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<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Mactaris (Makthar), an ancient Roman town in today's Tunisia</TITLE> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="An illustrated description of Mactaris (Makthar), an ancient Roman town in today's Tunisia"> <META NAME="name" CONTENT="An illustrated description of Mactaris (Makthar), an ancient Roman town in today's Tunisia"> <META NAME="author" CONTENT="romeartlover"> <META NAME="generator" CONTENT="FreeFormEditor 1.0"> <style>body, html { margin:0; padding:0; color:#0D1138; background:#a7a09a; } #wrap { width:960px; margin:0 auto; padding:0; background:#F0EA92; } #header { background-image: url("Bghall.jpg");} #nav { background:#F0EA92; } #main { background:#F0EA92; padding:0; } #sidebar { background:#cc9; } #footer { background:#cc9; } #main { float:left; width:200px; background-image: url("Bghall.jpg"); } #sidebar { float:right; width:760px; background-image: url("Bgmactar.jpg"); } #footer { clear:both; background:#cc9; } table { background-image: url("Bghall.jpg"); font-weight: bold;} td { padding: 4px; border: thin solid DarkGoldenRod; vertical-align: top;} caption { caption-side:center;} </style><link rel="stylesheet" href="prova2.css"> </HEAD> <body> <div id="wrap"> <div id="header"></div> <div id="nav"></div> <div id="main"></div> <div id="sidebar"></div> <div id="footer"></div> </div> <div id="wrap"> <div id="header"><div class="boxed"><h1><em>Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller</em></h1></div></div> <div id="nav"> <ul class="nav site-nav"> <li class="flyout"><a href=#>About this Website</a> <ul class="flyout-content nav stacked"> <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="Romeartlover.html">About & Feedback</a></li> <li><a href="Hallfame.html">Hall of Fame</a></li> <li><a href="Biblio.html">Bibliography</a></li> <li><a href="Glossary.html">Glossary</a></li> </ul> <li class="flyout"> <a href="#">Vasi's Roman Views</a>  <ul class="flyout-content nav stacked"> <li><a href="Books.html">Rome in 10 Books</a></li> <li><a href="View.htm">View of Rome</a></li> <li><a href="Map.html">Map of Rome</a></li> <li class="flyout-alt"><a href="#">Other Views</a>  <ul class="flyout-content nav stacked"> <li><a href="Vasigrs1.html">Roman Forum</a></li> <li><a href="Vasigrs4.html">The Vatican</a></li> <li><a href="Vasigrs2.html">Aventine Hill</a></li> <li><a href="Vasigrs3.html">S. 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Write to <a href="mailto:romapip@quipo.it">romapip@quipo.it</a>.<p class="stacco"> <a href="New.htm"><img class="displayed" src="Newnuovo.jpg" title="See the most recent additions to this website" height=135 width=180></a> <p class="stacco"><a href="superind.html"><img class="displayed" src="Sitemap.jpg" height=135 width=180 title="See a detailed list of this website pages"></a></p> <p class="stacco">Notes:<p class="stacco">Page revised in September 2019. The photos were taken in April 2012.</div> </div> <div id="sidebar"><div class="boxed"> <img src="Miniafri.jpg" width=220 height=120 title="detail of the theatre"><em><strong><span>  Mactaris (Makthar)</span><br>   (detail of the theatre at <a href="Thugga.html">Thugga</a>)</em> <p><p class="stacco">You may wish to see an <a href="Tunisia.html">introductory page to this section</a> first. <p class="stacco"><em>Byzacium (*), a district of Africa, is a champaign country of such singular fertility as to render grain one hundred and fifty fold.</em><br>Pliny the Elder - The Natural History - Book XVII - Translation by John Bostock and H.T. Riley<br><em>The many parts which I have seen of the ancient Bizacium (*), or Winter circuit, fall vastly short in fertility of the character which has been attributed to them by the ancients.</em><br>Thomas Shaw - Travels or Observations relating to several parts of Barbary and the Levant - 1738 <br>(*) a reference to <em>Valeria Byzacena</em>, a new province which was created by <a href="Storia11.html#Diocletian">Emperor Diocletian</a> when he reorganized the territorial structure of the Roman Empire in 285-292 and which corresponded to today's Central Tunisia. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar17.jpg" title="Old Forum" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Old Forum</em></h2> <p class="stacco">Mactaris is situated at 3,000 ft on a plateau which is part of <em>Dorsale Tunisienne</em>, a range which separates the fertile valley of the <a href="Tunisia.html#Mejerda">Mejerda River</a> to the north from semi-arid areas to the south. In antiquity this climatic distinction was not as considerable as it is today and Central Tunisia was extensively farmed. In addition to climatic changes which have affected Northern Africa, the abandonment of traditional agricultural activities is a consequence of the invasion of the Banu Hilal in the XIth century. They were Bedouin tribesmen from Arabia and they spread nomadism where agriculture had been dominant. <p class="stacco"><a name="Arch"></a> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar06.jpg" title="Arch at the entrance to the new Forum" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Arch at the entrance to the New Forum (see the <a href="Tunisia.html#Mactaris">wildflower meadows around it in the introductory page</a>)</em></h2> <p class="stacco">Mactaris was most likely a Numidian fortress because of its position almost at the highest point of the plateau. After the end of the <a href="Storia4.html#Carthage">Third Punic War</A>, its population was increased by refugees from <a href="Cartago1.html">Carthage</a>.<br>Similar to many other towns of the region, Mactaris experienced a period of economic growth in the late Ist century AD which led its inhabitants to build a new large forum at the entrance of which they built an arch. <p class="stacco"><a name="Ippona"></a> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar04.jpg" title="New Forum" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=460 width=730> <em><h2>(above) New Forum (see another entirely paved Forum at <a href="Ippona.html#Forum">Hippo Regius</A>); (below) inscription on the arch "Imp(eratori) Caesari Divi Nervae f(ilio) Nervae Traiano Optimo Aug(usto) / Germanico Parthico p(ontifici) m(aximo) trib(unicia) potest(ate) XX imp(eratori) XII co(n)s(uli) VI / Caecilius [F]austinus proco(n)s(ul) dedic(avit) d(ecreto) d(ecurionum) p(ecunia) p(ublica)"</em></h2> <p class="stacco">The arch was dedicated to <a href="Storia9.html#Trajan">Emperor Trajan</A>, who had granted Roman citizenship to the most important inhabitants of Mactaris. The arch was erected by the proconsul of Africa, but it was paid for by the local community.<br>It was built in 115, the very last period of Trajan's reign. A comparison of the inscription with that of <a href="Romanwar.html#inscription">Colonna Traiana in Rome</a> shows that at Mactaris the epithet "Parthico" (a reference to the last campaigns of the emperor) replaced "Dacico" on the column (a reference to the <a href="Romanwar.html">Dacian wars</a>).<br> You may wish to see other triumphal arches in Africa: at <a href="Mustis.html#Thignica">Musti</A>, <a href="Pheradi.html#Arch">Pheradi Majus</a>, <a href="Sufetula.html#Lambesi">Sufetula</A> and <a href="Thugga2.html#Arch">Thugga</A> in Tunisia, at <a href="Djemila2.html#Arccarac">Cuicul</A> and <a href="Timgad2.html">Thamugadi</A> in Algeria, at <a href="Volubilis.html#Arch">Volubilis</a> in Morocco and at <a href="Tripoli.html#Marco">Oea (Tripoli)</A> and <a href="Leptis1.html">Leptis Magna</a> in Libya. <p class="stacco"> <a name="Mercury"></a> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar03.jpg" title="Temple to Mercury" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Temple to Mercury</em></h2> <p class="stacco">The Forum was adjoined by a marketplace where tradesmen built a temple to Mercury as they did at <a href="Thugga.html#Betting">Thugga</a> and <a href="Thuburbo.html#Mercury">Thuburbo Majus</a>. Unlike these towns the Forum of Mactaris did not house a Capitolium, a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the three deities who were worshipped on the <a href="Vasi80.htm#Giove">Capitol Hill</a> of Rome. Archaeologists believe that the Capitolium of Mactaris was located near the old Forum. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar18.jpg" title="Western Baths" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730><em><h2>Western Baths built at the time of <a href="Storia9.html#Marcus">Emperor Marcus Aurelius</a></em></h2> <p class="stacco"> Emperor Marcus Aurelis granted Mactaris the status of "colonia" (<em>Colonia Aelia Aurelia Mactaris</em>), which meant that the town was regarded as an ally of Rome and it had a larger level of self-government. This decision was part of a policy pursued by the emperors of the IInd century and it was aimed at recognizing the contribution of the provinces to the well-being of the Empire. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar19.jpg" title="large hall;" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Western Baths: (left) large hall; (right) church built inside the "frigidarium"</em></h2> <p class="stacco">Mactaris had a reduced population until the XIth century, so its Roman monuments were modified to house other activities than those for which they were originally built. It is interesting to notice the loss of the old <a href="Costroma.html">construction techniques</a>. The main nave of the church built inside the Western Baths was very narrow and the roof was supported by an extremely high number of columns, as if the use of arches was unknown. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar08.jpg" title="Southern Baths" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Southern Baths which were turned into a Byzantine fortress (see a <a href="Thignica.html#Kelibia">large Byzantine fortress at Thignica</a>)</em></h2> <p class="stacco">New larger baths were built during the reign of <a href="Storia10.html#Septimius">Emperor Septimius Severus</a> at the end of the IInd century. They were turned into a small fortress in the VIth century and later on olive presses were installed in their halls. The baths had ancillary buildings which were pulled down to isolate the fortress. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar09.jpg" title="Entrance to the Southern Baths" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Entrance to the Southern Baths; (inset) fragment of a large inscription making reference to Emperor Septimius Severus (as a descendant of a long list of emperors including Trajan)</em></h2> <p class="stacco">The new baths were built at a considerable distance from the Forum. Mactaris was a large town and its expansion was not hampered by natural obstacles. It has not been entirely investigated, and most likely it never will be, because a modern town (Makthar), founded at the end of the XIXth century, occupies parts of the old one. Makthar is situated along a minor road linking <a href="Kairouan.html">Kairouan</a> with <a href="Sicca.html">El-Kef (Sicca Veneria)</a> and its archaeological area does not attract many visitors. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar10.jpg" title="Southern Baths: northern palaestra" style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=440 width=730> <em><h2>Southern Baths: northern palaestra</em></h2> <p class="stacco">Archaeologists have reconstructed with materials found on the site some of the decorative elements of the baths which testify to the wealth of Mactaris, which had at least two other public baths. <p class="stacco"> <img class="displayed" SRC="Mactar11.jpg" title="Southern baths labyrinth " style="border:5px solid DarkGoldenRod" height=460 width=730> <em><h2>Southern Baths: (above) mosaics: (left) black and white depicting a <a href="Knosso.html">Labyrinth</a> pattern; (right) coloured using fragments of "<a href="Stones.html#cipollino">cipollino</a>" (green) and <a href="Simitthus.html#varieties">Simitthus</a> (red) marbles; (below) inscription celebrating Emperor Septimius Severus for his many campaigns including that in Adiabene, a province of the Parthian Empire east of the River Tigris and south of <a href="Turmag08.html">Amida (today's Diyarbakir)</a></em></h2> <p class="stacco">The image used as background for this page shows a relief portraying <a href="Monsters.html#Pegasus">Pegasus</a>, the mythical winged horse which was a symbol of Legio III Augusta, the Roman Legion stationed in the Province of Africa. <p class="stacco">Move to <a href="Mactaris2.html">page two to see the monuments in the peripheral areas of Mactaris</a> or to:<br> <a href="Tunisia.html">Introductory page</a><br> <a href="Aphrodisium.html">Aphrodisium and Sullectum</a><br> <a href="Bulla.html">Bulla Regia</a><br> <a href="Cartago1.html">Carthage</a><br> <a href="Kelibia.html">Clypea (Kelibia)</a><br> <a href="Kerkouane.html">Kerkouane (Punic)</a><br> Mactaris</a><br> <a href="Mustis.html">Musti</a><br> <a href="Neapolis.html">Neapolis</a><br> <a href="Pheradi.html">Pheradi Majus</a><br> <a href="Pupput.html">Pupput</a><br> <a href="Sicca.html">Sicca Veneria</a><br> <a href="SidiGhrib.html">Sidi Ghrib Roman Villa</a><br> <a href="Simitthus.html">Simitthus</a><br> <a href="Sufetula.html">Sufetula</a><br> <a href="Thapsus.html">Thapsus and Leptis Minor</a><br> <a href="Thignica.html">Thignica</a><br> <a href="Thuburbo.html">Thuburbo Majus</a><br> <a href="Thugga.html">Thugga</a><br> <a href="Thysdrus.html">Thysdrus</a><br> <a href="Uppenna.html">Uppenna</a><br> <a href="Uthina.html">Uthina</a><br> <a href="Utica.html">Utica</a><br> <a href="Ziqua.html">Ziqua</a><br> <a href="Bardo.html">Mosaics in the Museum of Bardo</a><br> <a href="Musousse.html">Mosaics in the Museum of Sousse</a> <br><br></div> </div> <div id="footer"><div class="boxed"><p class="stacco"><h2>Other pages/sections which might be of interest to you:</h2>                                      <a href="Algeria.html"><img src="Minialge.jpg" width=220 height=120 title="Roman Algeria"></a><a href="Umbereco.html"><img src="Minihist.jpg" width=220 height=120 title="Abridged History of Rome"></a><a href="Tripintr.html"><img src="Minitrip.jpg" width=220 height=120 title="Libya"></a><h2>See you at another page of this website!</h2></p></div></div></body> </HTML>