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 lett ...

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 Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for " Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in what is now Algeria in the Maghreb. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had been part of the Ki ...

, 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 Ic ...

(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 Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, ...

(

El Asnam Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, ...

) and Auzia (Sour el Ghozlane), in order to expand their control of the interior of the region. Soon under

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman '' municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispan ...

near the fort grew up a civilian settlement called "Rapidum", on the Roman road called the ''Nova Praetentura'', which connected

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 Tuni ...

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 Chell ...

and passed through Rapidum. The original castrum of Rapidum remained until 201 AD, while the town survived until emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited ...

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 spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories ...

. 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) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimitin ...

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 Medite ...

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

Altava Altava was an ancient Romano- Berber city in present-day Algeria. It served as the capital of the ancient Berber Kingdom of Altava. During the French presence, the town was called ''Lamoriciere''. It was situated in the modern Ouled Mimoun near T ...

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 pr ...

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 Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

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 Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

. 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 be ...

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 * Ch ...

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 whic ...

) 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 Rom ...

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

. 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''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