Korba ( '), ancient Curubis, is a town in

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 ...

on the eastern shore of the

Cap Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape"), also known as Res et-Teib (), Shrīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli, is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia. Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Res ed-Der, and known in ant ...

. It was the place of exile of the Carthaginian bishop

Cyprian Cyprian (; ; to 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 Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...

in the year leading up to his martyrdom. Modern Korba is in the

Nabeul Governorate Nabeul Governorate ( ' Tunisian pronunciation: ; ) is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is situated in north-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of 2,788 km2 and has a population of 863,172 (2024 census). The capital is Nabeul. ...

and had a population of 48,314 in 2014.

History

Ancient geographers and itineraries mention the town Curubis on the African coast between Clupea (modern

Kelibia Kelibia (Kélibia) ( '), often referred to as Klibia or Gallipia by European writers, is a coastal town on the Cap Bon peninsula, Nabeul Governorate in the far north-eastern part of Tunisia. Its sand beaches are considered some of the finest in ...

) and Neapolis (modern Nabeul). The earliest historical record is an inscription from the time of the Roman

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, which records that the Pompeian generals P. Attius Varus and Gaius Considius Longus fortified the town in 48—47 BC. In the years after the civil war the town was made a Roman colony, ''colonia Iulia Curubis'' (Pliny the Elder refers to it as ''libera'', "free"), perhaps as part of Julius Caesar's attempt to rid his army of older soldiers and at the same time hold Africa against Pompeian forces. In the year AD 257, the Carthaginian bishop Cyprian was exiled there; his biographer Pontius, who accompanied him into exile, praises the place (12): "provisum esse divinitus … apricum et conpetentem locum, hospitium pro voluntate secretum et quidquid apponi eis ante promissum est, qui regnum et iustitiam dei quaerunt." ("by God's favour a sunny and appropriate place was provided, a refuge secluded as he wished, and whatever was previously promised to be set before those who seek the kingdom and justice of God"). The town had its own

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. An

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

of the late 2nd century honours the citizen who had created it. Remains of an aqueduct survived to modern times; and the contribution to a mosaic in Ostia by shipowners of Curubis suggest that the town also possessed a port, which has not survived. A recent account of the life in Korba may be found in Mounira Khemir's narrative "Un coin du carré bleu"

Ecclesiastical history

By the year 411, Curubis, like many African

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s, had its own

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. The bishopric survived through the

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

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 ...

and Orthodox

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

empires, only ceasing to function with the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century ...

. The

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

of the bishopric was based in the

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

of Curubis.

Bishops

* In the year AD 257, the Carthaginian bishop

was exiled there. * In 411 the

Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...

Victor took part in the joint

Conference 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 Cypr ...

between Catholic and Donatist bishops. * In 484 Felix attended the Council called by the

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 ...

and was then exiled to

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. * Peregrinus was at 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 Cyprian ...

. * Bennatus signed a condemnation of

Monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

at the

Council of Carthage (646) 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 ...

Titular see

The

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, prov ...

was refounded 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 ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

in the 1930s.''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...

'' 2013 (Libreria Editrice

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

a 2013 ), p. 877. The titular bishops are: * Paul-Marie Dumond (27 Apr 1912—19 Feb 1944); * Joseph-Paul Strebler (8 Nov 1945—14 Sep 1955); * Rafael Valladares y Argumedo (18 Aug 1956—31 Aug 1961); * Paul Grégoire (26 Oct 1961—20 Apr 1968); * Eugène-Jean-Marie Polge (25 Apr 1968—25 Jun 1970); * Jean Cuminal (2 Jan 1975—6 May 1982); * Emerson John Moore (3 Jul 1982—14 Sep 1995); * Walter Pérez Villamonte (16 Dec 1995—7 Mar 1998); * Claudio Silvero Acosta (26 Mar 1998 Appointed —).

Literature

*Broughton, T.R.S. (1929) ''The Romanization of Africa Proconsularis'' (Baltimore and Oxford: The Johns Hopkins Press and OUP) *Dessau, H. (1901) "Curubis" R.E. IV 1893 *Mommsen, T., (1895) "Inschriften von Curubis und Lilybaeon", ''Hermes'' 30, 456-62
online
at Gallica) *Trousset, P. (1994) "Curubis (Korba)" ''Encyclopédie Berbère'', 2157 (Aix-en-Provence: Édisud)

Population

Footnotes

External links

* {{Authority control Communes of Tunisia Populated places in Nabeul Governorate