Musti or Mustis was an ancient city and bishopric in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa, now in northern Tunisia. Its ruins, called Mest Henshir, are about eight miles from Dougga, near Sidi-Abd-Er-Rebbou. It is also a Catholic titular see.
Musti was an important town in the Roman era, located along the Roman road that ran between Carthage and Tebessa, eight miles from Dougga, and near Sidi-Abd-Er-Rebbou.[1] The limits of the town were set in 238 by two triumphal arches, erected on this road which traversed Musti from east to west. Towards the end of 2nd century BC the Roman generalGaius Marius settled his veterans here and at a later time it was elevated to the rank of a municipium by Julius Caesar or by Marcus Aurelius. The ancient Roman town lost its appearance when the Byzantines transformed it into a stronghold during their struggles against the Vandals.
The town has only been partially excavated, leaving a large area still to be researched, but nevertheless boasts remains of the forum, the marketplace, built in white calcareous stone[2] several temples, the cisterns,[2] a Byzantinecitadel, and a number of Roman houses. There is also a church with a baptistry.[2]
Three temples have been identified at Musti though others were known, One of the temples was converted to a bascillica in the 4th century [2]
The Byzantines turned much of the Forum into a fortress during their battles with the Vandals.[5]
Sights
The triumphal arch located at the entrance of the site is still of unknown attribution. The eastern arch, which was in a very ruined state, was restored in 1967 by the National Institute of Art and Archaeology and the Historical Monuments Service. The nearby mausoleum of the Julii was also restored at this time. The entire restoration took 17 months to complete.
The entrance of the site opens onto a large paved yard which leads to an attractive gateway. This gate had a covered walkway on the left and on the right. To the sides are the shops of the moneychangers and some bas-reliefs of well-wishing genies.
Near the gate are the remains of three temples (to Ceres, Pluto and Apollo). Further on are ruins of a small 4th century Christian church, a basilica with three naves and a raised sacred area (the baptistery). It is adjoined by a large Byzantine fortification.
Recent archaeological research
In 2018, a joint Polish-Tunisian project was commenced by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Institute of Archaeology (both University of Warsaw) and the Tunisian Institut National du Patrimoine.[6] A geophysical prospection using the magnetic and electrical resistivity methods was conducted to locate archaeological remains, both in the area where urban architecture was visible on the surface and in the town's vicinity.[7] In 2019, a team of epigraphists documented over 130 Latin inscriptions from the Roman period; their total number at the site is estimated at more than 500. Sondages were also made, and the stratigraphy of the layers was established, reaching back to the pre-Roman period (6th–3rd century BC) when Mustis was inhabited by Numidian tribes.[8]
There also was another city and bishopric called Musti in Numidia (modern Algeria), which Sophrone Pétridès confuses with the Musti in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa, even to the extent of presenting the supposed single see as represented at the 411 Council at Carthage by four bishops, two Donatist (Felicianus[9] and Cresconius) and two Catholic (Victorianus and Leontius).[4] J. Mesnage distinguishes between the two sees, assigning Felicianus and Victorianus to the Musti of Proconsular Africa, a suffragan of Carthage, and Cresconius and Leontius to what he calls Musti Numidiae.[10] The Catholic Church's list of titular sees also distinguishes between the two, calling one see simply Musti and the other Musti in Numidia.[11] Mesnage also distinguishes between the sees of two other bishops of whom Pétridès speaks as bishops of a single Musti: an Antonianus of the Numidian Musti was one of the bishops whom the Vandal king Huneric exiled in 482, and the Januarius who in 646 signed the letter of the bishops of Proconsular Africa to Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, against the monothelites, was obviously of that province.[9]
Titular see
In 1912, the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin titular see, of the lowest (episcopal) rank with a single (archiepiscopal) exception. It has had the following incumbents:
Jean-Ephrem Bertreux, Society of Mary (S.M.) (1912.06.01 – 1919.01.04)
Julien-Louis-Edouard-Marie Gorju, White Fathers (M. Afr.) (1922.04.26 – 1942.01.14)
^Misiewicz, Krzysztof; Hajji, Jamel; Waliszewski, Tomasz (2019-12-17). "Prospections non invasives sur le site de Mustis/Musti (El Krib) en Tunisie". Światowit. 57: 207–222. doi:10.5604/01.3001.0013.6817. ISSN 0082-044X. S2CID 214526738.
^"Hundreds of inscriptions revealing fascinating tale of ancient city uncovered in Tunisia". www.thefirstnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
^ abPétridès, S. Musti, In The Catholic Encyclopedia. (Robert Appleton Company (New York City), 1911). Retrieved January 20, 2017.
^J. Mesnage, L'Afrique chrétienne:Évêchés & ruines antiques (Paris 1912), pp. 118 and 424
^Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN978-88-209-9070-1), p. 935
Sources and external links
German Tunisia Projekt
GigaCatholic with titular incumbent biography links
musti, tunisia, namesakes, musti, disambiguation, musti, mustis, ancient, city, bishopric, roman, province, proconsular, africa, northern, tunisia, ruins, called, mest, henshir, about, eight, miles, from, dougga, near, sidi, rebbou, also, catholic, titular, mu. For namesakes see Musti disambiguation Musti or Mustis was an ancient city and bishopric in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa now in northern Tunisia Its ruins called Mest Henshir are about eight miles from Dougga near Sidi Abd Er Rebbou It is also a Catholic titular see Musti ruins Contents 1 History 2 Sights 3 Recent archaeological research 4 Ecclesiastical history 5 Titular see 6 References 7 Sources and external linksHistory EditMusti was an important town in the Roman era located along the Roman road that ran between Carthage and Tebessa eight miles from Dougga and near Sidi Abd Er Rebbou 1 The limits of the town were set in 238 by two triumphal arches erected on this road which traversed Musti from east to west Towards the end of 2nd century BC the Roman general Gaius Marius settled his veterans here and at a later time it was elevated to the rank of a municipium by Julius Caesar or by Marcus Aurelius The ancient Roman town lost its appearance when the Byzantines transformed it into a stronghold during their struggles against the Vandals North Africa on Peutinger Table The town has only been partially excavated leaving a large area still to be researched but nevertheless boasts remains of the forum the marketplace built in white calcareous stone 2 several temples the cisterns 2 a Byzantine citadel and a number of Roman houses There is also a church with a baptistry 2 Three temples have been identified at Musti though others were known One of the temples was converted to a bascillica in the 4th century 2 Musti is mentioned by Ptolemy 3 the Itinerarium Antonini the Peutinger Table and the Ravenna geographer Vibius Sequester who narrates the killing at this place of an enormous serpent by Regulus The inscriptions call the inhabitants Musticenses or Mustitani the latter name is also used by Augustine 4 The Byzantines turned much of the Forum into a fortress during their battles with the Vandals 5 Sights EditThe triumphal arch located at the entrance of the site is still of unknown attribution The eastern arch which was in a very ruined state was restored in 1967 by the National Institute of Art and Archaeology and the Historical Monuments Service The nearby mausoleum of the Julii was also restored at this time The entire restoration took 17 months to complete The entrance of the site opens onto a large paved yard which leads to an attractive gateway This gate had a covered walkway on the left and on the right To the sides are the shops of the moneychangers and some bas reliefs of well wishing genies Near the gate are the remains of three temples to Ceres Pluto and Apollo Further on are ruins of a small 4th century Christian church a basilica with three naves and a raised sacred area the baptistery It is adjoined by a large Byzantine fortification Recent archaeological research EditIn 2018 a joint Polish Tunisian project was commenced by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Institute of Archaeology both University of Warsaw and the Tunisian Institut National du Patrimoine 6 A geophysical prospection using the magnetic and electrical resistivity methods was conducted to locate archaeological remains both in the area where urban architecture was visible on the surface and in the town s vicinity 7 In 2019 a team of epigraphists documented over 130 Latin inscriptions from the Roman period their total number at the site is estimated at more than 500 Sondages were also made and the stratigraphy of the layers was established reaching back to the pre Roman period 6th 3rd century BC when Mustis was inhabited by Numidian tribes 8 Ecclesiastical history Edit Map of Roman Africa Proconsularae It was a bishopric suffragan of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Carthage both in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis There also was another city and bishopric called Musti in Numidia modern Algeria which Sophrone Petrides confuses with the Musti in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa even to the extent of presenting the supposed single see as represented at the 411 Council at Carthage by four bishops two Donatist Felicianus 9 and Cresconius and two Catholic Victorianus and Leontius 4 J Mesnage distinguishes between the two sees assigning Felicianus and Victorianus to the Musti of Proconsular Africa a suffragan of Carthage and Cresconius and Leontius to what he calls Musti Numidiae 10 The Catholic Church s list of titular sees also distinguishes between the two calling one see simply Musti and the other Musti in Numidia 11 Mesnage also distinguishes between the sees of two other bishops of whom Petrides speaks as bishops of a single Musti an Antonianus of the Numidian Musti was one of the bishops whom the Vandal king Huneric exiled in 482 and the Januarius who in 646 signed the letter of the bishops of Proconsular Africa to Paul Patriarch of Constantinople against the monothelites was obviously of that province 9 Titular see EditIn 1912 the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin titular see of the lowest episcopal rank with a single archiepiscopal exception It has had the following incumbents Jean Ephrem Bertreux Society of Mary S M 1912 06 01 1919 01 04 Julien Louis Edouard Marie Gorju White Fathers M Afr 1922 04 26 1942 01 14 Eugenio Raffaele Faggiano Passionists C P 1956 09 25 1960 05 02 Vicente Alfredo Aducci 1960 05 28 1962 05 03 Oscar Felix Villena 1962 07 26 1970 02 11 Titular archbishop Juan Jose Anibal Mena Porta 1970 06 16 1970 11 25 Aldo Del Monte 1970 12 29 1972 01 15 Gaetano Bonicelli 1975 07 10 1977 06 11 later Archbishop Antonio Ambrosanio 1977 08 27 1988 01 04 later Archbishop Francisco Joao Silota M Afr 74 1988 01 18 1990 11 19 Giuseppe Pasotto Stigmatines C S S 1999 11 09 Apostolic Administrator of CaucasusReferences Edit Walter E Kaegi Muslim Expansion and Byzantine Collapse in North Africa Cambridge University Press 2010 p 281 a b c d Musti El Krib at romanartlover com Ptol IV 3 33 a b Sophrone Petrides The Catholic Encyclopedia 10 1911 Walter E Kaegi Muslim Expansion and Byzantine Collapse in North Africa Cambridge University Press 4 Nov 2010 p 281 Mustis pcma uw edu pl Retrieved 2020 07 13 Misiewicz Krzysztof Hajji Jamel Waliszewski Tomasz 2019 12 17 Prospections non invasives sur le site de Mustis Musti El Krib en Tunisie Swiatowit 57 207 222 doi 10 5604 01 3001 0013 6817 ISSN 0082 044X S2CID 214526738 Hundreds of inscriptions revealing fascinating tale of ancient city uncovered in Tunisia www thefirstnews com Retrieved 2020 07 13 a b Petrides S Musti In The Catholic Encyclopedia Robert Appleton Company New York City 1911 Retrieved January 20 2017 J Mesnage L Afrique chretienne Eveches amp ruines antiques Paris 1912 pp 118 and 424 Annuario Pontificio 2013 Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978 88 209 9070 1 p 935Sources and external links EditGerman Tunisia Projekt GigaCatholic with titular incumbent biography links Mustis Archaeological Project Cassiciaco in Italian Unesco pdf file French document permanent dead link Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Musti Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Pius Bonifacius Gams Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae Leipzig 1931 p 467 Stefano Antonio Morcelli Africa christiana Volume I Brescia 1816 p 236 J Mesnage L Afrique chretienne Paris 1912 p 424Coordinates 36 24 36 N 9 05 00 E 36 4100 N 9 0833 E 36 4100 9 0833 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Musti Tunisia amp oldid 1149373756, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
