Schwarz Schwarz, Leo 1984 Leo Schwarz (9 October 1931 in Braunweiler – 26 November 2018) was from 1982 to 2006 the Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Trier, and was titular bishop of Abbir Germaniciana. As Auxiliary Bishop, Schwarz also b ...

, of Trier (Germany) 1982–2018

References

{{coord missing, Tunisia Ancient Berber cities Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Populated places in Béja Governorate Catholic titular sees in Africa