Tipasa

Last updated
Tipasa
Tipaza
Tipasa remain 2.JPG
Algeria location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tipasa
Location in Algeria
Coordinates: 36°35′31″N2°26′58″E / 36.59194°N 2.44944°E / 36.59194; 2.44944
Official nameTipasa
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii, iv
Designated1982 (6th session)
Reference no. 193
Region Arab States
Endangered 2002–2006

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, [1] it has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It was declared a World Heritage Site in danger in 2002, [2] but was removed from the danger list in 2006 [3] following conservation efforts.

Contents

History

Punic trading post

Initially the city was a small ancient Punic trading-post.

Roman colony

Conquered by Ancient Rome, it was turned into a military colony by the emperor Claudius for the conquest of the kingdoms of Mauretania. [4] Afterwards it became a municipium called Colonia Aelia Augusta Tipasensium. [5]

The Roman city was built on three small hills which overlooked the sea, nearly 20 km. east from Caesarea (capital of Mauretania Caesariensis). [6] Under Roman rule the city acquired greater commercial and military importance because of its harbour and its central position on the system of Roman coastal roads in North Africa. A wall of approximately 7,500 feet (2,300 metres) was built around the city for defense against nomadic tribes, and Roman public buildings and districts of houses were constructed within the enclosure. [7]

Commercially Tipasa was of considerable importance, but it was not distinguished in art or learning. [8]

Christian Tipasa

Christianity was introduced to Tipasa early, [8] with the first Christian inscription there (and the oldest Christian epitaph in Roman Africa) dating to October 17, 237 AD, [9] or 238. [7] The city became an important Christian centre in the 3rd century., [7] becoming an episcopal see, [6] now inscribed in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. [8] It saw the construction of numerous Christian religious buildings in the later third and fourth centuries, [7] including three churches — the Great Basilica and the Basilica Alexander on the western hill, and the Basilica of St Salsa on the eastern hill, the biggest basilicas within the modern limits of Algeria. [9] [6]

Most of the inhabitants, however, continued to be non-Christian until, according to legend, Salsa, a Christian maiden, threw the head of their serpent idol into the sea, whereupon the enraged populace stoned her to death. The body, miraculously recovered from the sea, was buried, on the hill above the harbour, in a small chapel which gave place subsequently to the stately basilica. Salsa's martyrdom took place in the fourth century. According to the historian Gsell, Tipasa reached a population of 20,000 inhabitants iaround that time. [5] Christianity now became general among the Romanised Berbers and Roman colonists of Tipasa. [9]

Decline

About 372 Tipasa withstood an assault by Firmus, the leader of a Berber rebellion that had overrun the nearby cities of Caesarea (modern Cherchell) and Icosium (modern Algiers). Tipasa then served as the base for the Roman counter-campaign. [7] However, its fortifications did not prevent the city from being conquered by the Vandals about 429, bringing to an end the prosperity that the city had enjoyed during the Roman period. [7] The conquerors partially destroyed the city in 430.

In 484, during the persecution of the Catholic church by the Vandal king Huneric (477‑484), the Catholic bishop of Tipasa was expelled and replaced with an Arian bishop, whereupon many of the inhabitants of the city fled to Spain. Many of the remainder were cruelly persecuted. [7] [6] [10] In the ensuing decades the city fell into ruin. [7] About 530, Tipasa was rebuilt by the Byzantines, and during their occupation in the 6th century revived for a brief time. [11]

Actual ruins of Roman Tipasa Ruines romaines de Tipaza.jpg
Actual ruins of Roman Tipasa

At the end of the seventh century the city was destroyed by the Arabs and reduced to ruins. [12] The newcomers gave it the name Tefassed, which translated from the Arabic language means badly damaged[ clarification needed ]. [11]

Christian tomb from a Roman Tipasa basilica Salsa 022.jpg
Christian tomb from a Roman Tipasa basilica

Modern city

In 1857, the area was settled again with the creation of the city of Tipaza that now has nearly 30,000 inhabitants. The town and its surroundings is home to the largest Berber-speaking group of western Algeria, the Chenoua people.

The ruins of the old city also remain. Of the houses, most of which stood on the central hill, no traces remain; but there are ruins of the Great Basilica and the Basilica Alexander on the western hill, the Basilica of St Salsa on the eastern hill, two cemeteries, the baths, theatre, amphitheatre and nymphaeum. The line of the ramparts can be distinctly traced and at the foot of the eastern hill the remains of the ancient harbour. [6]

The basilicas are surrounded by cemeteries, which are full of coffins, all of stone and covered with mosaics. The basilica of St. Salsa, which has been excavated by Stéphane Gsell, consists of a nave and two aisles, and still contains a mosaic. The Great Basilica served for centuries as a quarry, but it is still possible to make out the plan of the building, which was divided into seven aisles. Under the foundations of the church are tombs hewn out of the solid rock. Of these one is circular, with a diameter of 18 m and space for 24 coffins. [6]

Tribute to Albert Camus

Inside the Roman ruins, facing the sea and Mount Chenoua, a stele was erected in 1961 in honor of Albert Camus with this phrase in French, extracted from his work Noces à Tipasa: “I understand here what is called glory: the right to love beyond measure " (« Je comprends ici ce qu'on appelle gloire : le droit d'aimer sans mesure. »). [13]

Climate change

As a coastal heritage site, Tipasa is vulnerable to sea level rise. In 2022, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report included it in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened by flooding and coastal erosion by the end of the century.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauretania</span> Region in the ancient Maghreb

Mauretania is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, of Berber ancestry, were known to the Romans as the Mauri and the Masaesyli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauretania Caesariensis</span> Roman province in northwest Africa

Mauretania Caesariensis was a Roman province located in present-day Algeria. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea Mauretaniae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherchell</span> Town in Tipaza, Algeria

Cherchell is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, 89 kilometers (55 mi) west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaraï</span>

Zaraï was a Berber, Carthaginian, and Roman town at the site of present-day Aïn Oulmene, Algeria. Under the Romans, it formed part of the province of Numidia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djémila</span> Archaeological site in Algeria

Djémila, formerly Cuicul, is a small mountain village in Algeria, near the northern coast east of Algiers, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thubursicum</span> Archeological site

Khamissa, ancient Thubursicum Numidarum or Thubursicum, is an Ancient Roman and Byzantine archeological site, in Souk Ahras Province of northeastern Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icosium</span>

Icosium was a Phoenician and Punic settlement in modern-day Algeria. It was part of Numidia and later became an important Roman colony and an early medieval bishopric in the casbah area of modern Algiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania</span> Historic site in Tipaza Province, Algeria

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is a funerary monument located on the road between Cherchell and Algiers, in Tipaza Province, Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesarea in Mauretania</span> Ancient city and bishopric in Roman North Africa

Caesarea in Mauretania was a Roman colony in Roman-Berber North Africa. It was the capital of Mauretania Caesariensis and is now called Cherchell, in modern Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeological Museum of Cherchell</span> Archaeological museum in Tipaza Province, Algeria.

The Archaeological Museum of Cherchell is an archaeological museum located in the center of the seaport town of Cherchell in Tipaza Province, Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auzia</span> Roman-Berber colonia in Algeria

Auzia was a Roman-Berber colonia in present-day Sour El-Ghozlane, Algeria. The area was located around 150 km south-east of Algiers, in the ancient province of Mauretania Caesariensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igilgili</span> Archaeological site in Algeria

Igilgili was a Berber town and a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman colony in located in present-day Jijel, Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civitas Popthensis</span> Ancient Roman-Berber city

Civitas Popthensis was an ancient Roman-Berber city located in the present-day Henchir Kssiba area in the municipality of Ouled Moumen in Souk Ahras Province, Algeria. The word "civitas" is derived from the Latin civis ("city"), meaning that the city was a politically autonomous city-state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipaza</span> Place in Algeria

Tipaza is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called Tipasa. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is chiefly remarkable for its ancient ruins and sandy littoral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartennae</span> Ancient city in Mauretania Caesariensis

Cartennae or Cartenna was an ancient Carthaginian and Roman port at present-day Ténès, Algeria. Under the Romans, it was part of the province of Mauretania Caesariensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Altava</span> Kingdom in present-day Algeria

The Kingdom of Altava was an independent Christian Berber kingdom centered on the city of Altava in present-day northern Algeria. The Kingdom of Altava was a successor state of the previous Mauro-Roman Kingdom which had controlled much of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. During the reign of Kusaila, it extended from Volubilis in the west to the Aurès and later Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east. This Kingdom collapsed following Eastern Roman military campaigns to decrease its influence and power after Garmul invaded the Exarchate of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman colonies in North Africa</span>

Roman colonies in North Africa are the cities—populated by Roman citizens—created in North Africa by the Roman Empire, mainly in the period between the reigns of Augustus and Trajan.

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.

The Limes Mauretaniae was a portion of a 4,000-kilometre (2,500 mi) Roman fortified border (limes) in Africa approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of the modern day Algiers.

The Mazices were Berbers of North Africa who appear in classical and late antique Greek and Latin sources. Many variants of the name are known: Maxyes in Herodotus; Mazyes in Hecataeus; Mazaces; Mazikes; Mazazaces; etc. They are all derived from the Berber autoethnonym Imazighen. These terms were used both for Berbers in general and for certain Berber tribes. It is not clear if the original Berber term was used to refer to all Berbers or only a tribe or other subset. The Egyptian term Meshwesh for a tribe of ancient Libyans is probably a cognate.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Tipasa". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  2. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Tipasa (Algeria) Added to List of World Heritage in Danger". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  3. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre - State of Conservation (SOC 2006) Tipasa (Algeria)". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  4. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Tipasa". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  5. 1 2 "Archivo de la Frontera | EL LIMES ROMANO DE ÁFRICA IX – AELIA AUGUSTA TIPASENSIUM (Tipasa – Argelia, 1982-84)". www.archivodelafrontera.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tipasa (1)". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 1003.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Roman Tipasa Encyclopedia Britannica
  8. 1 2 3 Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN   978-88-209-9070-1), p. 991
  9. 1 2 3 Revue africaine, Société historique algérienne, éd. la Société, 1866, p. 487
  10. ↑ Stefano Antonio Morcelli, Africa christiana, Volume I, Brescia 1816, pp. 327–328
  11. 1 2 Tipasa, Morocco, Algeria, & Tunisia: a travel survival kit, Geoff Crowther & Hugh Finlay, Lonely Planet, 2nd Edition, April 1992, pp. 286 - 287.
  12. ↑ Toutain Jules. Fouilles de M. Gsell à Tipasa : Basilique de Sainte Salsa. In: Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire T. 11, 1891. p. 179-185.
  13. ↑ "Au sujet de la stèle de Camus dans les ruines de Tipaza".

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.