Rusazus was a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and

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 lette ...

town located near Cape Corbelin,

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

. Its ruins are near the town of

Azeffoun Azeffoun, the classical Rusazus and colonial PortGueydon, is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria, located on Cape Corbelin north-east of Tizi Ouzou. The economy of the town of Azeffoun is based on tourism, fishing, and a ...

Name

( phn, 𐤓‬𐤔‬𐤆‬) was the Phoenician and

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

name of Cape Corbelin and meant "

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

of the Strong One". or "Cape of the

Fort 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'' ...

". It was

hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

as ''Rhousazoûs'' ( grc-gre, Ῥουσαζοῦς) and Latinized variously as Rusazus, Plin., '' Nat. Hist.''
Book V, §20
Rusazu, Rusazis, Ruseius, and Rusadum.. As to which "Strong One" might have been meant,

Lipiński Lipiński (feminine Lipińska, plural Lipińscy) is a Polish surname. Notable persons with the name include: *Adam Lipiński (born 1956), Polish politician *Anatoly Ivanovich Lipinsky (born 1959), Russian military leader *Bill Lipinski (born 1937 ...

offers that

's name itself might be a Berber memory of a Punic toponym honoring Baal Zephon, who was reckoned a patron of maritime trade. He allows, though, that pending the discovery of such an inscription, mere assonance is also possible.

History

Rusazus was established as a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

along the trade route between the Strait of Gibraltar and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

. It consisted of a small fortress south of Cape Corbelin. It eventually fell under Carthaginian control, probably during the 6th centuryBC. Under the Romans, it was established as a

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Character ...

under

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. It was part of Mauretania Caesariensis after AD44. In

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, it was part of the Vandal Kingdom prior to the

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 ...

reconquest of Africa. It was overrun by the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

in the 7th century.

Ruins

The site includes a necropolis and the ruins of baths,

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, and Roman-era embankments.

Religion

The Roman town had a Christian

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 ...

( la, Dioecesis Rusaditana, link=no).

Pius Bonifacius Gams Pius Bonifacius Gams (23 January 1816, Mittelbuch, Kingdom of Württemberg – 11 May 1892, Munich) was a German Benedictine ecclesiastical historian. Life His classical studies made at Biberach an der Riss and Rottweil (1826–1834), he studied ...

, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', (Leipzig, 1931), p. 468. It was revived in the 20th century as a

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

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 ...

List of bishops

* Idonio, who took part in

Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was m ...

's 484 Council of Carthage, after which he was expelled * Agapito Augusto Fiorentini (1902–1941) * Juan Tarsicio Senner (1942–1951) *

Joseph Howard Hodges Joseph Howard Hodges (October 8, 1911 – January 27, 1985) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston from 1962 until his death in 1985. He previously served as an auxiliar ...

(1952–1962) * Pavol Mária Hnilica (1964–2006) * Pascal Jean Marcel Wintzer (2007–2012) *

Georges Abou Khazen Georges Abou Khazen, OFM (born on 3 August 1947 in Aïn Zebdeh, Lebanon) is the current Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo. Life Georges Abou Khazen joined the Congregation of the Franciscan on 3 August 1972, and made his perpetual vows and received on 2 ...

(2013–present)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . Phoenician colonies in Algeria Archaeological sites in Algeria Catholic titular sees in Africa Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Caesariensis Ancient Berber cities {{Algiers-geo-stub