Tuburbo Bolshoi ( lat. Thuburbo Majus ) is an ancient Roman city in the northern part of Tunisia , 60 km south-west of Carthage , near the modern city of El Fahs. It arose as a Roman colony under the emperor Octavian Augustus in 27 BC. e.
Content
History
Tuburbon Greater was created among a number of small centers in the province of Africa with the goal of developing and Latinizing this territory. The bulk of the population of the new colony were veterans who received a land allotment here. The settlement acquired an important strategic position, as it was located in a rich agricultural area, at the intersection of trade routes between inland and coastal cities.
The rise of the city is associated with the Antonin dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the settlement received municipal status . The population of the city from the middle of II - until the middle of III centuries BC. e. ranged from 7 to 12 thousand people.
However, since the end of the III century BC. e. The Big Tuburbon was steadily moving towards decline, the emperors Constantine I and Constantius II tried to revive the city, restoring the urban infrastructure, first of all - thermae . Subsequently, the invasion of vandals, Arabs, as well as an earthquake led the city to complete destruction.
Archaeological finds
In 1857, the French archaeologist Charles-Joseph Tissot began archaeological excavations in the area of the city. A significant part of the excavations was carried out from 1912 to 1936.
Among the surviving buildings stands the Capitol with columns of the Corinthian order 8.5 meters high. The temple of Mercury, which has a circular shape, as well as two shrines dedicated to Saturn, are paying attention to themselves.
The city center was on the forum , whose area was 45 square meters.
Among others, created in 225 AD e. palestra of the Petroniev family. Not far from the palette was discovered a bas-relief depicting a dancing bacchante.
As a result of excavations, about twenty private dwellings were found. Near the forum were found the houses of wealthy citizens, covered with mosaics and marble, some of which have a heating system.
The most significant finds were in the Bardo National Museum . Such a find was the head of Jupiter weighing 1.2 tons, as well as a statue of Jupiter 7 meters high. Mythological subjects are represented by the mosaic "Theseus and the Minotaur", it shows the battle of Theseus and the Minotaur, the maze became the general background of the mosaic scene.
One of the interesting artifacts found by archaeologists in Tuburbon Bolshoi is a small model of the temple (the so-called oblique ), which is probably a copy of some sanctuary located in Carthage [1] .
Notes
- ↑ Picard J.-S. Carthage from the Battle of Gimer to the invasion of Agathocles // Cambridge History of the Ancient World . - M .: Ladomir, 2017 .-- T. VI, 1st half-hour. - S. 447.
Literature
- Julien C.-A. History of North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco). - T. 1: From ancient times to the Arab conquest (647). - M .: Inoizdat, 1961 .-- 429 p.
- Mommsen T. History of Rome. - M .: Inoizdat, 1949 .-- V. 5 .-- 631 p.
- Rostovtsev M. I. Society and economy in the Roman Empire. - SPb. : Science, 2000. - T. 1. - 438 p.