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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

and

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

located in

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 ...

, nearly 100 km south of

Icosium Icosium (Punic: , "Island of the Owls"; , ''Ikósion'') was a Phoenician and Punic settlement in modern-day Algeria. It was part of Numidia and later became an important Roman colony and an early medieval bishopric (now a Latin titular see) in t ...

(Algiers).

History

The Romans built a fort in what is now Sour Djouab (south of present-day

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

) 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 Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

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

Numidia Numidia 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 ...

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 Chellah ...

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

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

when it was destroyed by Berber nomads. The later emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

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: * ''Limes'' (Roman Empire), a border marker and defense system of the Roman Empire * ''Limes'' (Italian magazine), an Italian geopolitical magazine * ''Limes'' (Romanian magazine), a Romanian literary and political quarterly ma ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

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 Tl ...

and to Numerus Syrorum at the border of

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

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

(with nearly 4,000 inhabitants, mostly

romanised In linguistics, romanization 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 transcription, ...

Berbers, like Auzia). The city was later destroyed by

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

rebellions, but

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 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 Vand ...

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 place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

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

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

in the 6th century. It disappeared with the

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb The conquest of the Maghreb by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I. The North African campaigns were part of the century ...

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 archbi ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

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