Tipasa, sometimes distinguished as Tipasa in Mauretania, was a colonia in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in present-day Algeria. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had ...

, nowadays called

Tipaza 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. History Ancient h ...

, and located in coastal central

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. Since 1982, it has been declared by UNESCO a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. It was declared a World Heritage Site in danger in 2002, but was removed from the danger list in 2006 following conservation efforts.

History

Punic trading post

Initially the city was a small ancient

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

trading-post.

Roman colony

Conquered by

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, it was turned into a military

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

by the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

for the conquest of the kingdoms of

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...

. Afterwards it became a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

called ''Colonia Aelia Augusta Tipasensium''. The Roman city was built on three small hills which overlooked the sea, nearly 20 km. east from

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

(capital of

). 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.Roman Tipasa ''Encyclopedia Britannica''
/ref> Commercially Tipasa was of considerable importance, but it was not distinguished in art or learning.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 991

Christian Tipasa

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

was introduced to Tipasa early, with the first Christian inscription there (and the oldest Christian epitaph in Roman Africa) dating to October 17, 237 AD,Revue africaine, Société historique algérienne, éd. la Société, 1866,
/ref> or 238. The city became an important Christian centre in the 3rd century., becoming an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

, now inscribed in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

's list of

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 archbi ...

s. It saw the construction of numerous Christian religious buildings in the later third and fourth centuries, 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. 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 A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

took place in the fourth century. According to the historian Gsell, Tipasa reached a population of 20,000 inhabitants iaround that time. Christianity now became general among the Romanised Berbers and Roman colonists of Tipasa.

Decline

About 372 Tipasa withstood an assault by

Firmus According to the ''Historia Augusta'', Firmus (died 273) was a usurper of Syrian origin during the reign of Aurelian. The apparently contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered by some historians to be a complete fabrica ...

, 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. 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. The conquerors partially destroyed the city in 430. In 484, during the persecution of the Catholic church by the

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...

king

Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was ma ...

(477‑484), the Catholic bishop of Tipasa was expelled and replaced with an

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

bishop, whereupon many of the inhabitants of the city fled to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Many of the remainder were cruelly persecuted. In the ensuing decades the city fell into ruin. About 530, Tipasa was rebuilt by the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

s, and during their occupation in the 6th century revived for a brief time.''Tipasa'', ''Morocco, Algeria, & Tunisia: a travel survival kit'',

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 in West Yorkshire on 15 March 1944. His parents worked in a cotton mill. He attended Calder H ...

& 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 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

, 2nd Edition, April 1992, pp. 286 ''-'' 287. At the end of the seventh century the city was destroyed by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and reduced to ruins. The newcomers gave it the name ''Tefassed'', which translated from the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

means ''badly damaged''.

Modern city

In 1857, the area was settled again with the creation of the city of

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. The basilicas are surrounded by cemeteries, which are full of coffins, all of stone and covered with

mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

. 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.

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 Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

with this phrase in French, extracted from his work ''Noces à Tipas''a: “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. »).

Climate change

As a coastal heritage site, Tipasa is vulnerable to

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

. In 2022, the

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the sixth in a series of reports which assess the available scientific information on climate change. Three Working Groups (WGI, II, ...

included it in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened by

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

and

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

by the end of the century.

Gallery

Image:Tipasa.jpg, View of Tipasa, Algeria Image:Tipasa1.jpg, Roman ruins of Tipasa (basilica) Image:Tipaza basilique.jpg, Vestiges of the Christian church Image:Tipasa4.jpg, Roman ruins of Tipasa Image:Gate_entering_Tipasa.JPG, View of Tipasa, Algeria Image:Sites historiques Tipaza 12.JPG, Panoramic view of Tipasa Image:Juba II of Numidia burial place.jpg,

Tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

Juba II Juba II of Mauretania (Latin: ''Gaius Iulius Iuba''; or ;Roller, Duane W. (2003) ''The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene'' "Routledge (UK)". pp. 1–3. . c. 48 BC – AD 23) was the son of Juba I and client king of Numidia (30–25 BC) and ...

and

Cleopatra Selene II Cleopatra Selene II (Ancient Greek, Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη; summer 40 BC – BC; the numeration is modern) was a Ptolemaic dynasty, Ptolemaic princess, nominal Queen of Cyrenaica (34 BC – 30 BC) and Queen of Mauretania (25 BC ...

File:Tipasa-109050.jpg, view showing base of walls

References

Citations

Bibliography

* .

External links

Images of Tipasa in Mauretania
from Manar al-Athar digital heritage photo archive
Site
of

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Africa Communes of Tipaza Province Archaeological sites in Algeria Roman fortifications in Mauretania Caesariensis Roman towns and cities in Algeria World Heritage Sites in Algeria Former populated places in Algeria Province seats of Algeria Catholic titular sees in Africa Ancient Berber cities World Heritage Sites in Danger 7th-century disestablishments in the Exarchate of Africa Populated places disestablished in the 7th century Roman legionary fortresses in Algeria 1857 establishments in the French colonial empire Phoenician colonies in Algeria