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60-463: Chemtou was founded in the 4th to 5th century BC as a colony of the Berber kingdom of Numidia (Algeria) . It later became a Roman town in the province of Africa . The city was important enough to become a bishopric , before its eventual abandonment around the 9th to 10th century. It lies at the crossroad of two major highways: the one that connects Carthage and Hippo Regius (today Annaba ), and

120-590: A century after the inauguration of the bridge, a grain mill was installed on the left bank of the river. It is one of only two Roman turbine mills known in North Africa (the second is in Testour ). It was a rectangular parallelepipedal building in the protection of the high bridgehead. The wooden turbines had horizontally mounted paddle wheels, three millstones were attached directly to the turbine axles. The construction, previously unknown from antiquity, worked in

180-401: A few blocks of the foundations have been preserved in situ. The monument consisted of a high substructure, which was orientated towards the east to the rising sun. On its east long side a shining door was attached, which was led by a three-step base. On the substructure was a second storey, which was designed as a Doric column pavilion. The building was decorated with rich decorations, including

240-675: A few buildings that stand out because of their uniqueness in the North African region: On the summit of the Temple Mount / Djebel Chimtou is a Numidian shrine, which is attributed to the Numidian King Micipsa. His father Massinissa, who had been an Allied Roman since the Second Punic War, had seized power over the upper Medjerda valley in 152 BC. After his death, his son and successor, Micipsa, founded

300-720: A length of 460 kilometres (290 mi). It is the most important and longest river in Tunisia and is dammed in several locations, being a major supplier of water to the country's wheat crops. The Gulf of Utica was formed during the postglacial transgression about 6,000 years ago. Over time, fluvial deposits from the Medjerda gradually filled up the northern part of the gulf. The succession of events during historical times has been inferred from ancient documents and archaeological evidence. Besides morphological ground observations, aerial and satellite photographs have been used to analyze how

360-451: A livre, the wheat of Biossia surpasses that of Gallia by an entire livre, wheras the wheat of Africa surpasses the weight of wheat of Gallia by a whole livre and three fourths. In 179 BC, King Masinissa of Numidia received a golden crown from the inhabitants of Delos , as he had offered them a shipload of grain. A statue of Masinissa was erected in Delos in his honor, with an inscription by

420-453: A long and seemingly endless campaign as the Romans tried to defeat Jugurtha decisively. Frustrated at the apparent lack of action, Metellus' lieutenant Gaius Marius returned to Rome to seek election as Consul. Marius was elected, and then returned to Numidia to take control of the war. He sent his Quaestor Sulla to neighbouring Mauretania in order to eliminate their support for Jugurtha. With

480-698: A native from Rhodes . His sons, too, had statues erected on the island of Delos; the King of Bithynia, Nicomedes, had also dedicated a statue to Masinissa. By 143 AD, the export of olive oil from Numidia rivaled its grain export throughout the Roman Empire. In 200 BC, the Roman Army stationed in Macedonia received 17,508 hectoliters of Numidian wheat; in 198 BC, the Roman Army in Greece was sent, once again,

540-475: A nymphaeum, at least three thermal baths. Byzantine church buildings and a building in the north-west of the city, interpreted as an imperial edifice, which is most probably a so-called Italian podium temple or temple italique. There were also two Roman sanctuaries, the temple districts of Dii Mauri on the eastern slope, and the Caelestis on the western slope at Djebel Bou Rfifa. In addition, Simitthus also had

600-422: A refined way: if the river level and the flow velocity in summer were too low to propel the mill wheels, the water was first stowed in a controllable mill pond. Afterwards, it was passed into mills, which narrowed and accelerated like nozzles, so that the mill worked all year round. When the bridge collapsed in the first half of the 4th century AD, the mills' building was also destroyed and the mills pocketed, so that

660-448: A regular mass production: besides plates and blocks of marble blanks, plates, pots, marquetry, mortars, pestles, relief plates and statuettes were produced here for everyday use as well as for export. Some of the ground shells had walls of only 2 millimeters in thickness. The complex was built in the penultimate third of the 2nd century AD, and was not built until the turn of the century with its own water supply system inside. Already around

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720-522: A ten-meter monumental monument on the highest point of the mountain in the late 2nd century BC. The marble was used as a building material, which at the same time meant the discovery of the "marmor numidicum". The ground plan of the sanctuary is a rectangle of about twelve to five and a half meters in length and width. It was erected on the planted rocky base, the crevices and bumps of which had been closed with strings. The building consisted of solid marble squares, connected with dowels, and had no interior. Only

780-473: A thousand. The Chemtou Museum displays artifacts discovered in the area. The testimonies of the long history of the settlement of Chimtous have been partly preserved on the rocky ridges and on their southern, western and northern slopes. In Simitthus there were all the buildings that are to be found in Roman cities: an amphitheater, a theater, a forum with forum basilica and fountain, a three- aisled market hall,

840-521: A trophy relief. The fragments of the building decoration are among the most valuable examples of the very rarely preserved Numidian royal architecture and can be visited today in the Chimtou Museum to reconstruct the sanctuary. In Roman times, the Shrine was used as a sacred temple dedicated to the god Saturn. It was expanded in the late 2nd century AD by various additions. In the 4th century AD it

900-519: A war navy to protect his trade, in one story, the fleet of Massinissa sailed to Malta and confiscated large ivory elephant pillars from the temple of Juno and returned to Numidia and gave it as a prize to Massinissa. When the king knew about the origin of the gift, he prepared a nimble fleet of five ships and sent it back to where it came from. This funny story tells us that not only Massinissa had enough ships to perform tasks at will but also these fleets were functioning outside of African shorelines towards

960-466: Is suitable for its cultivation. By 112 BC, Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal. He incurred the wrath of Rome in the process by killing some Roman businessmen who were aiding Adherbal. After a brief war with Rome, Jugurtha surrendered and received a highly favourable peace treaty, which raised suspicions of bribery once more. The local Roman commander was summoned to Rome to face corruption charges brought by his political rival Gaius Memmius . Jugurtha

1020-728: The Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis . With a length of 450 km (280 mi), it is the longest river of Tunisia. It is also known as the Wadi Majardah or Mejerda ( French : Oued Majardah ). The Medjerda River originates in the Tell Atlas , part of the Atlas Mountains , in northeastern Algeria and then flows eastwards to Tunisia, then entering the Gulf of Utica of the Mediterranean Sea . Its course has

1080-593: The Madghacen and the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania . There are also altars that were built at Simitthus and Kbor Klib. All of these monuments were built within the area ruled by Massinissa and his descendants. Numidia took over most of the famous Carthaginian ports which were one of the most important in the mediterranean, the famous Roman orator and historian Cicero tells us that the Numidian king had

1140-702: The Massylii in eastern Numidia, and the Masaesyli in the west. During the first part of the Second Punic War , the eastern Massylii, under their king Gala , were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under king Syphax , were allied with Rome. The Kingdom of Masaesyli under Syphax extended from the Moulouya river to Oued Rhumel. However, in 206 BC, the new king of the eastern Massylii, Masinissa , allied himself with Rome, and Syphax of

1200-710: The arian Vandal and Orthodox Byzantine empires, only ceasing to function with the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb . The diocese was refounded in name at least in the 1930s. The bishopric of Simitthu, no longer a residential see, is included in the Catholic Church 's list of titular sees . The current holder of this office is Joseph Ha , also Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong. Numidia French Algeria (19th–20th centuries) Algerian War (1954–1962) 1990s– 2000s 2010s to present Numidia

1260-434: The 300-meter-long south wall. This often involved judges who were condemned to the quarries, e.g. Christians persecuted after the turn of the century (including women). They were buried in simple Steingrräberiden with modest grave mounds. The storage area was surrounded by a high, heavy wall, with only two gate entrances so far. Although the work camp was so hermetically separated from the city, it took advantage of it: chiefs of

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1320-565: The Great reunited the two provinces into a single one, administered from Cirta, which was now renamed Constantina (modern Constantine ) in his honour. Its governor was raised to the rank of consularis in 320, and the province remained one of the six provinces of the Diocese of Africa until the invasion of the Vandals in 428, which began its slow decay, accompanied by desertification . It

1380-601: The Masaesyli switched his allegiance to the Carthaginian side. At the end of the war, Numidia was under the rule of Masinissa of the Massylii. At the time of his death in 148 BC, Masinissa's territory extended from the Moulouya to the boundary of the Carthaginian territory, and also southeast as far as Cyrenaica to the gulf of Sirte , so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage ( Appian , Punica , 106) except towards

1440-475: The Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into the first unified Berber state for Numidians in present-day Algeria. The kingdom began as a sovereign state and an ally of Rome and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state . Numidia, at its foundation, was bordered by the Moulouya River to the west, Africa Proconsularis and Cyrenaica to

1500-477: The Romans in 170 BC appear to be only a fraction of the kingdom's total production, as he was upset by Rome's decision to pay for the provided wheat that year. Massinissa hadn't laid his hands yet on the fertile lands of the Emporia (North West Ancient Libya ) nor the great plains full of fertile soil yet; generally, barley was his kingdom's main produce, as they grew barley in light, mountainous and hilly soil which

1560-590: The Sava ( Oued Soummam ) and Ampsaga ( Oued-el-Kebir ) rivers passed to Bocchus II , while the eastern kingdom became a Roman province. The remainder of the western kingdom plus the city of Cirta , which may have belonged to either kingdom, became briefly an autonomous principality under Publius Sittius . Between 44 and 40 BC, the old western kingdom was once again under a Numidian king, Arabio , who killed Sittius and took his place. He involved himself in Rome's civil wars and

1620-441: The bridge. A 30 meter wide and 1.5 meter thick foundation slab made of wooden crates filled with a lime-mortar-stone mixture (Caementicium) was placed on the river bed. Their top was secured with a covering of stone blocks. This construction, was heavily stressed by the strongly changing water flow and was therefore strengthened later. However, the fortifications could not stop the plateau from being submerged, which eventually led to

1680-475: The brief period (30–25 BC) Juba II (son of Juba I ) ruled as a client king of Numidia on the territory of former province Africa Nova . In AD 40, the western portion of Africa Proconsularis, including its legionary garrison, was placed under an imperial legatus , and in effect became a separate province of Numidia, though the legatus of Numidia remained nominally subordinate to the proconsul of Africa until AD 203. In 193 AD, under Septimius Severus , Numidia

1740-472: The camp was completely planned. As in every Roman city, there was an urban aqueduct in Simitthus, from which public and private baths , drinking water fountains, and vatoes were fed. In Simitthus, however, in contrast to other Roman cities, there was an increased demand for water, since not only the residential city had to be supplied with fresh spring water on a regular basis, but also the quarries. In

1800-619: The central mediterranean. Unlike the Carthaginians who closed trade in face of the Greeks to large parts of North africa, Massinissa opened trade with the Greek, Egyptian, Syrian as well as Italic merchants, Massinissa used to provide to the population of Rhodes Toja wood and Ivory, in Cirta multiple Rhodian amphorae from the 2nd century B.C were found in burial sites and one of them carries

1860-485: The city. This is a huge domed seven-aisled water storage and distribution system with large window openings for ventilation. Here more than 10,000 cubic meters of water could be stored and distributed as required. The aqueduct led to the north wall, and on the slope side in the east, adjustable lines led southwards to the city and the quarries. The Bishopric was founded during the Roman Empire and survived through

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1920-589: The collapse of the bridge in the 4th century. Since then the remains of the building form an impressive rubble field. The bridge had three arch openings, only one of which served as a water passage so that it was a dam at the same time. Only the southernmost bridge pillar still stands in its original position. The material used for the cuboids was green limestone from Bordj Helal , gray marble / limestone from Ain El Ksir and yellow stone blocks of unknown origin About

1980-504: The correct use of Nomades ). Historian Gabriel Camps , however, disputes this claim, favoring instead a local African origin for the term. The name appears first in Polybius (second century BC) to indicate the peoples and territory west of Carthage including the entire north of Algeria as far as the river Mulucha ( Muluya ), about 160 kilometres (100 mi) west of Oran . The Numidians were composed of two great tribal groups:

2040-488: The dawn of time, Numidia was very productive when it came to its famously high-quality wheat , very similar to the wheat farmed along the banks of the Egyptian Nile . According to Roman historian Pliny the elder : Among the wheat imports of Rome, is light wheat imported from Gallia which does not surpass the weight of a bushel (Boisseau) 20 livres. The weight of the wheat of Sardinia surpasses that of Gallia by half

2100-479: The death of King Gauda in 88 BC, the kingdom was divided into a larger, eastern land and a smaller, western kingdom (roughly the Petite Kabylie ). The kings of the east minted coins, while no known coins of the western kings survive. The western kings may have been vassals of the eastern. The civil war between Caesar and Pompey brought an end to independent Numidia in 46 BC. The western kingdom between

2160-538: The east. the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Sahara to the south so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage ( Appian , Punica , 106) except towards the sea. before Masinissa expanded past the Moulouya and vassalizing Bokkar, and reaching the Atlantic ocean to the west. The Greek historians referred to these peoples as "Νομάδες" (i.e. Nomads), which by Latin interpretation became "Numidae" (but cf. also

2220-573: The facility was no longer functional. A work, residential and administrative warehouse was necessary for the centrally organized marble demolition, built on an area of over 40,000 square meters on the northern edge of the quarry, 800 meters from the Roman city. In the huge warehouse area, there was a cemetery for the campers (the urban necropolis was located on the southern slope of the Djebel Chemtou), which housed stalls, workshops, bathhouses, sanctuaries, water distributors and, just in front of

2280-610: The help of Bocchus I of Mauretania, Sulla captured Jugurtha and brought the war to a conclusive end. Jugurtha was brought to Rome in chains and was placed in the Tullianum . Jugurtha was executed by the Romans in 104 BC, after being paraded through the streets in Gaius Marius' Triumph. After the death of Jugurtha, the far-west of Numidia was added to the lands of Bocchus I , King of Mauretania . A rump kingdom continued to be governed by native princes. It appears that, on

2340-529: The inscription (Sodamos). Numidia became highly romanized and was studded with numerous towns. The chief towns of Roman Numidia were: in the north, Cirta or modern Constantine , the capital, with its port Russicada (Modern Skikda ); and Hippo Regius (near Bône ), well known as the see of St. Augustine . To the south in the interior military roads led to Theveste (Tebessa) and Lambaesis (Lambessa) with extensive Roman remains, connected by military roads with Cirta and Hippo, respectively. Lambaesis

2400-538: The landscape has evolved over the past 3,000 years. The gulf's southern part was filled up in late ancient times. The sea gradually withdrew from the northern part during the Middle Ages and modern times. The Ghar el Melh lagoon is the last vestige of what used to be the Utica gulf. Following the last big flood in 1973, the Medjerda shifted, once again, its course. It now flows through a canal originally dug to evacuate

2460-431: The late 19th century, a series of excavations carried out since the late 1960s by a Tunisian-German archaeological team has uncovered new parts of the city, as well as the Roman road connecting it to Thabraca for the purpose of transporting marbles to the Mediterranean Sea . The excavated ruins are typical of Roman cities with temples, baths, an aqueduct, an amphitheatre, and housing for quarry workers whose number may exceed

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2520-527: The middle of the 3rd century, however, an earthquake vault and flat roofs of the multi-nave system collapsed. Thereupon the Fabrica was only repaired in parts, and remained under obscure conditions until the end of the century. It is probable that the workers in this last phase were no longer living in the camp, as no new graves were being built at the camp cemetery. In the fourth century the warehouses were systematically plundered for building material and finally

2580-438: The one that connects Thabraca (today Tabarka ) and Sicca (today El Kef ). The town is known for its quarries , where one of the most precious types of marbles in the Roman Empire , the antique yellow marble ( marmor numidicum or giallo antico ), was exploited. With Chemtou's ruins dating from over a period of 1,500 years, the site covers over 80 hectares of area pending further excavations. After being partially excavated in

2640-485: The overflow of flood waters. Historically the Medjerda is Tunisia's crucial waterway providing water to the country supply facilities, it is also vital to the people living near the river. Water from the Medjerda is used for irrigation and is pivotal to the region's agriculture. A strategic resource, it was fought over and settled many times by the Carthaginians , Romans , Vandals , Byzantines , Arabs , and

2700-512: The quarries donated the town public buildings, but not of marble blocks, which were too expensive and destined for export. The largest building in the camp was a factory site or fabrica, more than 3,000 square meters, which was demarcated by the camp itself through heavy walls. It was divided into six elongated workshop axes, which could only be entered individually through six lockable gates and were not connected together. More than 5000 stone objects of different kinds were found here, which testify to

2760-416: The quarrying plant, in the working camp and in the Fabrica it was used for sawing, grinding, and forging of tools, and as drinking water for the workers. Therefore, Simitthus had an unusually complex aqueduct: the water was transported to the city over a distance of over 30 kilometers with bridges, piers and underground canals. There it was headed into a "Castellum divisorum", located almost 2 kilometers outside

2820-486: The same amount of wheat. In 191 BC, Rome received 26,262 hectoliters of wheat and 21,885 hectoliters of barley ; Greece, the same year, received 43,770 hectoliters of wheat and 26,262 hectoliters of barley. Then, in 171 BC, the Roman army in Macedonia received 87,540 hectoliters of wheat. In total Rome received: These numbers only represent a fraction from the reserves of the kingdom of Massinissa. His contributions to

2880-445: The same: the consecrated ones, an altar, a sacrificial animal, which, if recognizable, is always a ram. The devotee is often depicted on the sacrificial horse, with the attributes rhombus and wreath. Although no inscriptions were found, the typology points to the god Saturn. His consecrated reliefs form one of the greatest monuments in North Africa. The reliefs are arranged in groups and are, if possible, on natural rock banks. Often, there

2940-631: The sea. Furthermore, after the capture of Syphax the king of the Masaesyli (West Algeria) with his capital based in Siga and after losing Siga had relocated to a temporary capital in Tinga, Bokkar, had become a vassal of Massinissa. Massinissa had also penetrated as far south beyond the Atlas to the Gaetuli and Fezzan was part of his domain. After the death of the long-lived Masinissa around 148 BC, he

3000-485: The swampland of the highly meandering river, the difficult foundations and the recurring floods made the construction a risky undertaking. In the 1st century AD the first attempt was made to build bridges, but this first bridge did not extend beyond the century. In 112 AD, a new building was erected by Trajan , as can be found in an inscription (now in the Chimtou Museum). The river was temporarily diverted to build

3060-478: The title and status of Roman colonies; and in the 5th century, the Notitia Dignitatum enumerates no fewer than 123 sees whose bishops assembled at Carthage in 479. See Numidia (Roman province)#Episcopal sees . Medjerda The Medjerda River ( Arabic : وادي مجردة ), the classical Bagrada , is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into

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3120-533: Was a niche in front of it, where dedications could be given. In one case, shards of several vessels and a clay lamp were discovered. The Roman bridge over the Medjerda is considered to be the largest Roman bridge in North Africa and has an outstanding importance from an architectural and engineering perspective. It led the Roman road between Thuburnica and Sicca Veneria across the Medjerda near Simitthus. In

3180-604: Was also forced to come to Rome to testify against the Roman commander, where Jugurtha was completely discredited once his violent and ruthless past became widely known, and after he had been suspected of murdering a Numidian rival. War broke out between Numidia and the Roman Republic and several legions were dispatched to North Africa under the command of the Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus . The war dragged out into

3240-459: Was finally replaced by a small, three-aisled church, using the quader and architectural parts of the destroyed sanctuary. At the end of the 1960s, the largest known series of Roman rock reliefs in North Africa was discovered at Tempelberg. Altogether there are about 200 pieces. They are sculpted out of the rock in the southwest, west, and north of the Temple Mount, heavily weathered and visible only with oblique incident light. The reliefs usually form

3300-431: Was himself killed. Eastern Numidia was annexed in 46 BC to create a new Roman province, Africa Nova . Western Numidia was also annexed as part of the province Africa Nova after the death of its last king, Arabio , in 40 BC, and subsequently the province (except of Western Numidia ) was united with province Africa Vetus by Emperor Augustus in 25 BC, to create the new province Africa Proconsularis . During

3360-569: Was restored to Roman rule after the Vandalic War , when it became part of the new Praetorian prefecture of Africa . The term “Royal Numidian Architecture” was coined for the monuments that were constructed by the Numidian kings. These monuments consist of tombs, tumuli and sanctuaries. Some examples of these structures are the mausoleum of Thugga , the tomb of Beni Rhenane, a tomb at Henchur Burgu in Djerba as well as two tumulus tombs known as

3420-521: Was separated from Africa Proconsularis, and governed by an imperial procurator . In the reorganization 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 Emperor Constantine

3480-572: Was succeeded by his son Micipsa . When Micipsa died in 118 BC, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons Hiempsal I and Adherbal and Masinissa's illegitimate grandson, Jugurtha , who was very popular among the Numidians. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to open war with Adherbal. The Numidian kingdom was very famous for its agricultural yield; besides lettuce , beans , and other grains already consumed by Berbers since

3540-474: 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 state in the east (Capital: Cirta ) and the Masaesyli state in the west (Capital: Siga ). During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), Masinissa , king of

3600-613: Was the seat of the Legio III Augusta , and the most important strategic centre. It commanded the passes of the Aurès Mountains (Mons Aurasius), a mountain block that separated Numidia from the Gaetuli Berber tribes of the desert, and which was gradually occupied in its whole extent by the Romans under the Empire. Including these towns, there were altogether twenty that are known to have received at one time or another

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