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Lambaesis ( Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa ( Lambèse in French Algeria French), is a Ancient Rome archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna City and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult District.René Cagnat. Lambèse. Lerous, Paris 1893 ( Original in French) The former bishopric is also a Latin Catholic titular bishopric.
By AD 166 mention is made of the decurions of a vicus, 10 of which are known by name; and the vicus became a municipium probably at the time when it was made the capital of the newly founded province of Numidia. Lambaesis was populated mainly by Romanized Berbers and by some Roman colonists with their descendants: Latin was the official and commonly used language (even if local Berbers spoke their own language mixed with Latinisms).
III Augusta was disbanded by Gordian III and the legionaries dispersed among the North African provinces. But the legion was restored in the AD 250s by Valerianus and Gallienus and from then on the legion was known as Augusta Restituta. Its final departure did not take place until after AD 392 (the town soon afterwards declined). Indeed, under Septimius Severus (AD 193 ), Numidia was separated from Africa Vetus, and governed by an imperial procurator. Under the new organization of the empire by Diocletian, Numidia was divided in two provinces: the north became Numidia Cirtensis, with capital at Cirta, while the south, which included the Aurès Mountains and was threatened by raids, became Numidia Militiana, "Military Numidia", with capital at the legionary base of Lambaesis.
Subsequently, however, Emperor Constantine the Great reunited the two provinces in a single one, administered from Cirta, which was now renamed Constantina (modern Constantine, Algeria) in his honour. Its governor was raised to the rank of consularis in AD 320, and the province remained one of the seven provinces of the diocese of Africa until the invasion of the in AD 428, which began its slow decay, accompanied by desertification. The province remained under Vandal rule, but was effectively limited to the coastal areas by Berber raids. It was restored to Roman rule after the Vandalic War, when it became part of the new praetorian prefecture of Africa.
The Byzantines occupied Lambaesis and vicinity from the sixth century but around AD 683 the Arabs conquered the area, naming what remained of the city Bar-el-Molouk in the 10th century.
Saint Cyprian mentions a heretic bishop of Lambaesis who was condemned by a local synod of bishops around the year 240.Dictionnaire d’Archeologie Chretienne et de Liturgie, volume 8 columns 1067-1075
It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank :
Of the temple of Aesculapius only one column is standing, though in the middle of the 19th century its façade was entire. The capitol or temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, which has been cleared of debris, has a portico with eight . On level ground about two-thirds of a mile from the centre of the ancient town stands the camp, its site now partly occupied by the penitentiary and its gardens. It measures by , and in the middle rise the ruins of a building commonly called, but incorrectly, the praetorium. This noble building, which dates from 268, is long by broad and high; its southern façade has a splendid peristyle half the height of the wall, consisting of a front row of massive and an engaged row of Corinthian pilasters.
Behind this building (which was roofed), is a large court giving access to other buildings, one being the arsenal. In it have been found many thousands of projectiles. To the southeast are the remains of the baths. The ruins of both city and camp have yielded many inscriptions (Leon Renier edited 1500, and there are 4185 in CIL viii); and, though a very large proportion are of the barest kind, the more important pieces supply an outline of the history of the place.
Over 2500 inscriptions relating to the camp have been deciphered. In a museum in the village are objects of antiquity discovered in the vicinity.René Cagnat. Musée de Lambèse. Leroux, Paris 1895 ( Original in French) In addition to inscriptions and statues, there are some fine mosaics found in 1905 near the arch of Septimius Severus. The statues include those of Aesculapius and Hygieia, taken from the temple of Aesculapius.
About south of Lambessa are the ruins of Markuna, the ancient Verecunda, including two triumphal arches.
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