Negrine is a town and commune in Tébessa Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the site of ancient Casae Nigrae, a settlement of Roman North Africa with an attached bishopric that remains a Latin Catholic titular see.

Geography

Negrine is located in the Negrine District of the sahara of Tébessa Province, NE Algeria. It is north of the

Chott el Ghasa In geology, a chott, shott, or shatt (; ar, شط, šaṭṭ, lit=bank, coast) is a salt lake in Africa's Maghreb that stays dry for much of the year but receives some water in the winter. The elevation of a chott surface is controlled by the pos ...

, near the borders of Tunisian border and has an elevation of above sea level. The village population was 9445 inhabitants in 2008. The landscape is generally arid and the topography is generally flat, interspersed with long low mesas transecting the countryside. Average annual rainfall is between with the winter being the main wet season. Average temperatures range from in winter to in July.

History

During prehistoric times Negrine was within the Capsian cultural area, which lasted from BC to 5400 BC. Snail shells and piles of ash which include mixed tools and kitchen refuse are some of the defining cultural elements of the Capsian culture, as well as engraved ostrich eggs. Negrine was known as Casae Nigrae during the time of the Roman, Byzantine and Vandal empires (30 BC – AD 640). It was located in the province of

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 ...

, North Africa. Casae Nigrae was also known as Nigrenses Maiores during this period. There are extensive Roman ruins in the desert between Negrine and Tebessa, Algeria. The area was incorporated into the Maghreb in the 7th century and today the area is home to the

Nemencha The Nemencha are a large tribal confederation of Berber and Arab inhabiting North Africa. They are composed of four clans, in a territory in Algeria that bears their name, the Plateau Nemencha. The Nemencha are neighbors of the Berber tribes Fraic ...

, a tribe of

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 (1913–196 ...

extraction.

Ecclesiastical history

The town was the seat of one of many suffragan bishoprics in

during Roman and Vandal times. It was the birthplace of Donatus Magnus, the founder and namesake of the Donatist Church, and the Donatist movement was influential in the town. Christian influence, however, effectively ended after the Muslim conquest of the 640s AD. Known residential bishops include : * Donatus the Great (fl. 311–312), founder of the schismatic heretical Donatist movement * Ianvarianus (fl. 394–411), a Donatist bishop * Felix (fl. 484), a Catholic bishop

Titular see

In 1933 the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Titular bishopric in the Roman Catholic Church, named Casæ nigræ (Latin) / Case nere (Curiate Italian). It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank: * Francis Costantin Mazzieri

Conventual Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

(O.F.M. Conv.) (26 Nov. 1965 – retired 14 Dec. 1970), on emeritate as former only

Apostolic Prefect An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Ndola ( Zambia) (1938 – 1949.01.13), promoted only Apostolic Vicar of Ndola (1949.01.13 – 1959.04.25) and Titular Bishop of Cœliana (1949.01.13 – 1959.04.25), again promoted first Suffragan Bishop of Ndola (1959.04.25 – 1965.11.26); died 1983 * Michael Patrick Olatunji Fagun (28 June 1971 – 30 July 1972) as Auxiliary Bishop of Ondo (Nigeria) (1971.06.28 – 1972.07.30); later only Bishop of Ado-Ekiti ( Nigeria) (1972.07.30 – 1972.12.11), restyled first Bishop of Ekiti (Nigeria) (1972.12.11 – retired 2010.04.17) * Heriberto Correa Yepes,

Yarumal Society for the Foreign Missions Yarumal is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. The municipality (three parishes and 20 villages) has an area of , 35,315 inhabitants, and its average elevation is above sea level. It has a minor basilica, Our Lady of Mercy, ...

(M.X.Y.)(29 Jan. 1973 – death 9 Sept. 2010) as Apostolic Vicar of Buenaventura (

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) (1973.01.29 – 1996.11.30) and on emeritate; previously Apostolic Prefect of Mitú (Colombia) (1953.03.27 – 1967) * José Carlos Chacorowski, Lazarists (C.M.) (22 Dec. 2010 – 19 June 2013), as Auxiliary Bishop of São Luís do Maranhão (Brazil) (2010.12.22 – 2013.06.19); later Bishop of

Caraguatatuba Caraguatatuba, widely known by its abbreviation ''Caraguá'', is a city in the eastern part of the southern state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 123,389 (2020 ...

(Brazil) (2013.06.19 – ...) *

Robert Anthony Llanos The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(13 July 2013 – ...)Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 215, Number 17,868. as Auxiliary Bishop of

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

( Trinidad and Tobago) (2013.07.13 – ...); also Apostolic Administrator of Saint John’s–Basseterre (

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

) (2016.04.29 – ...).

References

Sources and external links