Maktar
Maktar
مكثر | |
---|---|
Town | |
Coordinates:35°51′38″N9°12′21″E/ 35.86056°N 9.20583°E | |
Country | Tunisia |
Governorate | Siliana Governorate |
Government | |
• Mayor | Chedli Louati(Civil Union) |
Population (2014) | |
• Total | 13,576[1] |
Time zone | UTC1(CET) |
MaktarorMakthar(Arabic:مكثر), also known byother namesduringantiquity,is a town and archaeological site inSiliana Governorate,Tunisia.[2]
Maktar was founded by theBerberNumidiansas a defense post againstCarthaginian expansion.At the end of theThird Punic War,it was settled by manyPunicrefugees after theRomans' destruction ofCarthagein 146BC. Under Roman rule, it obtained the status of a free city underJulius Caesarin 46BC and became aRoman colonyin AD146. It formed part of theprovinceofByzacena[3]and was the seat of a Christian bishop. Under the Romans andByzantines,it reversed its earlier role to serve as a defense post against local Berber attacks. The town survived theMuslim invasionsbut was destroyed by theBanu Hilaltribe in the 11thcentury before being reëstablished. The present town had a population of 13,576 in 2014.[1]
Name
[edit]The Carthaginians recorded the town's name variously asmktrm(Punic:𐤌𐤊𐤕𐤓𐤌),mktrʿm(Punic:𐤌𐤊𐤕𐤓𐤏𐤌), andmktʿrym(Punic:𐤌𐤊𐤕𐤏𐤓𐤉𐤌).[4]The Romanslatinizedthe name asMactaris,[5]which became Colonia Aelia Aurelia Mactaris[6]upon its elevation to colony status. This name was laterarabizedas Maktar.
Geography
[edit]It is located around 140 km (87 mi) southwest ofTunisand 60 km (37 mi) southeast ofEl Kef.The modern town lies on aplateauat around 900 m (2,953 ft) above sea level. It sits on the other side of aravinefrom the Roman ruins and is known for its scenic views. The town has acontinental climate,with cold winters and warm summers and occasional snowfall during the months of January and February.
History
[edit]In the 3rd century BC the Numidians built a strategic fortress at the site, chosen to control trade routes betweenSbeitla,Kairouan,andEl Kef.The establishment grew rapidly, and underMasinissadeveloped into a major center ofNumidia.After thefall of Carthagein 146BC, manyPunicrefugees flocked to Maktar, bringing their culture and skills. Buildings, civic organization, and language were strongly influenced by the Carthaginians.
Roman occupation at first retained the Punic government and administration through the consular-style magistracy of thesufetes,[7]while Roman immigrants largely remained in a separatecommunity(pagus). Mactaris grew into one of the richest cities inthe provinceas a transit point for grain,oil,livestock, and textiles betweenCarthage,Sufetula,Thugga,andTebessa.UnderTrajan(97–117), the city wasromanized.The city received a uniform Roman constitution andcolonystatus, whereby all residents were automatically givenRoman citizenship.
The troubles of the third century, which ushered in the decline of the Roman Empire, also affected Maktar. The decline was halted awhile underDiocletian(284–305). In late antiquity the Mactaris diocese of the Roman Church was founded, and Christianization of the city could be seen in the construction of numerous churches. The city was mentioned in the 5th-centuryNotitia provinciarum et civitatum Africaeand thePeutinger Map.Maktar survived the invasion of theVandalsand became an importantByzantinefortress.
Maktar survived theMuslim invasions,but the devastating raid of theBeni Hilalin 1050 led to the complete destruction and abandonment of the site.
Archaeology
[edit]Numerous inscriptions are recorded through the ruins.[8]French archaeological excavations began in 1914, and were continued from 1944 on a large scale. Although not fully excavated, the ruins unearthed so far, especially of the thermal baths and the Schola of the Juvenes, mark this as one of the most remarkable ancient sites in Tunisia.
Pre-Roman structures
[edit]The site has several megaliths, large slabs evidently used in the burial of ashen remains. Excavations by Mansour Ghaki of an intact burial chamber uncovered many ceramics of various origins, both local and imported, dating from the early third century BC.
The site includes an example of Punic mausoleum pyramid, similar to the mausoleum of Atban atDougga(Thugga). In addition, archaeologists have unearthed a Numidian-period public square that is thought to be the religious center of the city due to the presence of temples, which later housed a temple to Augustus and Rome.
The temple of Hathor Miskar is well known because of the extensive excavations that were carried out there, even if the remains are poorly preserved. At the center of the sanctuary, archaeologists have found an altar dated to about 100BC.
The Tunisian government included the site inits proposalof 2012 to add various pre-Islamic monuments to the Unesco World Heritage List.
Trajan Forum
[edit]This rectangular paved gathering place was designed ca 116 AD under Trajan as a forum for the Roman population when Roman citizenship was granted to members of the local elite.[9](The indigenous population had its own forum 50m to the southwest.) The space was surrounded by a portico, and the south side is still dominated by the majestic and well-preserved Arch of Trajan.
Large baths
[edit]The Great Baths are among the best preserved of their kind in North Africa. The walls of thefrigidariumrise to 15 m. The building was constructed around the year 200 AD and is decorated with oriental foliage on the capitals and with a beautiful mosaic floor.
Scholia Juvenum
[edit]Built around the year 200, this building complex was the meeting place of the "youth organization" or Brotherhood, a kind of militia of young men, whose duties included policing and especially tax collection. The organization in Maktar consisted of about 70 members, and as in other Roman provincial cities it temporarily played an important role. Membership in the strictly managed organization was a prerequisite for higher military service. The curriculum of the school included paramilitary exercises and sports, but also subjects such as finance, politics, and culture. The Brotherhood became increasingly influential over time, as rich citizens of provincial cities used it to resist the authority of the central government. In the year 238 the Emperor Gordian I himself joined the organization. Emperor Diocletian restored the school. In the Christian era the original building, called the Basilica, was used as a church, using a Punic sarcophagus from the adjacent necropolis as an altar.
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Arch ofTrajan
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Forum and Arch of Trajan
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Amphitheatre
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Thermal baths
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Schola Juvenum
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Basilica of Rutilius
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Basilica
Bishopric
[edit]Although the Roman diocese effectively ceased operating with the arrival of the Islamic armies, the see remains atitular seeof the Roman Catholic Church, and there have been 20titular bishopssince 1514.[10]The current bishop isPedro Dulay Arigo[11]
Six bishops are known from antiquity,[12]including:
- Marcus of Mactaris[13]fl 325.
- Comparitor fl.411 (Donatist)
- Adelfius fl.484 (Catholic)
- Germanus[14]
- Rutilius
- Victor 6th century[15]
Culture
[edit]Each year, the city hosts a festival called the "Maktaris Festival," which boosts the economy of the region.[16]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abPopulation Census 2004National Institute of Statistics(in French)
- ^Claude Lepelley:Les cités de l'Afrique romaine.1981, Bd. 2, pp. 289–295.
- ^Joseph Bingham,Origines Ecclesiasticae,Volume 3 (Straker, 1843)p. 241.
- ^Ghaki (2015),p. 67.
- ^Henri Marrou Irenaeus, André Mandouze, Anne-Marie Bonnardière,Prosopography of Christian Africa (303–533)p 1314.
- ^"Inscription de l'Henchir Makter (Colonia Aelia Aurelia Mactaris)" 27 juin 1884Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres/ Année 1884 / Volume 28 / Numéro 2pp. 281-286.
- ^Ilẹvbare, J.A. (June 1974). "The Impact of the Carthaginians and the Romans on the Administrative System of the Maghreb Part I".Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria.7(2): 187–197.JSTOR41857007.
- ^Robert M. Kerr,Latino-Punic Epigraphy: A Descriptive Study of the Inscriptions(Mohr Siebeck, 2010).
- ^"Epigraphik Datenbank".
- ^Titular Episcopal See of Mactarisat GCatholic.org.
- ^Mactaris,at catholic-hierarchy.org
- ^Toulotte,Géographie de l'Afrique chrétienne, Byzacène et Tripolitaine(Montreuil-sur-Mer 1894), 127–133.
- ^Philip Schaff,Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: First Series,Volume IV "St. Augustine" (Cosimo, Inc., 1 May 2007)p500.
- ^known only from inscription in Basilica at Maktar.
- ^Brent D. Shaw,Bringing in the Sheaves: Economy and Metaphor in the Roman World(University of Toronto Press, 2013)p56.
- ^"Festival international de Maktaris: Madha à l'ouverture, Bouchnak à la clôture".2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- Ghaki, Mansour (2015),"Toponymie et Onomastique Libyques: L'Apport de l'Écriture Punique/Néopunique"(PDF),La Lingua nella Vita e la Vita della Lingua: Itinerari e Percorsi degli Studi Berberi,Studi Africanistici: Quaderni di Studi Berberi e Libico-Berberi, Naples: Unior, pp. 65–71,ISBN978-88-6719-125-3,ISSN2283-5636.(in French)
External links
[edit]- Lexicorient
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company. .