Hadrumetum, also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined.
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Hadrumetum,1 also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoeniciancolony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined. In the early modern period, it was the village of Hammeim, now part of Sousse, Tunisia.
The Phoenician and Punic name for the place was drmt (𐤃𐤓𐤌𐤕), 'southern', or ʾdrmt (𐤀𐤃𐤓𐤌𐤕), 'the southern'.2 A similar structure appears in the Phoenician name for old Cádiz, which appears as Gadir ('stronghold') or Agadir ('the stronghold').
The ancient transcriptions of the name show a great deal of variation. Different Greekshellenized the name as Adrýmē (Ἀδρύμη),3Adrýmēs (Ἀδρύμης), Adrýmēton (Ἀδρύμητον),2Adrýmētos (Ἀδρύμητος), Adramýtēs (Ἀδραμύτης), Adrámētós (Ἀδράμητος)1 and Adrumetum (Ἀδρούμητον).4 Surviving Roman inscriptions and coinage standardized its as Hadrumetum but it appears in other sources as Adrumetum, Adrumetus, Adrimetum, Hadrymetum, etc. Upon its notional refounding as a , its formal name was emended to Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetina to honor its imperial sponsor.
This page is based on “Hadrumetum” from English Wikipedia, (r1375960256) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
It was renamed Honoriopolis after the emperor Honorius in the early 5th century, then Hunericopolis after the Vandal king Huneric6 and Justinianopolis3 after the first few years of occupation from emperor Justinian I.7
Agathocles of Syracuse captured the town in 310 BC1 during the Seventh Sicilian War, as part of his failed attempt to move the conflict to Africa. Hadrumetum later provided refuge to Hannibal and other Carthaginian survivors after their 202 BC defeat at Zama,1 which decided the outcome of the Second Punic War. The total length of the Punic fortifications was apparently 6,410 meters (21,030 ft); some ruins survive.10
During the civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar, G. Considius Longus secured Hadrumetum for the Optimates with forces equivalent to two legions. Despite being reinforced by Gn. Calpurnius Piso's Berber cavalry and footmen from Clupea, however, he was obliged to allow Caesar to land nearby on 28 December 47 BC.13 According to Suetonius, this landing was the occasion of the famously deft recovery, when Caesar tripped while coming ashore but dealt with the poor omen by grabbing handfuls of dirt and proclaiming "I have you now, Africa!" (Latin: teneo te Africa)14 Caesar's attempts to negotiate with Longus were rejected but the campaign subsequently led to his victory over Metellus Scipio and Juba at Thapsus, after which Longus was killed by his own men for the money he was carrying15 and the town went over to Caesar.16
Hadrumetum was one of the most important communities in Roman North Africa because of the fertility of its hinterland (modern Tunisia's Sahel), which made it an important source of Rome's grain supply. It quarreled with its neighbor Thysdrus over the temple of a goddess equated toMinerva, which stood on their shared border.1
Under Augustus, Hadrumetum's coins bore his face obverse and the name (and often face) of Africa's proconsul reverse; after Augustus, the mint was closed.10 Hadrumetum revolted while Vespasian was proconsul of Africa.17 It nonetheless continued to prosper; Trajan gave it the rank of a Roman colony, giving its residents Roman citizenship.3 A breathtaking legacy of intricate mosaics survives from this era, together with many early Christian objects from the catacombs. It was the second city in Roman Africa after Carthage and the birthplace of Clodius Albinus, who attempted to become emperor in the 190s.10 At the end of the 3rd century, it became the capital of the new province of Byzacena5 (modern Sahel, Tunisia).
Later history
In 434, it was largely destroyed by the Vandals;510 their fervent Arianism produced a number of orthodox martyrs in the remaining community, including SS Felix and Victorian. A century later, Hadrumetum was retaken and rebuilt by the Byzantines during the Vandal War.18 It was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate in the 7th century. The ruins of Hadrumetum stood in the village of Hammeim,3 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the later Sousse,8 which grew up to include them in its outskirts.
Under colonial rule, the French engineer A. Daux rediscovered the jetties and moles of the Roman town's commercial harbor and the line of its military harbor; both had been mostly artificial and have silted up since antiquity.10Louis Carton and Abbé Leynaud rediscovered the Christiancatacombs in 1904; the tunnels extend for miles through small subterranean galleries filled with Roman and Byzantine sarcophagi and inscriptions.10
O. Maenchen-Helfen, The World of the Huns. IX. footnote 113. ↩
Merrills, Andy (October 2023). War, Rebellion and Epic in Byzantine North Africa. University of Leicester: Cambridge University press. p. 42. ISBN9781009392013. ↩
Hadrumetum,1 also known by many variant spellings and names, was a Phoeniciancolony that pre-dated Carthage. It subsequently became one of the most important cities in Roman Africa before Vandal and Umayyad conquerors left it ruined. In the early modern period, it was the village of Hammeim, now part of Sousse, Tunisia.
The Phoenician and Punic name for the place was drmt (𐤃𐤓𐤌𐤕), 'southern', or ʾdrmt (𐤀𐤃𐤓𐤌𐤕), 'the southern'.2 A similar structure appears in the Phoenician name for old Cádiz, which appears as Gadir ('stronghold') or Agadir ('the stronghold').
The ancient transcriptions of the name show a great deal of variation. Different Greekshellenized the name as Adrýmē (Ἀδρύμη),3Adrýmēs (Ἀδρύμης), Adrýmēton (Ἀδρύμητον),2Adrýmētos (Ἀδρύμητος), Adramýtēs (Ἀδραμύτης), Adrámētós (Ἀδράμητος)1 and (Ἀδρούμητον). Surviving Roman inscriptions and coinage standardized its as Hadrumetum but it appears in other sources as Adrumetum, Adrumetus, Adrimetum, Hadrymetum, etc. Upon its notional refounding as a , its formal name was emended to Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetina to honor its imperial sponsor.
It was renamed Honoriopolis after the emperor Honorius in the early 5th century, then Hunericopolis after the Vandal king Huneric6 and Justinianopolis3 after the first few years of occupation from emperor Justinian I.7
Agathocles of Syracuse captured the town in 310 BC1 during the Seventh Sicilian War, as part of his failed attempt to move the conflict to Africa. Hadrumetum later provided refuge to Hannibal and other Carthaginian survivors after their 202 BC defeat at Zama,1 which decided the outcome of the Second Punic War. The total length of the Punic fortifications was apparently 6,410 meters (21,030 ft); some ruins survive.10
During the civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar, G. Considius Longus secured Hadrumetum for the Optimates with forces equivalent to two legions. Despite being reinforced by Gn. Calpurnius Piso's Berber cavalry and footmen from Clupea, however, he was obliged to allow Caesar to land nearby on 28 December 47 BC.13 According to Suetonius, this landing was the occasion of the famously deft recovery, when Caesar tripped while coming ashore but dealt with the poor omen by grabbing handfuls of dirt and proclaiming "I have you now, Africa!" (Latin: teneo te Africa)14 Caesar's attempts to negotiate with Longus were rejected but the campaign subsequently led to his victory over Metellus Scipio and Juba at Thapsus, after which Longus was killed by his own men for the money he was carrying15 and the town went over to Caesar.16
Hadrumetum was one of the most important communities in Roman North Africa because of the fertility of its hinterland (modern Tunisia's Sahel), which made it an important source of Rome's grain supply. It quarreled with its neighbor Thysdrus over the temple of a goddess equated toMinerva, which stood on their shared border.1
Under Augustus, Hadrumetum's coins bore his face obverse and the name (and often face) of Africa's proconsul reverse; after Augustus, the mint was closed.10 Hadrumetum revolted while Vespasian was proconsul of Africa.17 It nonetheless continued to prosper; Trajan gave it the rank of a Roman colony, giving its residents Roman citizenship.3 A breathtaking legacy of intricate mosaics survives from this era, together with many early Christian objects from the catacombs. It was the second city in Roman Africa after Carthage and the birthplace of Clodius Albinus, who attempted to become emperor in the 190s.10 At the end of the 3rd century, it became the capital of the new province of Byzacena5 (modern Sahel, Tunisia).
Later history
In 434, it was largely destroyed by the Vandals;510 their fervent Arianism produced a number of orthodox martyrs in the remaining community, including SS Felix and Victorian. A century later, Hadrumetum was retaken and rebuilt by the Byzantines during the Vandal War.18 It was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate in the 7th century. The ruins of Hadrumetum stood in the village of Hammeim,3 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the later Sousse,8 which grew up to include them in its outskirts.
Under colonial rule, the French engineer A. Daux rediscovered the jetties and moles of the Roman town's commercial harbor and the line of its military harbor; both had been mostly artificial and have silted up since antiquity.10Louis Carton and Abbé Leynaud rediscovered the Christiancatacombs in 1904; the tunnels extend for miles through small subterranean galleries filled with Roman and Byzantine sarcophagi and inscriptions.10
O. Maenchen-Helfen, The World of the Huns. IX. footnote 113. ↩
Merrills, Andy (October 2023). War, Rebellion and Epic in Byzantine North Africa. University of Leicester: Cambridge University press. p. 42. ISBN9781009392013. ↩