Téboursouk ( aeb, تبرسق ') is a town and commune in the
Béja Governorate
Béja Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia. It is in northern Tunisia and has a brief coastline relative to its size. It covers an area of 3,740 km² and had a population of 303,032 as at the 2014 census. ,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. It is located at 36° 27′ 26″N, 009° 14′ 54″E.
Population
![Ruines de Kouchbatia2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Ruines_de_Kouchbatia2.JPG)
In 2004 it had a total population of 10,987,
[Recensement de 2004 (Institut national de la statistique)]
and of 22,115 inhabitants in 2014.
[General Census of the Population and the Household 2014 by Governorates]
/ref>
Geography
The town is part of the governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
of Béja, and it constitutes a municipality.
Located at the foot of the Téboursouk Mountains in the Tunisian ridge, the city is built half-way up a hill at above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. It overlooks olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
groves in the valley of Wadi Khalled.
Téboursouk is located on the territory of the Berber tribe of the Bejaoua, near the Drid tribe, at the northern end of the Haut-Tell. Located away are the ruins 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 Dougga
Dougga or Thugga or TBGG was a Berber, Punic and Roman settlement near present-day Téboursouk in northern Tunisia. The current archaeological site covers . UNESCO qualified Dougga as a World Heritage Site in 1997, believing that it represents " ...
.
History
During the Roman Empire, Teboursouc was known as "''Tubursico-Bure''", and was in the Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of Africa Proconsularis
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The ruins of ancient Thubursicum Bure are a large 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 ...
enclosure of pentagonal form, erected under the reign of Justin II
Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...
(565-578), and whose northern front encompasses a Roman gate and cemetery.
The Roman city was considered 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 ...
.
The city obtained the statute of municipality in 1904 under the French protectorate and the status of chief town of delegation at the independence of Tunisia
Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and a separatist movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully had b ...
. In 2004, the municipality celebrated the centenary of its creation.
Bishopric
During Roman and Byzantine times the city was the seat of a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...
, the suffragan of Archdiocese of Carthage
The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...
.
There are four documented bishops of Teboursouk. ''Servus Dei'' is mentioned by Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
in his ''Contra Cresconio'' around 404 and he had as a competitor the Donatist
Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...
Bishop, Cyprian
Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Chri ...
, who, according to the testimony of Augustine, was deposed by Primianus (the Donatist Bishop of Carthage
The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...
) because[Contra Petilian, III, 34.40] "Cyprian, was caught in a brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
.
At the conference of Carthage of 411, between Catholic bishops and Donatists the same Servus Dei, and was joined by the Donatist bishop Donato, who had replaced the now disgraced Cyprian.
Bishop Reparato attended the Council of Carthage (525)
The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.
Synod of 251
In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cypria ...
.
Today Tubursico-Bure survives as titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
ric and the current titular bishop is Mykhaylo Bubniy, Exarch
An exarch (;
from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
In the late Roman Empire and ea ...
Archbishop of Odessa.
See also
*List of cities in Tunisia
This is the list of 350 cities and towns in Tunisia. In the list by governorate, capitals are shown in bold.
List of most-populated cities
List of municipalities by governorate
See also
*
*List of cities by country
*Governorates of Tunis ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teboursouk
Communes of Tunisia
Populated places in Béja Governorate
Roman towns and cities in Tunisia
Ancient Berber cities
Catholic titular sees in Africa