Roman Empire - Africa Proconsularis (125 AD)

Dzemda is a locality in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The site is located near Jougan, Tunisia 20

kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

s south west of

Zaghouan Zaghouan (or Zaghwan; ar, زغوان '' ; ber, ⵣⴻⵖⵡⴰⵏ / Zeɣwan)'' is a town in the northern half of Tunisia. Situated on a low ridge of the Dorsale Mountains, the town has a mild climate and presents a green aspect. Cold water ...

. The site is notable for

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

from the Roman era. The ruins are considered to be two separate

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 letter ...

settlements, situated on opposites sides of a

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

: *Henchir Ksour Dzemda, a

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

and possible imperial estate *Sempta (Africa), a Municipum (

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 ...

Henchir Ksour Dzemda

Henchir Ksour Dzemda is a set of

located at Dzemda in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, 20

s south west of

noted for

from the Roman era, including a ''structure of Vaulted construction''. Alfred Merlin excavated the site and noted its occupation from 199 BC - 799 AD. These date agree roughly with the Conquest of

Roman North Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

to the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb ( ar, الْفَتْحُ الإسلَامِيُّ لِلْمَغرِب) continued the century of rapid Muslim conquests following the death of Muhammad in 632 and into the Byzantine-controlled territories of ...

. The site is notable in the abundance of its inscription remains. Although being legally a

(

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

) the settlement has considerable remains. Given its location it is probable that the village was actually an

imperial estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

, which were common in the area during this time. The town was also the seat of an ancient

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 ...

. This adds weight to the probability it was an imperial estate.

Semta

During

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, Annaeus was near the Municipum of

Semta (Africa) Semta was a Roman era Municipium also known as ''Augustum Semta'' in Africa Proconsularis that is tentatively identified with ruins at Henchir Zemba ( Dzemda) Carthage, Tunisia near the Oued el Kebir southwest of Zaghouan at 36.269282, 9.88734 ...

which lay on the opposite side of the Faida-Dzemda

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

. The two set of

have been treated in modern times together Carte de l'Atlas archéolgique de la Tunisie: Feuille 42
footnote 9. though the presence of two different

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s in the two settlements indicates separate entities during the Roman and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

era.

References

{{reflist, 2 Archaeological sites in Tunisia Ancient Berber cities Populated places in Tunisia Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Catholic titular sees in Africa