Rapidum was a

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 lette ...

settlement and

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

located in Mauretania Caesariensis, nearly 100 km south of

Icosium Icosium ( grc, Ἰκόσιον, Ikósion) was a Berber city that was part of Numidia which became an important Roman colony and an early medieval bishopric (now a Latin titular see) in the casbah area of actual Algiers. History Legends I ...

(Algiers).

History

The Romans built a fort in what is now Sour Djouab (south of present-day Algiers) during the first century of their rule in Mauretania between Castellum Tingitanum ( El Asnam) and Auzia (Sour el Ghozlane), in order to expand their control of the interior of the region. Soon under Hadrian near the fort grew up a civilian settlement called "Rapidum", on the Roman road called the ''Nova Praetentura'', which connected Numidia with

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chella ...

and passed through Rapidum. The original castrum of Rapidum remained until 201 AD, while the town survived until emperor Aurelian when it was destroyed by Berber nomads. The later emperor Diocletian rebuilt it during the late 3rd century with huge buildings which lasted until the Arab invasions. The initial garrison of Rapidum fort was – according to historian M. Ruiu – the '' Cohors II Sardorum'' and protected the new

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

moved south from the Mediterranean shores to a military road called ''Nova Praetentura''. This road went from Rapidum near Numidia to Altava and to

Numerus Syrorum Maghnia () (formerly Marnia) is a town in Tlemcen Province, northwestern Algeria. It is the second most populated town in Tlemcen Province, after Tlemcen. The current population is over 200,000. History Archaeologists have found evidence of prehi ...

at the border of

. Rapidum was named "municipium" and had an extension of 15 hectares under

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

(with nearly 4,000 inhabitants, mostly romanised Berbers, like Auzia). The city was later destroyed by Berber rebellions, but Diocletian restored the city that had even huge

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

. Pieces of colossal statues of Jupiter and Minerva suggest the existence of a "Capitol". There also undoubtedly was a temple to Ceres. The fort was abandoned around 325 AD, while the city remained some centuries more (even if it never fully recovered). Rapidum was conquered by the

Vandals 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 betw ...

and later reduced to a small village, probably Christian (at Aïn Tamda, just west of Rapidum ruins, a group of Christian buildings (

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

) has been excavated)- was occupied by the Romano– Berber

Kingdom of Altava The Kingdom of Altava was an independent 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 ...

in the 6th century. It disappeared with the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb ( ar, الْفَتْحُ الإسلَامِيُّ لِلْمَغرِب) continued the century of rapid Muslim conquests following the death of Muhammad in 632 and into the Byzantine-controlled territories of ...

in the 7th century. Today only some ruins remain, excavated in the 1920s by the French colonists.

Bishopric

Rapidum was center of an ancient

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and remains 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 ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis. Bishops * Raul Nicolau Gonçalves (5 Jan 1967 Appointed – 30 Jan 1978) *Gyula Szakos (31 Mar 1979 Appointed – 5 Apr 1982) *Mieczyslaw Jaworski (7 May 1982 Appointed – 19 Aug 2001) *

Brian Vincent Finnigan Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

''Le Petit Episcopologe'', Issue 167, Number 14,171 (31 Jan 2002 Appointed – )

References

Bibliography

* Seston, Williams. ''Le secteur de Rapidum sur le Limes de Mauritanie césarienne après les fouilles de 1927'' Persee Scientific Journals, volume 45. 1928

External links

Digital Atlas of the Roman empire: Rapidum
{{Romano-Berber cities in Roman Africa Populated places established in the 1st century Populated places disestablished in the 7th century Archaeological sites in Algeria Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Caesariensis Roman fortifications in Mauretania Caesariensis Ancient Berber cities 1920s archaeological discoveries Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century 1st-century establishments in the Roman Empire 7th-century disestablishments in the Exarchate of Africa Catholic titular sees in Africa

History

Bishopric

See also

References

Bibliography

External links