20180402 132230 HDR The historical market

Djémila (), formerly Cuicul, is a small mountain village in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, near the northern coast east of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, where some of the best preserved Roman ruins in North Africa are found. It is situated in the region bordering the Constantinois and Petite Kabylie (Basse Kabylie). In 1982, Djémila became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

for its unique adaptation of

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...

to a mountain environment. Significant buildings in ancient Cuicul include a theatre, two fora, temples, basilicas, arches, streets, and houses. The exceptionally well preserved ruins surround the forum of the Harsh, a large paved square with an entry marked by a majestic arch.

Roman Cuicul

Under the name of Cuicul, the city was built above sea level during the 1st century AD as a Roman military garrison situated on a narrow triangular plateau in the province of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

. The terrain is somewhat rugged, being located at the

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

of two rivers. Mileve Hippo Thagaste in Numidia

Cuicul's builders followed a standard plan with a forum at the center and two main streets, the Cardo Maximus and the Decumanus Maximus, composing the major axes.''Djemila'', ''

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, Algeria, &

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

'', Geoff Crowther and Hugh Finlay,

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

, 2nd Edition, April 1992, pp. 298 ''-'' 299. The city was initially populated by a colony of Roman soldiers from Italy, and eventually grew to become a large trading market. The resources that contributed to the prosperity of the city were essentially agricultural (cereals, olive trees and farm). During the reign of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

in the 3rd century, Cuicul's administrators took down some of the old ramparts and constructed a new forum. They surrounded it with larger and more impressive edifices than those that bordered the old forum. The terrain hindered building, so that they built the theatre outside the town walls, which was exceptional. In late antiquity, Cuicul was situated within the Roman province of Mauretania Sitifensis, and had an estimated population of around 10,000. Christianity became very popular in the 4th century (after some persecutions in the early third century), and by the fifth century, an ecclesiastical quarter was built, including three basilicas, a

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

, auxiliary rooms, a bath, and a peristyle house. These structures are located to the south of Cuicul in a quarter called "Christian", and are popular attractions. Of the bishops of Cuicul, Pudentianus took part in the Council of Carthage (255) concerning the validity of heretical

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

, and Elpidophorus in the Council of Carthage (348). Cresconius was the Catholic bishop who represented Cuicul at the

Council of Carthage (411) 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 Cyprian ...

between Catholic and Donatist bishops; the Donatist bishop of the town died before the conference began. Crescens was one of the Catholic bishops whom the Arian

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...

king

Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was ma ...

summoned to Carthage in 484. Victor was at the

Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and re ...

in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Cuicul is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a

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 archbi ...

. The city was slowly abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire around the 5th century and 6th century. There were some improvements under emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

, with wall reinforcements. Muslims later dominated the region, but did not reoccupy the site of Cuicul, which they renamed Djémila ("beautiful" in Arabic).

3D documentation

The spatial documentation of Djémila took place during two

Zamani Project The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultu ...

field campaigns in 2009, which were undertaken in co-operation with Prof Hamza Zeghlache and his team from the University of Setif, Algeria, as well as the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). Several structures were documented, including the Baptistry, the Caracalla Gate, the Market, the Septimius-servus Temple and the Theatre.

Notable residents

Several significant Romanized Africans were born in Cuicul:Anthony R. Birley, ''Septimius Severus, the African Emperor'', Éd. Routledge, * Lucius Alfenus Senecio: governor of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

(205 to 207). * Gaius Valerius Pudens: governor of Britannia. * Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Aquila: governor of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. * Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Proculus: governor of

Gallery

File:Vue generale du site de Djémila.jpg, Panorama of Cuicul File:Djemila 1180510.jpg, The ''Macellum'' File:Djemila, Algeria.jpg, The Arch of

File:Djemila 0700510.jpg, Forum laid out by

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 cursus honorum, the ...

File:Djemila 140510.jpg, Temple of ''Gens Septimia'' File:Djemila algeria roman ruins 114.jpg, Christian quarter File:Baptistère.jpg, Christian baptismal area File:Djemila 110.jpg, Museum File:Ancient Roman theater in Djemila.jpg, Roman theater File:GM Djemila Roman Theatre04.jpg, Roman theater

References

External links