Madauros

Madauros (Madaurus, Madaura) was a Roman-Berber city and a former diocese of the Catholic Church in the old state of Numidia, in present-day Algeria.


Madauros
Ruins of Madauros
Shown within Algeria
LocationAlgeria
RegionSouk Ahras Province
Coordinates36.076667°N 7.82°E / 36.076667; 7.82

History

The birth of the city dates back to the 5th century BC under the aegis of the Phoenicians.[1]

Madaurus was made a Roman colony at the end of the first century and was famous for its "schola". A colony of veterans was established there; it was called Colonia Flavia Augusta Veteranorum Madaurensium under emperor Nerva.[2]

The city was fully Romanised in the fourth century, with a population of Christian Berbers, who spoke mainly Latin, according to Theodor Mommsen.[3]

Madauros was the see of a Christian diocese. There were three famous bishops of this diocese: Antigonus, who celebrated the Council of Carthage (349); Placentius, who celebrated the Council of Carthage (407) and Council of Carthage (411); and Pudentius who was forced into exile, alongside others present at the Christian conference of Council of Carthage (484), because of the Vandal king Huneric.

The ruins of Madauros are close to the actual city of M'Daourouch, in present-day Algeria. It is possible to see:

  • A Roman mausoleum with some statues.
  • A Roman theatre, reduced in size because of a Byzantine fortification made in 535 AD.
  • Some small "Roman thermae".
  • A Roman basilica of the Byzantine era with 3 sections of columns.
  • Some epitaphs, with Latin inscriptions.

Notable residents

Apuleius, the author of the famous novel The Golden Ass, which is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety,[4] was born in Madauros in the 120's.[5] Lucius, the (fictional) protagonist of the novel, is also from Madauros.[6]

Saint Augustine of Hippo studied in Madauros in the 4th century.[7]

See also

Notes
  1. HAFISI, Fatma Zohra. "Preservation du patrimoine architectural" (PDF).
  2. Perseus: Madauros
  3. Theodor Mommsen. The Provinces of the Roman Empire. Section: Africa
  4. Evans, James (2005). Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Thomson/Gale. ISBN 9780787656997.
  5. "Apuleius: A Celebrity and His Image" (PDF). Princeton University Press.
  6. The Golden Ass 11.27
  7. Knowles, Andrew; Penkett, Pachomios (2004). Augustine and His World. Lion Books. p. 36. ISBN 9780745951041.

Bibliography
  • Gurney, Hudson The works of Apuleius Publisher Bell (University of California Libraries). London, 1878
  • Gsell, Stephane. Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord en 8 tomes, Inscriptions de Madaure, ibid., p. CLXX-CLXXIV. Paris, 1922.
  • Mommsen, Theodore. The Provinces of the Roman Empire. Barnes & Noble Ed. New York, 2005
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