Iᵉʳ siècle – IVᵉ siècle
Numidia, Roman North Africa
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Timgad was a prosperous Roman colonial town in Numidia, founded as a settlement of veterans around AD 100. In the fourth century it retained strong pagan elements within its civic elite while developing into an important Donatist center. A large Christian quarter, cathedral, and cemetery outside the original walls reveal the growing institutional and demographic weight of Christianity in the city.
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Le récit
Timgad was founded as a colony of veterans around AD 100 and remained a prosperous city in Numidia. Its civic institutions preserved the administrative and religious forms of Roman urban life, including a city council and offices associated with public priesthoods. The city therefore offers a view of how older civic structures persisted while Christianity gained influence.
The Album of Timgad, dated to about AD 363, lists members of the curia together with their offices and the imperial officials stationed in the town. Of 158 offices mentioned, eleven were clerici, almost certainly Christian clergy. Most of the sacerdotales and flamines were probably pagan, and those who were not would have been expected to attend sacrifices on public occasions.
Timgad was nevertheless one of the most important Donatist strongholds in North Africa. Outside the city boundaries, a large Christian quarter grew around a vast cathedral, while a cemetery to the south eventually contained 15,000 graves. The coexistence of pagan civic leadership and expanding Christian institutions shows the uneven character of religious transformation in late Roman urban Africa.
Iᵉʳ siècle – IVᵉ siècle
Numidia, Roman North Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Timgad was a prosperous Roman colonial town in Numidia, founded as a settlement of veterans around AD 100. In the fourth century it retained strong pagan elements within its civic elite while developing into an important Donatist center. A large Christian quarter, cathedral, and cemetery outside the original walls reveal the growing institutional and demographic weight of Christianity in the city.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Timgad was founded as a colony of veterans around AD 100 and remained a prosperous city in Numidia. Its civic institutions preserved the administrative and religious forms of Roman urban life, including a city council and offices associated with public priesthoods. The city therefore offers a view of how older civic structures persisted while Christianity gained influence.
The Album of Timgad, dated to about AD 363, lists members of the curia together with their offices and the imperial officials stationed in the town. Of 158 offices mentioned, eleven were clerici, almost certainly Christian clergy. Most of the sacerdotales and flamines were probably pagan, and those who were not would have been expected to attend sacrifices on public occasions.
Timgad was nevertheless one of the most important Donatist strongholds in North Africa. Outside the city boundaries, a large Christian quarter grew around a vast cathedral, while a cemetery to the south eventually contained 15,000 graves. The coexistence of pagan civic leadership and expanding Christian institutions shows the uneven character of religious transformation in late Roman urban Africa.