Crich El Oued, also known as Qarish el-Wadi, is a village in

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

, located between Bordj Toumi and

Majaz al Bab Majaz al Bab ( ar, مجاز الباب), also known as Medjez el Bab, or as Membressa under the Roman Empire, is a town in northern Tunisia. It is located at the intersection of roads GP5 and GP6, in the ''Plaine de la Medjerda''. Commonwealth wa ...

(36° 41' 00" N 9° 40' 00" E) in Béja Governorate east of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. The village is on the

Medjerda The Medjerda River ( ar, وادي مجردة), the classical Bagrada, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of , it is the longest river ...

river at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Oued el-Ahmar and the town has a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Roman Ruins

The

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 ...

west of Crich-El-Oued are the remains of the

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 ...

city of Thisiduo otherwise Thisiduum, a city of Africa Proconsularis which flourished 330 BC - 640 AD.

Roman Name

The original name of the town was probably Thisinduo / Thisinduum. Thomas, reconstructed it thus, and recently found

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s which have confirmed this. The town appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana, and Ravenna Cosmpographica The name evolved following 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 ...

from Thisinduo to Chisiduo. and then Crich.

Roman History

The history of Thisiduum is hardly known. The inscription CIL 14763 = ILS 6781 testifies to a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

'' under Latin law, and to an aedile. Toulotte suspects in Bishop Tadduensis of the year 646 an origin from Thisiduum. There are few remains meaningfully sited in the ruins because of reuse of the stone in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and building over the former structures. There are remains of a Roman bridge that crosses the Oued el Hamar and some temples are discernible, with a number of trunks of

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s, some in stone, others in white marble, littering the town. Inscriptions bear witness to at least two temples There are also separate ruins nearby at Chouigui and

Goubellat Goubellat is a town and commune in the Béja Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2014 it had a total population of 15 762.=Recensement de 2014 (Institut national de la statistique) See also *List of cities in Tunisia This is the list of 350 cities ...

and 7 km away at

Medjez el Bab Majaz al Bab ( ar, مجاز الباب), also known as Medjez el Bab, or as Membressa under the Roman Empire, is a town in northern Tunisia. It is located at the intersection of roads GP5 and GP6, in the ''Plaine de la Medjerda''. Commonwealth wa ...

Ancient Bishopric

During the Roman Empire this part of the Medjerda river valley had a high density of bishoprics Francois Decret, Early Christianity in North Africa (James Clarke & Co, 25 Dec. 2014) p85. with four other

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 resident within 10 kilometers of Crich El Oued.

References

{{reflist, 2 Populated places in Béja Governorate Roman towns and cities in Tunisia Catholic titular sees in Africa