Bagai was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

–

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...

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

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Africa Proconsularis Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It must have been of some reasonable size, as it was also the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

of an ancient

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The ancient city has been identified with ruins at Ksar-Bagaï outside of

Baghai Baghai is a town and commune in Khenchela Province, Algeria. It is located at 35°30'59.99" N 7°06'60.00" E. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 6,414. Geography Baghai is located between the Aurès mountains in the south an ...

, in the

Aurès Mountains The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its na ...

of the

El Hamma District El Hamma is a district in Khenchela Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, El Hamma. Municipalities The district is further divided into 4 municipalities: *El Hamma * Ensigha * Tamza * Baghai See also * Hammam Essalihine Hammam ...

in Khenchela Province,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Location

Bagai is a town in

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

between the

in the south and the

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre) ...

Garaat al-Tarf in the north. Bagaï is identified with Ksar Baghai in modern-day central Algeria, not far from

Thamugadi Timgad ( ar, تيمقاد, links=, lit=, translit=Tīmgād, known as Marciana Traiana Thamugadi) was a Roman city in the Aurès Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the city was ''Colon ...

(Timgad). 6 kilometers to the south of Bagai is

Hammam Essalihine Hammam Essalihine ( ar, حمام الصالحين ''Ḥammām aṣ-Ṣāliḥīn'', lit. "The Bath of the Righteous"; la, Aquae Flavianae) is an ancient Roman bath situated in the Aurès Mountains in the El Hamma District in the Khenchela Pro ...

the ruins of an ancient

Roman bath In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers througho ...

that dates from the time of the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known ...

. The town of

Aquae Flavianae Hammam Essalihine ( ar, حمام الصالحين ''Ḥammām aṣ-Ṣāliḥīn'', lit. "The Bath of the Righteous"; la, Aquae Flavianae) is an ancient Roman bath situated in the Aurès Mountains in the El Hamma District in the Khenchela Prov ...

was also near these ruins.

History

In the 2nd century, the city possessed monuments and dedications to the Roman Emperors

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together wit ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

. Around 384,

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and the ...

schism caused a conflict in the region. Emperor

Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), sometimes called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was mad ...

sent emissaries to reconcile the two religious parties, but the dissent led to open revolt. The massacre of Bagai resulted. The Council of Bagaï was held on 24 April 394 to discuss the Donatist question. The city was a stronghold of Donatism and in 411, a Donatist bishop was sent from Bagai to the

Council of Carthage The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian ...

. The city was the most important capital in the conflict between Donatists and Catholics during the Late Empire. In the election of

Primianus of Carthage Primian (Primianus) was an early Christian Bishop of Carthage, and leader of the Donatist movement in Roman North Africa. Seen as a moderate by some in his faction, he was a controversial figure in a time of fragmentation of the Donatists, a reactio ...

, the region burst into flames again. The Berbers destroyed the city and ransacked the library. In the 5th century, Baghai was invaded by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

, who were later driven out by the Berbers. In 538,

Guntarith Guntarith (Vandalic: ''Gontharis''; died 546), sometimes referred to as Guntharic, was an Eastern Roman military officer and rebel of Vandalic descent. Life After the conquest of the Vandal Kingdom by Belisarius in 533/534, the Eastern Roman E ...

, an officer of Byzantine general

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

who reconquered the ancient Roman Africa settled his camp near the deserted city, but was defeated by the

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

who regained control of the city, and strengthened it by surrounding it with an enclosure. It is the starting point of his second campaign in the

Aurès , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Natural region , image_skyline = Ras el Aïoun.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = Landscape of the Aurès in Ras el Aïoun , image_flag ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the Umayyads attacked the city. The Berber queen Kahina rebelled against Hasan ibn al-Nu'man (governor of the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

) in 698. The Berbers destroyed the city and left nothing to the Umayyads. Subsequently, the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...

took the city in 903. In 943,

Abu Yazid Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting ...

took the city, but after his death the city fell into the hands of the

Zirids The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from ...

and then in 1015 to the

Hammadids The Hammadid dynasty () was a branch of the Sanhaja Berber dynasty that ruled an area roughly corresponding to north-eastern modern Algeria between 1008 and 1152. The state reached its peak under Nasir ibn Alnas during which it was briefly the ...

. The latter attacked the inhabitants of the city. Subsequently, the

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of t ...

destroyed the whole city.

Al Idrissi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الإدريسي القرطبي الحسني السبتي; la, Dreses; 1100 – 1165), was a Muslim geographer, cartograp ...

mentions that there was a double wall around the city in his writings before it was destroyed.

Etymology

The city was called by

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

''Vagaïa''. Procope of Caesarea transcribed it Bagaè and the Arab historians (

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...

Al-Bakri Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad ibn Ayyūb ibn ʿAmr al-Bakrī ( ar, أبو عبيد عبد الله بن عبد العزيز بن محمد بن أيوب بن عمرو البكري), or simply al-Bakrī (c. 1040–1 ...

, etc.) wrote Baghaïa.

Bishopric

Bagai was the

of an ancient

, and a center of

Donatism Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and ...

. Bagai was the home of Donatus of Bagai fl 347 and Marculus of Bagai fl 347.

wrote of many leading citizens of Bagai. In 340 Bagai was the site of a massacre by imperial legate Macarius which forever fractured the possibility of conciliation between Donatist and Catholic factions and made the schism increasingly violent. In 401, divisions were still so strong in Bagai that when the

bishop Maximian of Bagai converted to Catholicism he was twice nearly murdered, such that

once said of him "He has more scars than limbs". The Donatist Council of Bagai was held with 310 bishops in 394 AD. The Council of Bagai condemned Maximianist and supported Primian of Carthage as

Primate of Africa The Primate of Africa is an honorific title in the Roman Catholic church, but in early Christianity was the leading bishop (''primas'') in Africa except for Mauretania which was under the bishop of Rome and Egypt which was suffragan to Alexandria ...

. The

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

survives today as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

.Titular Episcopal See of Bagai
at catholic.org.

Bishops of Bagai

* Donatus of Bagai fl.347 * Maximian of Bagai fl.414 *Castorius (brother of Maximian) * Hugh Boyle (1948–1951) * Noël Laurent Boucheix (1953–1958) * Bernardo Regno,(1958–1971) *Lolesio (Laurent) Fuahea (1972–1974) *

Francis Xavier Roque Francis Xavier Roque (October 9, 1928 – September 12, 2019) was an American Roman Catholic bishop who served the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Biography Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Roque was ordained to the priesthood on Septe ...

(29 Mar 1983– )

References

{{reflist, 2 Archaeological sites in Algeria Berber Christians Catholic titular sees in Africa Former populated places in Algeria Early Christianity Numidia (Roman provinces) Schisms in Christianity Roman towns and cities in Algeria