Medjedel | |
|---|---|
Commune and town | |
 | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Province | M'Sila Province |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 18,616 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
Medjedel is a town and commune in M'Sila Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 18,616. [1]
Within the Limes of western Numidia, the site of Medjdel (or Medjedel) reveals a military structure of significant importance that testifies to its major strategic role in the region, is described in the late 1930s [2] . Archaeological excavations have provided precise details of this Roman fortress. Square in shape, it had dimensions estimated at between 22 and 25 metres on each side, with projecting bastions arranged in a fan-shape at each corner, a typical feature of Roman defensive works of the Late Period [3] · [4] . Today no remains of this monument seem to remain [5] .
Situated near the defile leading into the depression of the zahrez, to the south of the eastern horn of the Zahrez Chergui, the fortress occupied a dominant strategic position, effectively controlling the routes through the region [6] . The discovery of a Roman road running south-west from the fort confirms its importance in the Roman military communications network, enabling movements in this border area to be controlled and monitored.
The question of the later occupation of Medjdel by Roman forces remains a subject of debate among scholars [7] Artefacts discovered during excavations, such as terracotta sling balls, suggest the probable presence of a garrison inside the fortress [8] . However, the precise identification of this military unit as well as its exact composition remain question marks requiring in-depth analysis.
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 Massylii in the east and the Masaesyli in the west. During the Second Punic War, Masinissa, king of the Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into the first Berber state in present-day Algeria. The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state.
A Viking ring fortress, Trelleborg-type fortress, or trelleborg, is a type of circular fort of a special design, built in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. These fortresses have a strictly circular shape, with roads and gates pointing in the four cardinal directions. Inside the fort, each quadrant has one, in a single case four, square blocks of longhouses, completing the geometric symmetry. There are a total of five known Viking ring fortresses at present, located in Denmark. They have been dated to the reign of Harold Bluetooth of Denmark, with an estimated near contemporary time of construction c. 980. Their exact historical context is subject to debate.
Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa, is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, 11 km (7 mi) southeast of Batna and 27 km (17 mi) west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also a Latin Catholic titular bishopric.
Tipasa, sometimes distinguished as Tipasa in Mauretania, was a colonia in the Roman province Mauretania Caesariensis, nowadays called Tipaza, and located in coastal central Algeria. Since 1982, it has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It was declared a World Heritage Site in danger in 2002, but was removed from the danger list in 2006 following conservation efforts.
Bouchegouf is a town and district in Guelma Province, Algeria.
Tobna, also known by the ancient names of Tubunae or Thubunae, is a ruined former city in Batna Province of Algeria, located just south of the modern city of Barika. From this position, it once controlled the eastern part of the Hodna region, while M'Sila did the west. It flourished from the time of the Roman Empire through the Islamic Middle Ages, until it was sacked and destroyed by the Banu Hilal in the 11th century, after which it was finally abandoned.
The Moesian Limes is the modern term given to a linked series of Roman forts on the northern frontier of the Roman province of Moesia along the Danube between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia and dating from the 1st century AD. It was the eastern section of the so-called Danubian Limes and protected the Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia south of the river. The eastern section is often called the limes Scythiae minoris as it was located in the late Roman province of Scythia Minor.
Tadmit is a small town and commune in Djelfa Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 6,172. Tadmit is something of a secluded town, although it is located several kilometres southwest of Djelfa. It is accessed via a small road off the N1 Trans-Saharan Highway.
Capidava was an important Geto-Dacian centre on the right bank of the Danube. After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military centre, as part of the province of Moesia Inferior and was part of the defensive frontier system of the Limes Moesiae along the Danube.
Jedars are thirteen Berber mausoleums located south of Tiaret city in Algeria. The name is derived from the Arabic: جدار jidār (wall), which is used locally to refer to ancient monumental ruins. The pre-Islamic tombs date from late antiquity.
Fossatum Africae is one or more linear defensive structures claimed to extend over 750 km (470 mi) or more in northern Africa constructed during the Roman Empire to defend and control the southern borders of the Empire in Africa. It is considered to be part of the greater frontier system in Roman Africa.
Stéphane Gsell was a French historian and archaeologist. He was a specialist in ancient Africa and Roman Algeria. His main work is L'Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord (1913-1929).
The Castle of Pena de Aguiar is a medieval castle, alternately the Castle of Aguiar da Pena, situated in the civil parish of Telões, in the municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar, in the Portuguese district of Vila Real.
Louis Leschi was a French historian, epigrapher and archaeologist, a specialist of ancient North Africa.
Iomnium was a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman port on Algeria's Mediterranean coast at the site of present-day Tigzirt.
Gunugus or Gunugu was a Berber and Carthaginian town in northwest Africa in antiquity. It passed into Roman control during the Punic Wars and was the site of a colony of veteran soldiers. It survived the Vandals and Byzantines but was destroyed during the Muslim invasion of the area.
Tubusuctu also known as Colonia Iulia Augusta Legionis VII, was a Roman colony founded by Augustus for military veterans and known for its olive oil.
Argentovaria, also known as Ödenburg, is the collective term for a late Roman military installation and a civilian settlement in the area of Biesheim in Elsass.
The Jublains archeological site is a cluster of ruins, mostly dating back to Ancient Rome, in the current French commune of Jublains in the département of Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire.
Rusguniae is an ancient archaeological site located in the commune of El Marsa, in the wilaya of Algiers, Algeria.
35°09′N3°41′E / 35.150°N 3.683°E
 | This article about a location in M'Sila Province is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
