Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

French), is 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 lett ...

archaeological site in

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

, southeast of Batna and west of

Timgad Timgad ( ar, تيمقاد, links=, lit=, translit=Tīmgād, known as Marciana Traiana Thamugadi) was a Roman city in the Aurès Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the city was ''Colon ...

, located next to the modern village of

Tazoult Tazoult is commune town in north-eastern Algeria. Location Tazoulte formerly known as Lambèse is in the wilaya of Batna east of Batna, west of Timgad and at west of Khenchela, and centrally located in the wilaya of Batna. It is above sea ...

. The former bishopric is also a

Latin Catholic , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

titular bishopric 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 archbish ...

History

Lambaesa was founded by the Roman military. The camp of the third

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

( Legio III ''Augusta''), to which it owes its origin, appears to have been established between AD 123–129, in the time of Roman emperor

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 ...

, whose address to his soldiers was found inscribed on a

pillar 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. ...

in a second camp to the west of the great camp still extant. However, other evidence suggests it was formed during the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three ye ...

. By AD 166 mention is made of the decurions of a ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

'', 10 ''

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

e'' of which are known by name; and the ''vicus'' became 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 priv ...

'' probably at the time when it was made the capital of the newly founded province of

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 ...

. Lambaesis was populated mainly by Romanized Berbers and by some Roman colonists with their descendants: Latin was the official and commonly used language (even if local Berbers spoke their own language mixed with Latinisms). III Augusta was disbanded by

Gordian III Gordian III ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor up to that point (until Valentinian II in 375). Gordian was the son of Anto ...

and the legionaries dispersed among the North African provinces. But the legion was restored in the AD 250s by

Valerianus Valerian (; la, Publius Licinius Valerianus; c. 199 – 260 or 264) was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. He persecuted Christians and was later taken captive by the Persian emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the fir ...

and

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

and from then on the legion was known as Augusta Restituta. Its final departure did not take place till after AD 392 (the town soon afterwards declined). Septimius Severus' African conquests1

Indeed, under

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

(AD 193 ), Numidia was separated from

Africa Vetus Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

, and governed by an imperial

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

. Under the new organization of the empire by

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, Numidia was divided in two provinces: the north became ''Numidia Cirtensis'', with capital at

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...

, while the south, which included the

Aurès Mountains The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its na ...

and was threatened by raids, became ''Numidia Militiana'', "Military Numidia", with capital at the legionary base of Lambaesis. Subsequently, however, Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

reunited the two provinces in a single one, administered from Cirta, which was now renamed ''Constantina'' (modern

Constantine, Algeria Constantine ( ar, قسنطينة '), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honor of emperor Constantine the G ...

) in his honour. Its governor was raised to the rank of ''

consularis ''Consularis'' is a Latin adjective indicating something pertaining to the position or rank of consul. In Ancient Rome it was also used as a noun (plural ''consulares'') to designate those senators who had held the office of consul or attained co ...

'' in AD 320, and the province remained one of the seven provinces of the diocese of Africa until the invasion of the Vandals in AD 428, which began its slow decay, accompanied by

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused ...

. The province remained under Vandal rule, but was effectively limited to the coastal areas by Berber raids. It was restored to Roman rule after the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandal Kingdom, Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empi ...

, when it became part of the new

praetorian prefecture of Africa The praetorian prefecture of Africa ( la, praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the ...

. The Byzantines occupied Lambaesis and vicinity from the sixth century but around AD 683 the Arabs conquered the area, naming what remained of the city Bar-el-Molouk in the 10th century.

Ecclesiastical history

Lambaesis was an episcopal see during late Ancient times as part of 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 ...

. For such an important town, its bishopric is surprisingly absent from the historical record. Lambaesis did not send a representative to the Council of Nicaea nor

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

and is not mentioned by LeQuinn . Saint

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 Christ ...

mentions a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...

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 ...

of Lambaesis who was condemned by a local

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

of bishops around the year 240.

Titular see

The extinct diocese was nominally restored as a

. Initially revived as Lambaisis, it was renamed Lambaesis in 1925. It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Jan Dembowski (1759.09.24 – 1790) * Hieronim Stojnowski (Stroynowski) (1804.08.20 – 1814.09.26) * Mateo José González Rubio (1836.02.01 – 1845.06.15) * Eduardo Vásquez,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

(O.P.) (1853.12.30 – 1856.12.12) * Thomas O’Callaghan, O.P. (1884.06.29 – 1886.12.03) * Jean-Marie-Michel Blois (衛忠藩),

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons de ...

(M.E.P.) (1921.12.29 – 1946.04.11), as Apostolic Vicar of Southern Manchuria 南滿 (China) (1921.12.19 – 1924.12.03) and as Apostolic Vicar of

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...

瀋陽 (China) (1924.12.03 – 1946.04.11), later promoted first Metropolitan Archbishop of Shenyang 瀋陽 (China) (1946.04.11 – 1946.05.18) * James Moynagh, S.P.S. (1947.06.12 – 1950.04.18) * Vincenzo Maria Jacono (1950.09.08 – 1955.02.02) * Thomas Edward Gill (1956.04.11 – 1973.11.11) * John Stephen Cummins (1974.02.26 – 1977.05.03) * John Joseph Paul (1977.05.17 – 1983.10.14) * Cardinal

Marian Jaworski Marian Franciszek Jaworski ( uk, Мар'ян Францішек Яворський, 21 August 1926 – 5 September 2020) was a Cardinal Priest and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins, Archbishop of Lviv of the Latins in the Roman ...

(1984.05.21 – 1991.01.16), while

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

(Ukraine) (1984.05.21 – 1991.01.16), later Metropolitan Archbishop of the same Lviv (Ukraine) (1991.01.16 – 2008.10.21), President of Episcopal Conference of Ukraine (1994 – 2008.10.21), Apostolic Administrator of Lutsk (Ukraine) (1996 – 1998.03.25),

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Sisto (2001.02.21 001.05.20– ...) * Michel Pierre Marie Mouïsse (2000.03.10 – 2004.03.05) * Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli (2004.04.08 – 2012.06.28), (later Archbishop) * David Prescott Talley (2013.01.03 – 2016.09.21), Auxiliary Bishop of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

(USA) * Marc Pelchat (2016.10.25 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

(Canada)

Remains

The remains of the Roman town, and more especially of the Roman camp, in spite of wanton vandalism, are among the most interesting ruins in northern Africa. The ruins are situated on the lower terraces of the Aures Mountains, and consist of

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...

es (one to

, another to

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

, vestiges of an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pl ...

s and an immense quantity of masonry belonging to private houses. To the north and east lie extensive

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

with the stones standing in their original alignments; to the west is a similar area, from which, however, the stones have been largely removed for building the modern village. Of the temple of Aesculapius only one column is standing, though in the middle of the 19th century its façade was entire. The capitol or

dedicated to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

, Juno and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

, which has been cleared of debris, has a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

with eight

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

s. On level ground about two-thirds of a mile from the centre of the ancient town stands the camp, its site now partly occupied by the penitentiary and its gardens. It measures by , and in the middle rise the ruins of a building commonly called, but incorrectly, the praetorium. This noble building, which dates from 268, is long by broad and high; its southern façade has a splendid

peristyle In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...

half the height of the wall, consisting of a front row of massive

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

s and an engaged row of Corinthian pilasters. GM Lambese Algeria01

Behind this building (which was roofed), is a large court giving access to other buildings, one being the

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

. In it have been found many thousands of

projectiles A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found i ...

. To the southeast are the remains of the baths. The ruins of both city and camp have yielded many inscriptions ( Renier edited 1500, and there are 4185 in CIL viii); and, though a very large proportion are

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

s of the barest kind, the more important pieces supply an outline of the history of the place. Over 2500 inscriptions relating to the camp have been deciphered. In a museum in the village are objects of antiquity discovered in the vicinity.René Cagnat. ''Musée de Lambèse.'' Leroux, Paris 1895
Original in French
In addition to inscriptions and statues, there are some fine mosaics found in 1905 near the arch of

. The statues include those of Aesculapius and Hygieia, taken from the temple of Aesculapius. About south of Lambessa are the ruins of Markuna, the ancient Verecunda, including two triumphal arches. File:Mosaico della ninfa cirene, II-III secolo, dal museo di lambèse 01.JPG , Mosaic at Lambaesis file:Quartier général de la Legio III augusta 1.JPG, Groma, gate to the principia File:Une arène près de Lambèse 5.JPEG , Amphitheatre at Lambaesis file:Ruines dans la ville de Tazoult, Wilaya de Batna 3.jpg, Ruins at Tazoult File:Pont romain à Lambèse.JPEG , Roman Bridge at Tazoult file:Arc sur le territoire de l'antique Lambaesis.JPG , Roman Era Arch File:Lambaesis-etching.png, Arch of Spetimus Severus 1850s

Notes

References

*S. Gsell, ''Les Monuments antiques de l'Algerie'' (Paris, 1901) and ''L'Algérie dans l'antiquité'' (Algiers, 1903); *L. Renier, ''Inscriptions romaines de l'Algérie'' (Paris, 1855); *Gustav Wilmann, "Die rm. Lagerstadt Afrikas", in ''Commentationes Phil. in honoreni Th. Mommseni'' (Berlin, 1877); *Sir L. Playfair, ''Travels in the Footsteps of Bruce'' (London, 1877); *A. Graham, ''Roman Africa'' (London, 1902).

Source and External links

Joint Anglo-Algerian excavations of Lambaesis
— ''archaeological team since 1985''.

Images of Lambaesis (Tazoult)
in Manar al-Athar digital heritage photo archive