must have been in honour of Vespasian, and his son Titus. If it did exist at this period, it was probably a purely military post.
It very speedily rose into importance on account of its situation at the junction of the roads to Carthage, Cirta, Hippone, Lambessa and Tacape (mod. Gabes). It was probably also an entrepôt for the commerce of Central Africa, as well as for the produce of the country.
Christianity was introduced into Carthage about A.D. 150, and Theveste was probably one of the first places to follow the example of the African metropolis. Four bishops are recorded as having ruled over the church here, of whom the first assisted at the Council of Carthage, presided over by St. Cyprian. Their names are-
| A.D. | |
|---|---|
| Lucius | 255 |
| Romulus | 349 |
| Urbicus | 411 |
| Felix | 484 |
St. Maximilian and St. Crispin suffered martyrdom at Theveste, the former under the pro-consulate of Dion, the latter under Diocletian. St. Optatus records that a Donatist council assembled here in A.D. 350.[89]
The commencement of the second century was its period of greatest splendour, and it is from this time that we must date the construction of its finest monuments. It must have fallen into ruin during the Vandal occupation, and disappeared from history until restored by the Byzantine armies. Solomon was the second founder of Theveste, which he fortified, as he did many other cities in various parts of Africa. He enclosed it within ramparts and towers, the trace of which exists to the present day, while the citadel is as imposing as when built thirteen centuries ago. Here it was that Solomon himself was slain, after having for four years bravely withstood the constant insurrections which followed the departure of Belisarius from Africa.
A Byzantine inscription, built into one of the openings of the triumphal arch, has thus been completed by M. Renier:—
✠Nuto divino felicissimis temporibus
piissimorum dominorum
nostrorum Justiniani et Theodorae