Tiddis (also known as ''Castellum Tidditanorum'' or ''Tiddi'') 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 ...

city that depended on

Cirta Cirta, also known by #Names, various other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was the ancient Berbers, Berber, Punic people, Punic and Roman Empire, Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria, Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was ...

and a bishopric as "Tiddi", which remains a Latin Catholic

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 ...

. It was located on the territory of the current commune of

Béni Hamidane Béni Hamidane is a town and commune in Constantine Province, 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 nort ...

in the

Constantine Province Constantine () is one of the 58 provinces (''wilayas'') of Algeria, whose capital is the city of the same name, with 1 291 575 inhabitants, with a density of 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi) History In 1984 Mila Province was carved out of its territory. ...

of eastern

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 ...

History

Tiddis was built by the Romans as a "vicus" & defensive castellum of the Confederatio Cirtense, initially administered by

's Roman colonists and successively arranged according to their system of urbanization. This prosperous town, established on a plateau, had a monumental gate, baths, industrial facilities (tanneries), a sanctuary to

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

dating back to the 4th century BC, and also a Christian chapel. Castles and water tanks of all forms remind us that the city has gradually been abandoned because it lacked sources. One can admire the mausoleum that

Quintus Lollius Urbicus Quintus Lollius Urbicus was a Berber governor of Roman Britain between the years 139 and 142, during the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. He is named in the ''Historia Augusta'', although it is not entirely historical, and his name appears ...

built, a native of Tiddis (and son of a romanised Berber landowner) who then became prefect of Rome. The local romance speaking community probably disappeared with the Arab conquest in the second half of the 7th century, but some pottery remains showed the survival of a small village -with some christian inhabitants- inside the ruins of Tiddis until the XI century. Today, Tiddis is an authentic Roman site called ''Res eddar'' or the "peak of the House" located in the Gorge of the Khreneg, just north of Cirta. It marks the presence of a Roman civilization through rock art inscriptions and Roman pottery.

Ecclesiastical history

Under

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 ...

control, Castellum Tidditanorum had two small churches and was the see of a diocese. Four bishops are assigned by Morcelli to this see, but Mesnage and Jaubert believe they were bishops of

Tisedi {{Short description, Diocesal city in Algeria Tisedi was an ancient city and episcopal see, which remains a Latin Church titular see within the Catholic Church. History Tisedi, located near modern Aziz-Ben-Tellis in present Algeria, was one of ma ...

, leaving only * Abundius, attending the Council of Carthage called in 484 by 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 ...

of the

Vandal Kingdom The Vandal Kingdom () or Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans () was a confederation of Vandals and Alans, which was a barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom established under Gaiseric, a Vandals, Vandalic warlord. It ruled parts of North Africa and th ...

, afterwards exiled like most Catholics, unlike their

Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...

schismatic heretic-counterparts. Ruins of Tiddis

Titular see

In 1925 was established the "Titular Episcopal See of Tiddis" *''Titular Bishop''. Titular Archbishop (1985.09.14 – ...): Archbishop Eugenio Sbarbaro *''Former Titular Bishops''. Titular Bishop: Bishop Cesar Benedetti, O.F.M. (1951.02.08 – 1983.04.04); Titular Bishop: Bishop Joseph Brendan Whelan, C.S.Sp. (1948.02.12 – 1950.04.18); Titular Bishop: Archbishop

Mečislovas Reinys Mečislovas Reinys (5 February 1884 – 8 November 1953) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic titular archbishop and professor at Vytautas Magnus University. He was the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs from September 1925 to April 1926. He was i ...

(1926.04.05 – 1940.07.18)

Famous locals

* Lollia (gens)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic - Tiddi

Bibliography

* André Berthier ''Tiddis. Antique Castellum Tidditanorum'' Academie des Belles lettres. Paris, 1951 * Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 469 * Stefano Antonio Morcelli, ''Africa christiana'', Volume I, Brescia 1816, pp. 320–321 * J. Mesnage,'' L'Afrique chrétienne'', Paris 1912, p. 315 * H. Jaubert, ''Anciens évêchés et ruines chrétiennes de la Numidie et de la Sitifienne'', in ''Recueil des Notices et Mémoires de la Société archéologique de Constantine'', vol. 46, 1913, p. 93 {{coord, 36, 27, 48, N, 6, 29, 02, E, region:DZ_type:city_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Caesariensis Roman towns and cities in Algeria History of Constantine Province Archaeological sites in Algeria Populated places established in the 1st millennium Former populated places in Algeria Buildings and structures in Constantine Province Catholic titular sees in Africa Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Africa