Turris Tamalleni was a town in North Africa, dating from the Carthageinian, Roman, Byzantine and Vandal era.

Geography

The town was west of Tacapes and South of

Capsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...

. It is located on the oasis of

Mansura Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of Fr ...

, 1.5 kilometers from Telmine and 7.5 kilometers from

Kebili Kebili ( ') is a town in the south of Tunisia and one of the main cities in the Nefzaoua region. It is located south of Tunisia. It is the capital of the Kebili Governorate. History Kebili is one of the oldest oases in Tunisia and North Afric ...

History

Turris Tamalleni town was founded before Carthage, when the Nybgenii Tribe established a fortified granary and a fortified residence for the tribal head. It was renamed in the 1st century C. Civitas Nybgenorium, and remained the center of the Nybgenii Tribe and the name ''Turres'' being probably the indigenous name. It was originally a fort on the

Roman Limes (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting system of Ancient Rome marking the borders of the Roman Empire, but it was not used by the Romans for that purpose. The term has been ex ...

, and linked by

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

under Domitian. Later it became a municipium under

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

(about 105AD) taking the name Turris Tamalleni. It is mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

on the road on the borders of Tripoli and Leptis Magna. During the latter Roman era it was a Bishop's seat and a center of resistance of the Almoravids. The city was taken and destroyed by the Almohads in 1205 AD. An Arab town called Torrah or telmin was built from the rubble of the Roman town and is identified as runs at ruins of Oum-Es-Samâa. Today, nothing remains of the ancient city. All that remains of the ancient town is two large

irrigation basin Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been develop ...

s separated by a wall, which were restored in 1780 by the Bey of Tunis, they form a lake of one hectare.

Bishopric

The Bishopric founded in the fourth century ceased to function with the arrival of the Arab forces, but remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. Turris Tamalleni
at GCatholic.org. The current titular bishop is

Linus Lee Seong-hyo Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...

, auxiliary bishop of Suwon.

Bishops

* Gaudenzio assisted the Carthaginian council called by Grato in 349. * At the Carthage conference of 411, which saw the Catholic and Donatist bishops of Roman Africa gathered together, the Catholic Sabratius and the Donatist Jurata represented the city. *Habetdeum intervened at the synod gathered in Carthage by Huneric the Vandal king in 484, after which Habetdeum 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. *Pentasio attended the antimonotelite council of 641. *

Thomas Keogh Thomas Keogh was a Roman Catholic priest who became Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. He was born in Gurteen, Skeoghvosteen, Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny in 1884. In 1898, he enrolled in St. Josephs's Academy in Bagenalstown, operated by the D ...

(25 Sep 1967 Appointed - 22 May 1969) *

Francis John Dunn Francis John Dunn (March 22, 1922 – November 17, 1989) was a bishop in the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in the state of Iowa from 1969 to 1989. Biography Early life ...

(1 Jun 1969 Appointed - 17 Nov 1989) *Alphonse Liguori Chaupa (24 Jun 2000 Appointed - 4 Jul 2003) *Paul Ponen Kubi, (24 Dec 2003 Appointed - 15 Jul 2006) *Damián Santiago Bitar (4 Oct 2008 Appointed - 26 Oct 2010 ) *

(7 Feb 2011 Appointed - )

References

{{coord missing, Tunisia Oases of Tunisia Catholic titular sees in Africa Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Africa Roman towns and cities in Tunisia