Haïdra ( ar, حيدرة) is a municipality in western

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, containing the ruins of Ammaedara, one of the oldest

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 ...

cities in Africa. It was a

diocese 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 associa ...

and is now 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 ...

History

Ammaedara was on the border between the valleys and the Berbers, Berber tribes and was part of the Roman province of Byzacena. The Third Augustan Legion (Legio III Augusta) was installed in Ammaedara in 30 BC where they built their first Castra, fortress. From here the Roman legion, legion was partly responsible for the urbanisation of the North African provinces, building Roman Road, roads and other infrastructure. Its ruins include mausoleums, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine fortresses, underground Roman baths, baths and a church.

Ecclesiastical history

Excavation of what has been called the Church of Melleus in the centre of Ammaedara has brought to light the tombs of some bishops of the see. In addition, documentary records survive of Eugenius, a bishop of Ammaedara, who participated in the Council of Carthage (255), which discussed the question of the ''lapsi (Christianity), lapsi'', and of Speratus and Crescentianus, representing respectively the Catholics and the Donatism, Donatists of the city, who took part in the Council of Carthage (411) of 411. Later Catholic bishops were Hyacinthus and Melleus, both of the second half of the 6th century. Given the Roman province, it must have been a suffragan of the Metropolitan archbishop of its capital Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, also in Tunisia).

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Ammaedara is today listed by the Catholic Church as a

. The diocese was nominally restored as Ammædæra of Ammædera and renamed Ammædara in 1925. It has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Mathieu Sislian (1909.12.03 – 1915.08.30) * Joseph Raphael John Crimont, Jesuits (S.J.) (1917.02.15 – 1945.05.20) * Joseph Gerald Holland, Society of African Missions (S.M.A.) (1946.07.11 – 1950.04.18) * Jacob Abraham Theophilos Kalapurakal (1950.07.25 – 1956.06.27) * Joseph-Rolland-Gustave Prévost-Godard (趙玉明), Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec (Society of Foreign Missions; P.M.E.) (1956.11.11 – 2005.11.13) * Pierre Nguyễn Văn Đệ, Salesians (S.D.B.) (2005.11.29 – 2009.07.25) * Vincent Nguyen (Nguyễn Mạnh Hiếu) (2009.11.06 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Toronto (Canada)

Notable people

* Ahmed Jdey (10 June 1951 – 20 July 2012), author, historian and professor. Ahmed Jdey biography
, ''kissas.org''

References

Source and External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haidra Populated places in Kasserine Governorate Communes of Tunisia Roman legionary fortresses in Tunisia Roman fortifications in Roman Africa Roman towns and cities in Africa (Roman province)