Pheradi Majius is a locality and archaeological site in Tunisia located at 36.250003° N 10.397047° E near the modern town of Sidi Khalifa in Sousse Governorate, Tunisia that is located at 36° 14′ 58″ N, 10° 23′ 57″E. During the Roman Empire, Sidi Khelifa was known as Pheradi Majus and was a

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...

(town) of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis and flourished within the empire 30BC to 640 AD. Remains at Pheradi include temples, a bath-house, triumphal arch, an amphitheatre. and capitol building. The site is near

Bouficha Bouficha (بوفيشة) or Bou Ficha is a Tunisian town situated about sixty kilometers south of Tunis, between Enfidha and Hammamet and close to the Gulf of Hammamet. Administratively attached to the Sousse Governorate, it has a population of 9, ...

, Sousse Governorate.

History

Feradi Maggiore, is an archaeological site is located near the village of Sidi Khelifa near the city of

in the governorate of Sousse, Tunisia. During the Roman Empire it was a

of the Roman province of Byzacena. Its existence dates back at least to the third century BC. The city became municipality under Marcus Aurelius then Roman colony before being abandoned towards the 12th century. The name of the city was identified thanks to a Latin text of a dedication to Neptune Augustus for the salvation of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius and which was signed by a local notable named Marcus Barigbalus Pheraditanus Majus.

Ruins

The ruins include a

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

, triumphal arch and

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

s. The most important monuments of the site were built between the end of the 2nd century and the beginning of the 3rd century: *The thermal baths excavated in 1972 cover an area of approximately 500 m². They include, like all monuments of this type, a vestibule, semi-circular latrines, a large mosaic-covered room ( apodyterium), a frigidarium paved with mosaics with a basin in the apse, a tepidarium where there is a rectangular basin and A caldarium with two apses; *The forum is surrounded by

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

s on three sides. The door of the forum is an arch that rests on two foot-rights flanked by two niches that can shelter statues of divinities. The vault of one of the niches bears insignia: stems of millet, ivy, crown with five points, & c. ; *The market can be described roughly as an irregular rectangle with a courtyard surrounded by a paved portico; *The nymphaeum is indicated by a beautiful arcade with five arches sheltering five basins. The spring sprang from the bottom of one of the basins, a sixth larger basin allowing the evacuation of water to other buildings such as thermal baths and cisterns; *The religious complex is located on a hill and was long identified as a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Consisting of several temples built with large blocks of stones, this monument preserves only the basement with two floors of rooms and vaults, the upper floor totally disappeared having been lit by three windows that looked out to the sea.

Bishopric

The ancient town was also the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

of the Diocese of Feradi Maggiore a home suppressed and titular of the Catholic Church. Only two documented bishops of Feradi Maggiore are known. *Catholic Bishop Vincentian attended the Council of Carthage (411), at that time the town had no Donatist bishops. *Aurelius took part in the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

called in Carthage by the Vandal king Huneric in 484, after which Aurelius was

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d. Today Feradi Major survives as a titular bishopric and the current bishop is Estevam Santos Silva Filho of

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

.Feradi Major
at catholic-hierarchy.org.

References

{{coord, 36.2520, N, 10.4003, E, source:wikidata, display=title Catholic titular sees in Africa Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Ancient Berber cities