Alexander Severus Arch (Thugga)
The Alexander Severus Arch in the Tunisian town of Thugga , today's Dougga , is a one-gate arch of honor that was erected in honor of Alexander Severus between 226 and 229 . Its modern name is Bab er-Rumia ("Gate of the Christian") and is associated with a Christian legend.
As part of the fortification, the arch formed the entrance to the city. It was north-west of the forum and north-east of the temple of Juno Caelestis at the end of a road that connected to the road from Carthage to Theveste . The pillars of the single-door arch with its approximately four meter wide passage have niches framed by pilasters . The flutes of the pilasters are filled with round bars in their lower third. The pilaster capitals are missing, but once supported an Ionic entablature, remains of which have been preserved above the archivolt . Between the archivolt and the entablature there is a high decorative ribbon, which is alternately decorated with phials adorned with rosettes and lying diamonds.
In front of the pilasters, full columns once rose on broad pedestals resting in front of the arched pillars. The columns themselves stood on small freestanding pedestals that rested on the pedestals. The connection of the pillars to the arch was probably made by a cranked entablature, the further appearance of which is unknown. In terms of its construction, the arch is very similar to the slightly older Septimius Severus arch in Thugga, even if its structural ornamentation was more sophisticated and complex.
The dedication inscription of the arch was found between the members of the arch scattered on the floor. The period of its construction can be narrowed down to the years 226 to 229 from the title of the emperor Alexander Severus in the inscription. The partly destroyed inscription reads:
Imp (eratori) Caes (ari) divi An [tonini magni]
Pii filio divi Sept (imi) Severi Pii nepoti {s}
M (arco) Aurelio Severo Alexandro Pio Feli
ci {s} Aug (usto) p (atri) p ( atriae) pontif (ici) maximo tribun
[icia potestate VI (?) ... co (n) s (uli)] II des (ignato) [III ...]
...
[muni] cip [ium Septi] miu [m Aurelium]
[liberu] m Thu [gga conservatori]
[libe] rt [atis]
The arch was erected on the occasion of the confirmation of the freedom rights of the Municipium Thugga by the emperor, the conservator libertatis . What was probably meant was the tax exemption for Thugga, which was elevated to a municipium liberum in 205 . Alexander Severus was consul for the second time in 226 and assumed the office for the third time in 229. In the inscription, however, he is still called designatus for his third consulate , so it was intended for the office at that time.
Since 1997, the arc as part of the archaeological site of Dougga World Heritage of UNESCO .
literature
- Heinz Kähler : Triumphal Arch (Arch of Honor) 16b. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VII A, 1, Stuttgart 1939, column 431.
- Claude Poinssot : Les ruins de Dougga. Institut national d'archéologie et arts, Tunis 1958, p. 61. 71.
Web links
- Architectural inscription of the arch for Alexander Severus in the Arachne archaeological database
- Information from the University of Freiburg on Thugga in the Middle Imperial Period
Remarks
- ↑ CIL 08, 26551 .
- ↑ Klaus-Peter Johne : The time of the soldier emperors. Crisis and transformation of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD (235-284). Volume 1. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2008, p. 695 f.
Coordinates: 36 ° 25 '23.8 " N , 9 ° 13' 0.6" E