 Zarai was near the Fossatum Africae, that marked the border between the Roman controlled Africa and the barbarian tribes. East of the Fossatum there was a partial Latinisation of the society | |
  Shown within Algeria | |
| Location | Algeria |
|---|---|
| Region | Sétif Province |
| Coordinates | 35°48′03″N5°40′39″E / 35.800833°N 5.6775°E |
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.
The Punic name for the town was SRʾʿ (𐤎𐤓𐤀𐤏). [1]
Zarai is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary [2] and in the Tabula Peutingeriana . Ptolemy calls it Zaratha [3] and wrongly[ clarification needed ] places it in Mauretania Caesariensis. It is probably the Apuleius's Zaratha. [4] These two forms and the term "Zaraitani" found in an inscription [5] seem to indicate that the name Zaraï which appears on another inscription [6] must have lost a final letter.
The ruins of Zaraï are called "Henshir Zraïa" and are found inside the municipality of Ain Oulmene. They lie to the south-east of Setif in Algeria, crowning an eminence which overlooks all the country on the left bank of the Oued Taourlatent, known to the medieval Arabs as Oued Zaraoua. [7]
Zarai was protected after emperor Hadrian started the construction of a wall similar to the one with his name in Roman Britannia, by one of the sections of the Fossatum Africae: the Hodna or Bou Taleb section. This section begins near the north-east slopes of the Hodna Mountains, heads south following the foothills then east towards Zaraï, and doubles back westward to enclose the eastern end of the Hodna mountains, standing between them and the Roman settlements of Cellas and Macri. The length of this segment is about 100 km. It probably criss-crossed the ancient border between Numidia and Mauretania Sitifensis.
The frontier post stood at Zarai, the limit in this direction of the area for which the Third Augustan Legion was responsible. Zarai became a Roman town, of which considerable remains have survived. About 213 A.D. it ceased to be garrisoned, probably because the land round about had become peaceful, though it was still exposed to occasional raids from the desert. The district between Lambaesis and Zarai has preserved many traces of communities founded by veteran soldiers, who turned to agriculture after their service was over.... From Zarai two great routes ran into Mauretania, one proceeding in a north-westerly direction, and passing through the important city of Sitifis, the other taking a southerly line. Both roads met at Auzia (Aumale in Algeria). They ran through districts which were to a large extent occupied by estates of the emperors. -- James Reid
The Byzantines fortified the city as the western border town of their possessions in Africa. The small city of Zarai disappeared.
Remains of a Byzantine citadel and of two Christian basilicas are still visible. [8]
Zarai was the seat of a Christian bishopric. It was one of the key cities of the Donatist controversy. The remains of a Byzantine citadel and of two basilicas are still visible. [7] Three bishops of Zaraï are known from antiquity. The see fell into abeyance after the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb but was later revived by the Roman Catholic Church as a titular see.
Mauretania is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, of Berber ancestry, were known to the Romans as the Mauri and the Masaesyli.
Articles related to Algeria include:
Siga was a Berber and Roman port located near what is now Aïn Témouchent, Algeria. Under the Roman Empire, it was part of western Mauretania Caesariensis, bordering Mauretania Tingitana.
Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, 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.
Thagaste was a Roman-Berber city in present-day Algeria, now called Souk Ahras. The town was the birthplace of Saint Augustine.
Mauretania Sitifensis was a Roman province in Northwest Africa. The capital was Setifis.
Milevum was a Roman–Berber city in the Roman province of Numidia. It was located in present-day Mila in eastern Algeria.
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 actual Algiers.
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.
Mesarfelta was a Roman–Berber town in the province of Numidia. It was also a bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.
Quiza also known as Vuiza (Βούϊζα), which Pliny the Elder called Quiza Xenitana, was a Roman–Berber colonia, located in the former province of Mauretania Caesariensis. The town is identified with ruins at Sidi Bellater, Algiers.
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. In the present time Caesarea is used as a titular see for Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bishops.
Madauros was a Roman-Berber city and a former diocese of the Catholic Church in the old state of Numidia, in present-day Algeria.
Tigisis, also known as Tigisis in Mauretania to distinguish it from another Tigisis in Numidia, was an ancient Berber town in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis. It was mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary.
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Timici was a Phoenician, Numidian, and Roman town located in present-day Ain Matboul, Algeria .
Tamada was an ancient Roman–Berber civitas in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis. The town lasted through the Byzantine Empire, Vandal Kingdom and Roman Empire into late antiquity, until at least the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century.
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 gens Tannonia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in Roman literature, but many are known from inscriptions.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Zarai". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.| Algeria |
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