Rusazus was a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman town located near

Cape Corbelin A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

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

. Its ruins are near the town of Azeffoun.

Name

( phn, 𐤓‬𐤔‬𐤆‬) was the Phoenician and Punic name of

and meant "

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...

of the Strong One". or "Cape of the

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'' ...

". It was hellenized as ''Rhousazoûs'' ( grc-gre, Ῥουσαζοῦς) and Latinized variously as Rusazus, Plin., '' Nat. Hist.''
Book V, §20
Rusazu, Rusazis, Ruseius, and Rusadum.. As to which "Strong One" might have been meant,

Lipiński Lipiński (feminine Lipińska, plural Lipińscy) is a Polish surname. Notable persons with the name include: *Adam Lipiński (born 1956), Polish politician *Anatoly Ivanovich Lipinsky (born 1959), Russian military leader * Bill Lipinski (born 193 ...

offers that Azeffoun's name itself might be a Berber memory of a Punic toponym honoring

Baal Zephon Baal-zephon ( he, ''Baʿal Ṣəfōn''; Akkadian: ''Bēl Ḫazi'' ( dIM ḪUR.SAG); Ugaritic: ''baʿlu ṣapāni''; Hurrian: '' Tešub Ḫalbağe''; Egyptian: ''bꜥr ḏꜣpwnꜣ''), was the form of the Canaanite storm god Baʿal ( "The Lord") ...

, who was reckoned a patron of maritime trade. He allows, though, that pending the discovery of such an inscription, mere assonance is also possible.

History

Rusazus was established as a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

along the trade route between the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaism, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

. It consisted of a small fortress south of Cape Corbelin. It eventually fell under Carthaginian control, probably during the 6th centuryBC. Under the Romans, it was established as a

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term '' colony''. Characte ...

under

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. It was part of Mauretania Caesariensis after AD44. In

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

, it was part of the Vandal Kingdom prior to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

reconquest of Africa. It was overrun by the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

in the 7th century.

Ruins

The site includes a necropolis and the ruins of

baths Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, temples, and Roman-era embankments.

Religion

The Roman town had a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

bishopric ( la, Dioecesis Rusaditana, link=no). Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', (Leipzig, 1931), p. 468. It was revived in the 20th century as a

Roman Catholic 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 ...

titular see.

List of bishops

* Idonio, who took part in Huneric's 484 Council of Carthage, after which he was expelled *

Agapito Augusto Fiorentini Agapito is both a given name and a surname. It is the Spanish and Italian version of Agapitus of Palestrina, Agapitus. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Pope Agapetus I (490-536), Bishop of Rome, known as Agapetos in contemporary ...

(1902–1941) * Juan Tarsicio Senner (1942–1951) * Joseph Howard Hodges (1952–1962) *

Pavol Mária Hnilica Pavol is a masculine Slovak given name, equivalent to Paul. Notable people with the name include: *Pavol Adami (1739–1795), Slovak scientist and scholar, one of the first veterinarians *Pavol Baláž (born 1984), Slovak footballer * Pavol Biroš ...

(1964–2006) *

Pascal Jean Marcel Wintzer Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Fre ...

(2007–2012) * Georges Abou Khazen (2013–present)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . Phoenician colonies in Algeria Archaeological sites in Algeria Catholic titular sees in Africa Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Caesariensis Ancient Berber cities {{Algiers-geo-stub