20180402 132230 HDR The historical market

Djémila ( ar, جميلة, links=, lit=Ǧamīlah, translit=Beautiful (one)), formerly Cuicul, is a small mountain village in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, near the northern coast east of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des ...

, where some of the best preserved

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

ruins in North Africa are found. It is situated in the region bordering the

Constantinois Constantinois is a cultural and historical region of the Maghreb, located in northeastern Algeria. Geography The region corresponds roughly to six contemporary ''wilayas'': Constantine Province, Annaba Province, Guelma Province, Skikda Provi ...

and

Petite Kabylie Petite Kabylie or Petite Kabylia (Berber: Tamurt n Iqbayliyen, Arabic: al-Qabā'il as-Saghra, القبائل الصغرى, Maghrebi Arabic: Qbayel es-Sghira) is a natural region in the mountainous area of northern Algeria. The Petite Kabylie is pa ...

(Basse Kabylie). In 1982, Djémila became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

for its unique adaptation of

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one ...

to a mountain environment. Significant buildings in ancient Cuicul include a theatre, two fora, temples, basilicas, arches, streets, and houses. The exceptionally well preserved ruins surround the forum of the Harsh, a large paved square with an entry marked by a majestic arch.

Roman Cuicul

Under the name of Cuicul, the city was built above sea level during the 1st century AD as a Roman military garrison situated on a narrow triangular plateau in the province of

Numidia Numidia (Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

. The terrain is somewhat rugged, being located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...

of two rivers. Mileve Hippo Thagaste in Numidia

Cuicul's builders followed a standard plan with a forum at the center and two main streets, the

Cardo Maximus A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street. ...

and the

Decumanus Maximus In Roman urban planning, a decumanus was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or castrum (military camp). The main decumanus of a particular city was the Decumanus Maximus, or most often simply "the Decumanus". In the rectangular street ...

, composing the major axes.''Djemila'', ''

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, Algeria, &

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

'',

Geoff Crowther Geoff Crowther (15 March 1944 – 13 April 2021) was a British travel writer who wrote for BIT and Lonely Planet. Life Early life Crowther was born on 15 March 1944 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. His parents worked in a cotton mill. He attended C ...

and Hugh Finlay,

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...

, 2nd Edition, April 1992, pp. 298 ''-'' 299. The city was initially populated by a colony of Roman soldiers from Italy, and eventually grew to become a large trading market. The resources that contributed to the prosperity of the city were essentially agricultural (cereals, olive trees and farm). During the reign of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

in the 3rd century, Cuicul's administrators took down some of the old ramparts and constructed a new forum. They surrounded it with larger and more impressive edifices than those that bordered the old forum. The terrain hindered building, so that they built the theatre outside the town walls, which was exceptional. Christianity became very popular in the 4th century (after some persecutions in the early third century) and brought the addition of a basilica and

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptisma ...

. They are to the south of Cuicul in a quarter called "Christian", and are popular attractions. Of the bishops of Cuicul, Pudentianus took part in the Council of Carthage (255) concerning the validity of

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost in ...

, and Elpidophorus in the Council of Carthage (348). Cresconius was the Catholic bishop who represented Cuicul at the Council of Carthage (411) between Catholic and

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...

bishops; the Donatist bishop of the town died before the conference began. Crescens was one of the Catholic bishops whom the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area be ...

king Huneric summoned to Carthage in 484. Victor was at the

Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and ...

in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Cuicul is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

. The city was slowly abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire around the 5th century and 6th century. There were some improvements under emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

, with wall reinforcements. Muslims later dominated the region, but did not reoccupy the site of Cuicul, which they renamed Djémila ("beautiful" in Arabic).

3D Documentation

The spatial documentation of Djémila took place during two Zamani Project field campaigns in 2009, which were undertaken in co-operation with Prof Hamza Zeghlache and his team from the University of Setif, Algeria, as well as the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). Several structures were documented, including the Baptistry, the Caracalla Gate, the Market, the Septimius-servus Temple and the Theatre.

Notable residents

Several significant Romanized Africans were born in Cuicul:Anthony R. Birley, ''Septimius Severus, the African Emperor'', Éd. Routledge, * Lucius Alfenus Senecio: governor of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Gr ...

(205 to 207). * Gaius Valerius Pudens: governor of Britannia. * Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Aquila: governor of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...

. * Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Proculus: governor of

Gallery

File:Vue generale du site de Djémila.jpg, Panorama of Cuicul File:Djemila 1180510.jpg, The ''Macellum'' File:Djemila, Algeria.jpg, The Arch of

File:Djemila 0700510.jpg, Forum laid out by

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

File:Djemila 140510.jpg, Temple of ''Gens Septimia'' File:Djemila algeria roman ruins 114.jpg, Christian quarter File:Baptistère.jpg, Christian baptismal area File:Djemila 110.jpg, Museum File:Ancient Roman theater in Djemila.jpg, Roman theater File:GM Djemila Roman Theatre04.jpg, Roman theater

References

External links