Thenae

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Coordinates : 34°41′14.4″N 10°43′13.8″E  /  34.687333°N 10.720500°E  / 34.687333; 10.720500
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For the town of ancient Arcadia, Greece, see Thenae (Arcadia) . For the town of ancient Crete, Greece, see Thenae (Crete) .
Thenae
Thaena or Thaenae
Ruins of the Roman thermae of Thaenae
Thenae is located in Tunisia
Thenae
Shown within Tunisia
Location Sfax Governorate , Tunisia
Coordinates 34°41′14.4″N 10°43′13.8″E  /  34.687333°N 10.720500°E  / 34.687333; 10.720500
Type Settlement

Thenae or Thenai ( Ancient Greek : Θενα? ), also written Thaena and Thaenae , was a Carthaginian and Roman town ( civitas ) located in or near Thyna , now a suburb of Sfax on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Tunisia . [1]

Name [ edit ]

A coin of Thaena with the Punic legend ???????????

The city was founded with the Punic name t?ynt ( Punic : ??????????? ), [2] [3] similar to Semitic transcriptions of Tayinat in Turkey . Head also transcribes it as Thainath . [3] The Punic name was transcribed into Greek as Thaina ( Θα?να ) [4] and Thenae (Θενα?), [5] and into Latin variously as Thenae , Thaena , and Thaenae . Strabo called the town Thena (? Θ?να) [6] and Ptolemy called it both Thaina (Θα?να) [4] and Theaenae (Θ?αιναι). [7] At a later period it became a Roman colony with the name of Aelia Augusta Mercurialis . [8]

History [ edit ]

Thenae was founded as a Phoenician colony [3] on the Mediterranean coast of what is now southeastern Tunisia . Along with the rest of ancient Tunisia , it passed into Carthaginian and then Roman control during the time of the Punic Wars .

Thenae issued its own bronze coins around the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus , with a female head (either Serapis or Astarte ) obverse and a four-columned temple reverse . [3] It also bore the town's name in Punic characters . [3]

In the surviving ruins, there are a bath house , a wealthy house ( domus ), city walls, lower-class housing, and an early Christian basilica . [9]

Bishopric [ edit ]

Thenae was the seat of a Christian bishopric during late antiquity. According to a life of St   Fulgentius , a council was held at Thenae ( Latin : Thenitanum Concilium ). There are six documented bishops of the ancient diocese:

Today, Thenae survives as a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church . Modern bishops have been: [10]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Citations [ edit ]

  1. ^ Leone (2007) , p. 354.
  2. ^ Ghaki (2015) , p. 67.
  3. ^ a b c d e Head & al. (1911) .
  4. ^ a b Ptolemy . The Geography . Vol. 1.15.2.
  5. ^ Public Domain  Smith, William , ed. (1854?1857). "Thenae". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray.
  6. ^ Strabo . Geographica . Vol. xvii. p. 831. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon 's edition.
  7. ^ Ptolemy . The Geography . Vol. 4.3.11.
  8. ^ Public Domain  Smith, William , ed. (1854?1857). "Thenae". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray.
  9. ^ Chapot (1928) , p. 385.
  10. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN   978-88-209-9070-1 ).

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1854?1857). "Thenae". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray.

Bibliography [ edit ]

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