View source for Tipasa

{{hatnote|For the present-day city at the same site, see [[Tipaza]]. For the Tipasa in the province of Numidia, see [[Tipasa in Numidia]]. For the genus of moths, see [[Tipasa (moth)|''Tipasa'' (moth)]].}}
{{Infobox settlement
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|official_name          = Tipasa
|other_name             = Tipaza
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|footnotes              = {{designation list | embed=yes
   | designation1 = WHS
   | designation1_offname =  Tipasa
   | designation1_date = 1982 <small>(6th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
   | designation1_type = Cultural
   | designation1_criteria = iii, iv
   | designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/193 193]
   | designation1_free1name = Region
   | designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States|Arab States]]
   | designation1_free2name  = [[List of World Heritage in Danger|Endangered]]
   | designation1_free2value = 2002&ndash;2006
}}
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'''Tipasa''', sometimes distinguished as '''Tipasa in Mauretania''', was a [[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]] in the [[Roman province]] [[Mauretania Caesariensis]], nowadays called [[Tipaza]], and located in coastal central [[Algeria]]. Since 1982,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Tipasa |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/193/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> it has been declared by UNESCO a [[World Heritage Site]]. It was declared a [[World Heritage Sites in danger|World Heritage Site in danger]] in 2002,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Tipasa (Algeria) Added to List of World Heritage in Danger |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/178/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> but was removed from the danger list in 2006<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=UNESCO World Heritage Centre - State of Conservation (SOC 2006) Tipasa (Algeria) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/1112/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> following conservation efforts.

==History==
{{further|Maghreb placename etymology}}

===Punic trading post===
Initially the city was a small ancient [[Punic]] trading-post.

===Roman colony===
Conquered by [[Ancient Rome]], it was turned into a military [[colony]] by the [[Roman emperor|emperor]] [[Claudius]] for the conquest of the kingdoms of [[Mauretania]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=193|title=Tipasa|last=Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|website=whc.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2016-08-08}}</ref> Afterwards it became a [[municipium]] called ''Colonia Aelia Augusta Tipasensium''.<ref name="Gsell">{{Cite web|url=http://www.archivodelafrontera.com/galeatus/el-limes-romano-de-africa-ix-aelia-augusta-tipasensium-tipasa-argelia-1982-84/|title=Archivo de la Frontera {{!}} EL LIMES ROMANO DE ÁFRICA IX – AELIA AUGUSTA TIPASENSIUM (Tipasa – Argelia, 1982-84)|website=www.archivodelafrontera.com|language=es-ES|access-date=2018-01-29}}</ref>

The Roman city was built on three small hills which overlooked the sea, nearly 20&nbsp;km. east from [[Cherchell|Caesarea]] (capital of [[Mauretania Caesariensis]]).<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Tipasa|display=Tipasa (1)|volume=26|page=1003}}</ref> Under Roman rule the city acquired greater commercial and military importance because of its harbour and its central position on the system of Roman coastal roads in North Africa. A wall of approximately 7,500 feet (2,300 metres) was built around the city for defense against nomadic tribes, and Roman public buildings and districts of houses were constructed within the enclosure.<ref name="EB">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596710/Tipasa Roman Tipasa ''Encyclopedia Britannica'']</ref>

Commercially Tipasa was of considerable importance, but it was not distinguished in art or learning.<ref name="AP">''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 991</ref>

===Christian Tipasa===
[[Christianity]] was introduced to Tipasa early,<ref name="AP"/> with the first Christian inscription there (and the oldest Christian epitaph in Roman Africa) dating to October 17, 237 AD,<ref name="RA">[https://books.google.com/books?id=68wOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA487&dq=Rasinia+Secunda&hl=en&output=html_text&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1 Revue africaine, Société historique algérienne, éd. la Société, 1866, {{p.|487}}]</ref> or 238.<ref name="EB"/> The city became an important Christian centre in the 3rd century.,<ref name="EB"/> becoming an [[episcopal see]],<ref name="EB1911"/> now inscribed in the [[Catholic Church]]'s list of [[titular see]]s.<ref name="AP"/> It saw the construction of numerous Christian religious buildings in the later third and fourth centuries,<ref name="EB"/> including three churches &mdash; the Great Basilica and the Basilica Alexander on the western hill, and the Basilica of St Salsa on the eastern hill, the biggest basilicas within the modern limits of Algeria.<ref name="RA"/><ref name="EB1911"/>

Most of the inhabitants, however, continued to be non-Christian until, according to legend, Salsa, a Christian maiden, threw the head of their serpent idol into the sea, whereupon the enraged populace stoned her to death. The body, miraculously recovered from the sea, was buried, on the hill above the harbour, in a small chapel which gave place subsequently to the stately basilica. Salsa's [[martyrdom]] took place in the fourth century. According to the historian Gsell, Tipasa reached a population of 20,000 inhabitants iaround that time.<ref name="Gsell"/> Christianity now became general among the Romanised Berbers and Roman colonists of Tipasa.<ref name="RA"/>

===Decline===
About 372 Tipasa withstood an assault by [[Firmus (4th-century usurper)|Firmus]], the leader of a Berber rebellion that had overrun the nearby cities of Caesarea (modern Cherchell) and Icosium (modern Algiers). Tipasa then served as the base for the Roman counter-campaign.<ref name="EB"/> However, its fortifications did not prevent the city from being conquered by the Vandals about 429, bringing to an end the prosperity that the city had enjoyed during the Roman period.<ref name="EB"/> The conquerors partially destroyed the city in 430.

In 484, during the persecution of the Catholic church by the [[Vandal]] king [[Huneric]] (477‑484), the Catholic bishop of Tipasa was expelled and replaced with an [[Arianism|Arian]] bishop, whereupon many of the inhabitants of the city fled to [[Spain]]. Many of the remainder were cruelly persecuted.<ref name="EB"/><ref name="EB1911"/><ref>Stefano Antonio Morcelli, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dO4-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA327 ''Africa christiana''], Volume I, Brescia 1816, pp.&nbsp;327–328</ref> In the ensuing decades the city fell into ruin.<ref name="EB"/> About 530, Tipasa was rebuilt by the [[Byzantine]]s, and during their occupation in the 6th century revived for a brief time.<ref name="LP">''Tipasa'', ''Morocco, Algeria, & Tunisia: a travel survival kit'', [[Geoff Crowther]] & Hugh Finlay, [[Lonely Planet]], 2nd Edition, April 1992, pp. 286 ''-'' 287.</ref>
[[Image:Ruines romaines de Tipaza.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Actual ruins of Roman Tipasa]]

At the end of the seventh century the city was destroyed by the [[Arabs]] and reduced to ruins.<ref>[http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/mefr_0223-4874_1891_num_11_1_6684 Toutain Jules. ''Fouilles de M. Gsell à Tipasa : Basilique de Sainte Salsa''. In: ''Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire'' T. 11, 1891. {{p.|179-185}}.]</ref> The newcomers gave it the name ''Tefassed'', which translated from the [[Arabic language]] means ''badly damaged''{{Clarify|date=November 2021}}.<ref name="LP"/>
[[Image:Salsa 022.jpg|right|thumb|Christian tomb from a Roman Tipasa basilica]]

===Modern city===
{{main|Tipaza}}
In 1857, the area was settled again with the creation of the city of [[Tipaza]] that now has nearly 30,000 inhabitants. The town and its surroundings is home to the largest Berber-speaking group of western Algeria, the [[Chenouas|Chenoua]] people.

The ruins of the old city also remain. Of the houses, most of which stood on the central hill, no traces remain; but there are ruins of the Great Basilica and the Basilica Alexander on the western hill, the Basilica of St Salsa on the eastern hill, two cemeteries, the baths, theatre, amphitheatre and nymphaeum. The line of the ramparts can be distinctly traced and at the foot of the eastern hill the remains of the ancient harbour.<ref name="EB1911"/>

The basilicas are surrounded by cemeteries, which are full of coffins, all of stone and covered with [[mosaics]]. The basilica of St. Salsa, which has been excavated by Stéphane Gsell, consists of a nave and two aisles, and still contains a mosaic. The Great Basilica served for centuries as a quarry, but it is still possible to make out the plan of the building, which was divided into seven aisles. Under the foundations of the church are tombs hewn out of the solid rock. Of these one is circular, with a diameter of 18 m and space for 24 coffins.<ref name="EB1911"/>

===Tribute to Albert Camus===
Inside the Roman ruins, facing the sea and Mount Chenoua, a stele was erected in 1961 in honor of [[Albert Camus]] with this phrase in French, extracted from his work ''Noces à Tipas''a: “I understand here what is called glory: the right to love beyond measure " (« Je comprends ici ce qu'on appelle gloire : le droit d'aimer sans mesure. »).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tipaza.typepad.fr/mon_weblog/2012/10/au-sujet-de-la-st%C3%A8le-de-camus-dans-les-ruines-de-tipaza.html|title = Au sujet de la stèle de Camus dans les ruines de Tipaza}}</ref>

==Climate change==
{{Main|Sea level rise}}
As a coastal heritage site, Tipasa is vulnerable to [[sea level rise]]. In 2022, the [[IPCC Sixth Assessment Report]] included it in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened by [[flooding]] and [[coastal erosion]] by the end of the century.

==Gallery==

<gallery>
<!-- Deleted image removed: Image:Tepasa findings.jpg|View of the archaeological area of Tipasa{{Pufc|1=|date=3 March 2013}} -->
Image:Tipasa.jpg|View of Tipasa, Algeria
Image:Tipasa1.jpg|Roman ruins of Tipasa (basilica)
Image:Tipaza basilique.jpg|Vestiges of the Christian church
Image:Tipasa4.jpg|Roman ruins of Tipasa 
Image:Gate_entering_Tipasa.JPG|View of Tipasa, Algeria
Image:Sites historiques Tipaza 12.JPG|Panoramic view of Tipasa
Image:Juba II of Numidia burial place.jpg|[[Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania|Tomb]] of [[Juba II]] and [[Cleopatra Selene II]]
File:Tipasa-109050.jpg|view showing base of walls
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
{{Commons category}}
* [[Timgad]]
* [[Cherchell|Caesarea]]
* [[Djémila|Cuicul]]
* [[Cirta]]
* [[Lambaesis]]
* [[Rusadir]]

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

===Bibliography===
* {{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=Numidia|contribution-url=http://snible.org/coins/hn/numidia.html |pages=884–887 |date=1911 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |ref={{harvid|Head & al.|1911}} }}.

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Tipasa}}
*[https://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk/pages/collections_featured.php?parent=5975 Images of Tipasa in Mauretania] from Manar al-Athar digital heritage photo archive 
*[https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=193 Site] of [[Unesco]]

{{World Heritage Sites in Algeria}}
{{Romano-Berber cities in Roman Africa}}
{{Phoenician cities and colonies navbox}}
{{Tipaza Province}}
{{Province seats of Algeria}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1857]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:Communes of Tipaza Province]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Algeria]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications in Mauretania Caesariensis]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Algeria]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Algeria]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Algeria]]
[[Category:Province seats of Algeria]]
[[Category:Catholic titular sees in Africa]]
[[Category:Ancient Berber cities]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Danger]]
[[Category:7th-century disestablishments in the Exarchate of Africa]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 7th century]]
[[Category:Roman legionary fortresses in Algeria]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in the French colonial empire]]
[[Category:Phoenician colonies in Algeria]]