Thapsus (titular see)
Encyclopedia
Thapsus is a Catholic titular see
in Byzacena
in Roman Africa
. The ruins of Thapsus are located at Ras Dimas, near Bekalta
in Tunisia
. They consist of the remains of a mole, a fortress, and amphitheater, and large cisterns; in the neighbourhood there is a Punic necropolis.
was a Phoenicia
n market on the coast of Byzacium in Africa Propria, established near a salt lake
, on a point of land eighty stadia
from the island of Lopadussa, confronting it, between Leptis Minor and Sullectum, and had both military and trading ports.
In 46 BC
it was the scene of the defeat by Julius Caesar
of the generals of Pompey
and Juba I at the battle of Thapsus
. He exacted of the vanquished a payment of 50,000 sesterces. Thapsus then became a Roman colony.
Vigilius, the only known bishop, assisted at the assembly convoked at Carthage
in 484 by King Huneric and was exiled by the latter with his colleagues. He is the author of several controversial works against the Arians
and the Eutychians.
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 bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
in Byzacena
Byzacena
Byzacena was a Roman province in what is now Tunisia.At the end of the third century AD, the Emperor Diocletian divided the great Roman province of Africa Proconsularis into three smaller provinces: Zeugitana in the north, still governed by a proconsul and referred to as Proconsularis, Byzacena,...
in Roman Africa
Roman Africa
Roman Africa may mean:*the Roman Africa province*the history of Africa during the Roman era, see North Africa during Antiquity#Roman era...
. The ruins of Thapsus are located at Ras Dimas, near Bekalta
Bekalta
Bekalta, Arabic: البقالطة , is a Tunisian coastal town , around 30 km. south of Monastir and around 14 km. northeast of Mahdia. The main activities of the local population are agriculture and fishing.- External links :...
in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. They consist of the remains of a mole, a fortress, and amphitheater, and large cisterns; in the neighbourhood there is a Punic necropolis.
History
ThapsusThapsus
Thapsus was an ancient city in what is modern day Tunisia. Its ruins exist at Ras Dimas near Bekalta, approximately 200 km southeast of Carthage. Originally founded by Phoenicians, it served as a marketplace on the coast of the province Byzacena in Africa Propria...
was a Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n market on the coast of Byzacium in Africa Propria, established near a salt lake
Salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...
, on a point of land eighty stadia
Stadia
Stadium or stadion has the plural stadia in both Latin and Greek. The anglicized term is stade in the singular.Stadium may refer to:* Stadium, a building type...
from the island of Lopadussa, confronting it, between Leptis Minor and Sullectum, and had both military and trading ports.
In 46 BC
46 BC
Year 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...
it was the scene of the defeat by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
of the generals of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
and Juba I at the battle of Thapsus
Battle of Thapsus
The Battle of Thapsus took place on April 6, 46 BC near Thapsus . The Republican forces of the Optimates, led by Quintus Caecillius Metellus Scipio, clashed with the veteran forces loyal to Julius Caesar.-Prelude:...
. He exacted of the vanquished a payment of 50,000 sesterces. Thapsus then became a Roman colony.
Vigilius, the only known bishop, assisted at the assembly convoked at Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
in 484 by King Huneric and was exiled by the latter with his colleagues. He is the author of several controversial works against the Arians
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
and the Eutychians.