View source for Rusadir

{{Short description|Ancient Punic and Roman town}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Rusadir
  |native_name = 
  |alternate_name = 
  |image = File:Plaza de Armas y baluarte de San Pedro, Melilla.jpg
  |alt = 
  |caption = Melilla la Vieja is built over Roman Rusadir
  |map_type = Spain
  |map_alt = 
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  |location = [[Spain]]
  |region = [[Melilla]]
  |coordinates = {{coord|35.294|-2.933|type:city_region:ES|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
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'''Rusadir''' was an [[classical antiquity|ancient]] [[Punics|Punic]] and [[Ancient Romans|Roman]] town at what is now [[Melilla]], [[Spain]], in [[northwest Africa]]. Under the [[Roman Empire]], it was a [[Roman colonia|colony]] in the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Mauretania Tingitana]].

{{anchor|Etymology|Names}}

==Name==
{{smallcaps|ršʾdr}} ({{langx|xpu|𐤓‬𐤔𐤀𐤃𐤓‬}}){{sfnp|Head & al.|1911|p=889}} was a [[Punic language|Punic]] name meaning "Powerful"{{sfnp|Mora Serrano|2011|p=25}} or "High [[Headland|Cape]]",<ref name=CE>{{harvp|''Cath. Enc.''|1913|loc=s.v. "Rusaddir"}}.</ref> after its nearby headland.<ref name=DGRBM/> It can also be understood as "Cape of the Powerful One", in reference to [[Baal Hammon|Baal]], [[Tanit]], or some other important [[Canaanite religion|Punic god]].<ref>{{citation |last=Juárez |first=Roberto |contribution-url=https://melilladesconocida.blogspot.com/2016/09/significado-de-rusaddir.html |contribution=Significado de Rusaddir |title=Melilla: Ciudad Desconocida |date=3 September 2016 }}. {{in lang|es}}</ref> The format is similar to other Punic names along the North African coast, including ''[[Tamentfoust#History|Rusguniae]]'', ''[[Rusubbicari]]'', ''[[Dellys|Rusuccuru]]'', ''[[Rusippisir]]'', ''[[Rachgoun|Rusigan]]'' (Rachgoun), ''[[Skikda|Rusicade]]'', ''[[Ruspina]]'', ''[[Ruspe]]'', and ''Rsmlqr''.{{sfnp|López Pardo|2005|pp=137–138}} The settlement's name was hellenized as ''Rhyssádeiron'' ({{langx|grc|Ῥυσσάδειρον}}).<ref>[[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptol.]], [[Ptolemy's Geography|''Geogr.'']], Bk.{{nbsp}}IV, Ch.{{nbsp}}i, §7.</ref><ref name=DGRBM>{{harvp|''Dict. Gr. & Rom. Bio. & Myth.''|1870|loc=s.v. "Rusadir"}}.</ref> It appears in [[Latin]] as ''Rusadir'',<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], [[Pliny's Natural History|''Nat. Hist''.]], Bk.{{nbsp}}I.</ref> ''Rusicada'',<ref>[[Pomponius Mela|Mela]], [[De Situ Orbis|''Geogr.'']], Bk.{{nbsp}}I, §33.</ref> and ''Rusadder''.<ref>[[Antonine Itinerary|''Ant. Itin.'']]</ref><ref name=DGRBM/> As a Roman colony, it was also known as '''Flavia'''.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

==Geography==
Like [[Abyla]] (present-day [[Ceuta]]), Rusadir was located on a small, easily defended [[peninsula]] connected to mainland [[Africa]] by a narrow [[isthmus]].{{sfnp|''Enc. Brit.''|1911}} Its namesake cape is small but includes a large rocky hill, which was fortified.{{sfnp|''Enc. Brit.''|1911}} It lies at the northern end of a small [[bight (geography)|bight]] which formed its harbor, itself part of the eastern shore of a much larger bight that stretches across the southern [[Mediterranean]] coast from [[Cape Three Forks]]<ref>{{citation |contribution=Melilla |contribution-url=http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/north_africa/txu-oclc-6949452-ni30-3.jpg |publisher=U.S. Army Map Service |location=[[Washington, DC|Washington]] |series=P502, NI 30-3 |date=1953 |url=http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/north_africa/ |title=North Africa }}.</ref> (the classical ''{{lang|la|Metagonites Promontorium}}'')<ref name=DGRBM/> to [[Cape Figalo]] west of [[Oran]].<ref>{{citation |contribution=Oran |contribution-url=http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/north_africa/txu-oclc-6949452-ni30-4.jpg |publisher=U.S. Army Map Service |location=[[Washington, DC|Washington]] |series=P502, NI 30-4 |date=1953 |url=http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/north_africa/ |title=North Africa }}.</ref> Rusadir's own small bight lies beside a kind of natural [[amphitheater]] on the eastern slope of a steep rock {{convert|1640|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} high, where modern Melilla has grown up.<ref name=CE/>

==History==
===Punic town===
Rusadir was established as a [[Phoenician colony]]<ref name=CE/> along the trading route between [[Phoenicia]] and the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], itself guarded by the colonies of [[Tingis|Tinga]] ([[Tangier]]), [[Septem (Ceuta)|Abyla]] ([[Ceuta]]), [[Carteia|Kart]] ([[San Roque, Cádiz|San Roque]]), and Gadir ([[Cadiz]]). Like other outposts in the West, Rusadir eventually fell under [[Carthaginian Empire|Carthaginian dominion]].

===Mauretanian town===
After [[ancient Carthage|Carthage]]'s defeat in the [[Punic Wars]], Rusadir passed into the control of the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] [[client state]] [[Mauretania]]. It minted its own [[bronze]] coins, with [[Punic language|Punic text]] and a bearded head (possibly [[Baal Hammon]]) [[obverse]] and a [[bee]] between ears of [[wheat]] [[obverse|reverse]].{{sfnp|Head & al.|1911|p=889}}

===Roman town===
[[File:Prima Affrice Tabula.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]]'s 1st African map, showing Roman [[Mauretania Tingitana]]]]
[[Caligula]] assassinated the [[Ptolemy of Mauretania|Mauretanian king]] in AD{{nbsp}}40 and proclaimed the annexation of his kingdom. His successor [[Claudius]] organized the new territories, placing Rusadir within the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Mauretania Tingitana]]. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] describes 1st-century Rusadir as a [[oppidum|native hillfort]] (''{{lang|la|oppidum}}'') and port (''{{lang|la|portus}}'').<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''[[Pliny's Natural History|Nat. Hist.]]'', Bk.{{nbsp}}V, Ch.{{nbsp}}18.</ref><ref name=CE/> It was made a [[Roman colonia|colony]] in AD{{nbsp}}46.

By the 3rd century, Rusadir was fully [[Early Christianity|Christianized]] and quite prosperous. In the 4th century, Rusadir was the principal port for the [[Mauro-Roman kingdom]].{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

===Later history===
{{main|Melilla}}
The [[Vandals|Vandal]] king [[Gaiseric]], probably invited by [[Bonifacius|Count Boniface]], crossed from [[Roman Spain|Spain]] to [[Tingis]] (Tangier) in 429. Some of his tens of thousands of followers besieged and conquered Rusadir around 430, while others overran the rest of northwest Africa. Focusing his attention on the Roman province of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]], Gaiseric allowed [[Berbers|Berber]] rebellions to remove most of his western territories from his control. Rusadir became part of the Berber kingdom of [[Altava]].

The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]] restored Roman control over Northern Africa (including Rusadir) around the year 533,{{Sfn|Lara Peinado|1998|p=24}} as part of [[Justinian I|Justinian]]'s [[Vandalic War]]. The [[Exarchate of Africa]] established by the Byzantines also focused most of its attention on the area of present-day [[Tunisia]] and did not expand into the Mauretanian hinterland. Instead, it oversaw its fortified ports from the easily protected stronghold of [[Septem (Ceuta)|Septem]] (Ceuta). Rusadir was conquered by the [[Visigothic Spain|Visigoth]] general [[Suintila]] (probably on behalf of king [[Sisebuto]]) in 614.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Melilla: entre Oriente y Occidente|last=Lara Peinado|first=Fernando|journal= Aldaba|issn=0213-7925|issue=30|year=1998|publisher=[[UNED]]|url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/1973932.pdf|location=Melilla<!--|pages=13–34-->|page=24}}</ref> By the early 7th century a Christian bishop with seat in the city was mentioned in the ''Thronus Alexandrinus''.{{Sfn|Lara Peinado|1998|p=24}} By 700, Rusadir was conquered by [[Musa ibn Nusayr]] on behalf of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]].{{Sfn|Lara Peinado|1998|p=25}} With an uncertain existence as populated settlement by the mid 9th century, the city was repopulated by Berbers by the late 9th century (c. 890), when it was already known by its new name,{{Sfn|Lara Peinado|1998|p=25}} Malila/Melilla/Amlil. It was seized by an Andalusian army on behalf of [[Abd al-Rahman III]], emir (soon-to-be Caliph) of Córdoba in 926–927.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gurriarán Daza|first=Pedro|title=La fortificación de la frontera sur de al-andalus en tiempos del califato de Córdoba|journal=Almoraima. Revista de Estudios Campogibraltareños|issue=48|year=2018|location=Algeciras|publisher=Instituto de Estudios Campogibraltareños <!--pages=53–73-->|url=http://institutoecg.es/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/04-PEDRO-GURRIAR%C3%81N-AS.pdf|page=62}}</ref>

It was conquered by the Castilian nobleman [[Juan Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia|Juan Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán]] in 1497 and{{mdash}}under the name '''[[Melilla]]''' (q.v.){{mdash}}was formally annexed by [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] in 1506.<ref name=CE/>

==Religion==
Rusadir remains a [[titular see]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
* [[Melilla]], for the town's subsequent history
* [[Tingis]], [[Abyla]], [[Lixus (ancient city)|Lixus]], & [[Tamuda]]
* [[Roman 'Coloniae' in Berber Africa]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite EB1911|editor-last=Chisholm |editor-first=Hugh |date=1911 |wstitle= Melilla |volume= 18 | page = 94 |ref={{harvid|''Enc. Brit.''|1911}} }}
* {{citation |last=Conant |first=Jonathan |title=Staying Roman: Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2012 |isbn=978-0521196970 }}.
* {{citation |last=Davies |first=Ethel |date=2009 |title=North Africa: The Roman Coast |location=[[Chalfont St Peter]] |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-287-3 }}.
* {{citation |last=Head |first=Barclay |editor=Ed Snible |author2=G.F. Hill |author3=George MacDonald |author4=W. Wroth |display-authors=1 |display-editors=0 |url=http://snible.org/coins/hn/index.html |title=Historia Numorum |contribution=Mauretania |contribution-url=http://snible.org/coins/hn/numidia.html |pages=887–890 |date=1911 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |ref={{harvid|Head & al.|1911}} }}.
* {{citation |last=James |first=Edward Boucher |editor=William Smith |display-editors=0 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown, & Co |date=1870 |volume={{nbsp}}III |contribution=Rusadir |contribution-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=rusadir-geo&highlight=russader |ref={{harvid|''Dict. Gr. & Rom. Bio. & Myth.''|1870}} }}.
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* {{citation |last=López Pardo |first=Fernando |contribution-url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GERI/article/viewFile/49055/45753 |contribution=La Fundación de ''Rusaddir'' y la Época Púnica |title=Historia de Melilla |series=''Colección Historia de Melilla'', No.{{nbsp}}17 |location=Melilla |publisher=Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla, Consejería de cultura y festejos |date=2005 |pages=167–189 |editor=A. Bravo Nieto |editor2=P. Fernández Uriel |display-editors=0 }}. {{in lang|es}}
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* {{citation |last=López Pardo |first=Fernando |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GERI/article/viewFile/49055/45753 |title=La Fundación de ''Rusaddir'' y la Época Púnica |lang=es |trans-title=The Foundation of ''Rusaddir'' and the Punic Age |journal=Gerión |date=April 2005 |volume=33 |number=Special |pages=135–156 |doi=10.5209/rev_GERI.2015.49055 |issn=0213-0181}}.
* {{citation |last=Mora Serrano |first=Bartolomé |contribution=Coins, Cities, and Territories: The Imaginary Far West and South Iberian and North African Punic Coins |contribution-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236027112_The_Imaginary_Far_West_and_South_Iberian_and_North_African_Punic_Coins |title=Money, Trade, and Trade Routes in Pre-Islamic North Africa |editor=Amelia Dowler |editor2=Elizabeth R. Galvin |date=2011 |location=London |publisher=British Museum |display-editors=0 |pages=21–32 }}.
* {{citation |last=Petrides |first=Sophron |contribution=[[:s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Rusaddir|Rusaddir]] |title=[[:s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)|Catholic Encyclopedia]] |volume=[[:s:Catholic Encyclopedia/Volume 13|Vol.{{nbsp}}XIII]] |date=1913 |location=New York |publisher=Encyclopedia Press |editor=Charles G. Herbermann |editor2=Edward A. Pace |editor3=Thomas J. Shahan |editor4=John J. Wynne |editor5=Conde B. Pallen |display-editors=0 |ref={{harvid|''Cath. Enc.''|1913}} }}.
* {{citation |last=Zurlo |first=Yves |contribution=Ceuta et Melilla: Histoire, Représentations, et Devenir de Deux Enclaves Espagnoles |editor=L'Harmattan |display-editors=0 |title=Recherches et Documents: Espagne |location=Paris |date=2005 |isbn=2-7475-7656-6 }}. {{in lang|fr}}

{{Phoenician cities and colonies}}
{{Romano-Berber cities in Roman Africa}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Phoenician colonies in Africa]]
[[Category:Ancient Berber cities]]
[[Category:Mauretania Tingitana]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Mauretania Tingitana]]