Lambaesis

Coordinates: 35°29′20″N 06°15′21″E / 35.48889°N 6.25583°E / 35.48889; 6.25583
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Lambaesis
Arch of Septimius Severus
Lambaesis is located in Algeria
Lambaesis
Shown within Algeria
Alternative nameLambaesa (Lambese)
LocationTazoult, Batna Province, Algeria
Coordinates35°29′20″N 06°15′21″E / 35.48889°N 6.25583°E / 35.48889; 6.25583
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsRoman Empire
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins

Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (Lambèse in

titular bishopric
.

History

Lambaesa was founded by the Roman military. The camp of the third legion (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, whose address to his soldiers was found inscribed on a pillar in a second camp to the west of the great camp still extant. However, other evidence suggests it was formed during the Punic Wars.[citation needed]

The town is built 622 m above sea level in the plain and on the spurs of the Djebel Asker[2]

By AD 166 mention is made of the

vicus, 10 curiae of which are known by name; and the vicus became a municipium probably at the time when it was made the capital of the newly founded province of Numidia
. 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 and the legionaries dispersed among the North African provinces. But the legion was restored in the AD 250s by Valerianus and Gallienus 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).

Roman Lambaesis was located at the centre of Berber Africa (in an AD 200 map)
Members of the French Foreign Legion marching through the barracks in 1958

Indeed, under

procurator. Under the new organization of the empire by Diocletian, Numidia was divided in two provinces: the north became Numidia Cirtensis, with capital at Cirta, while the south, which included the Aurès Mountains
and was threatened by raids, became Numidia Militiana, "Military Numidia", with capital at the legionary base of Lambaesis.

Subsequently, however, Emperor

Vandals in AD 428, which began its slow decay, accompanied by desertification. 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, when it became part of the new praetorian prefecture of Africa
.

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 of Numidia.[3] 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[4] nor Chalcedon[5] and is not mentioned by LeQuinn .[6]

Saint

heretic bishop of Lambaesis who was condemned by a local synod of bishops around the year 240.[7][8]

Titular see

The extinct diocese was nominally restored as a

titular bishopric
. Initially revived as Lambaisis, it was renamed Lambaesis in 1925.

It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank :

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.

Aerial view of Lambaesis ruins

The ruins are situated on the lower terraces of the

aqueducts, vestiges of an amphitheatre, baths and an immense quantity of masonry belonging to private houses. To the north and east lie extensive cemeteries
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

Ionic columns
and an engaged row of Corinthian pilasters.

Lambaesis 2005

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

Renier edited 1500, and there are 4185 in CIL viii); and, though a very large proportion are epitaphs
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.

Aesculapius and Hygieia
, taken from the temple of Aesculapius.

About 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Lambessa are the ruins of Markuna, the ancient Verecunda, including two triumphal arches.

  • Mosaic at Lambaesis
    Mosaic at Lambaesis
  • Groma, gate to the principia
    Groma, gate to the principia
  • Amphitheatre at Lambaesis
    Amphitheatre at Lambaesis
  • Ruins at Tazoult
    Ruins at Tazoult
  • Roman Bridge at Tazoult
    Roman Bridge at Tazoult
  • Roman Era Arch
    Roman Era Arch
  • Arch of Septimius Severus 1850s
    Arch of Septimius Severus 1850s

Notes

  1. ^ René Cagnat. Lambèse. Lerous, Paris 1893 (Original in French)
  2. ^ Stilwell, Richard, ed. (1976). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ISBN 0-8006-1931-5
    .
  4. ^ Heinrich Gelzer, Patrum Nicaenorum nomina Latine, Graece, Coptice, Syriace, Arabice, Armeniace. (In aedibus B.G. Teubneri, 1995 ).
  5. ^ Richard Price, Michael Gaddis, The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, Volume 1 (Liverpool University Press, 2005).
  6. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus', Paris 1740, Vol. I.
  7. ^ Dictionnaire d’Archeologie Chretienne et de Liturgie, volume 8 columns 1067-1075
  8. ISBN 0415238498
    .
  9. ^ René Cagnat. Musée de Lambèse. Leroux, Paris 1895 (Original in French)

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).

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lambessa". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 109–110.

Source and External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lambese.

See also

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