Thibilis (a.k.a. Tibilis) 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 letter ...

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

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in what was

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 ...

but is today northeast

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

. The site has extensive Roman and Byzantine

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 ...

History

The numerous Latin inscriptions discovered on the site of Thibilis provided indications on the status and magistrates of this city: during the Early Empire, Thibilis was first a

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...

dependent on the Cirtaian confederacy which united Cirta, Rusicade, Chullu and Milève. Enjoying a certain autonomy, the city was administered by two magistri of annual mandate, assisted by one or two

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

s. During the reigns of

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...

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 ...

, notables of Thibilis gained the highest office of the Imperial administration, Quintus Antistius Adventus Aquilinus Postumus, consul suffect about 167, and his son Lucius Antistius Burrus, son-in-law of Marcus Aurelius And consul in 181. Thibilis gained the rank of municipality headed by two

duumviri The duumviri (Latin for "two men"), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome its ...

between 260 and 268 which corresponds to the period estimated for the dissolution of the confederacy. Local cults included flamen Augusti for imperial worship and Saturni (priest of Saturn) and a local deity, Bacax and ''Magna Mater deorum Idaea'', the Great Mother of the Gods. Thibilis File:Announa - Arc de triomphe - Mieusement.jpg, small temple file:Sardinia, Tabula Peutingeriana.jpg, Thblis on Tabula Peutingeriana.

References

External links

Images of Thibilis
in Manar al-Athar digital heritage photo archive {{Romano-Berber cities in Roman Africa Archaeological sites in Algeria Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Caesariensis Ancient Berber cities 4th-century disestablishments Constantine, Algeria

History

See also

References

External links