Sitifis
Sitifis, known today as Sétif, is an ancient city located in Algeria within the historical context of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. Established as a settlement for ex-soldiers during the reign of Emperor Nerva, it was officially titled Colonia Nerviana Augusta Veteranorum. At an elevation of over 3,000 feet and situated south of the Kabylie mountains, Sitifis served as an important junction for trade routes linking the coast and the interior. Over time, it evolved into the capital of Mauretania Sitifensis and played a significant role during various political upheavals, including the rebellion of Firmus against the Roman Empire.
The city witnessed notable events, such as the execution of Governor Ruricus and the subsequent military actions led by Theodosius the Elder. Following the decline of Roman control, Sitifis fell under Vandal rule in 429 AD. Archaeological findings reveal the remnants of Roman infrastructure, including a temple, residential areas, and public amenities like a hippodrome and amphitheater, which were significant for social and cultural activities. The site also contains early Christian basilicas, illustrating its continued importance in late antiquity. Today, the ruins of Sitifis offer insight into the complex history of Roman North Africa and its cultural transitions.
Subject Terms
Sitifis
(Sétif)
A city in the interior of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis (Algeria), not far from its border with Numidia. Situated at a height of more than 3,000 feet, south of the Kabylie mountains where a road between Lambaesis (Tazzoult) and the coast joins another route leading to Cirta (Constantine), Sitifis received a settlement of ex-soldiers from Nerva (AD 96–98), under the title of Colonia Nerviana Augusta Veteranorum. In the later empire it became the capital of the province of Mauretania Sitifensis. After witnessing the execution of the governor Ruricus, accused of sending false reports to Valentinian I (370), the town played a prominent part during the ensuing rebellion of the Mauretanian Firmus, becoming the headquarters of the governmental forces of Theodosius the Elder (father of the future emperor of the same name). According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Theodosius tortured and burned alive the supporters of his own unsatisfactory former general Romanus; and then, after Firmus had killed himself, he made a ceremonial entry into the city, amid enthusiastic applause. Together with the rest of Mauretania, Sitifis fell to the Vandals under Gaiseric in 429.
The center of the Roman town was probably under a subsequent Byzantine fortress, which in turn was partially demolished in the nineteenth century. Remains of houses dating from the foundation of the colony were destroyed when a large temple (of which the foundations can still be seen) was built before or after AD 200. A new northwestern quarter, in which the regular streets, houses, shops and a bathing establishment have been partly uncovered, was added at the beginning of the fourth century, and especially toward its end, and it was at this time that a hippodrome was built and an earlier amphitheater underwent a second restoration (361–63). Two Christian basilicas with funerary inscriptions were erected side by side not long afterward, and have been carefully investigated. They contained nineteen inscriptions dated from 378 to 429 (and one of 471). The layout of city walls of late imperial date have been established from nineteenth-century drawings, supplemented by recent excavations.