Ounga, Tunisia
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Ounga, also known as Younga and Jounga, is a locality and archaeological site on the Mediterranean coast in modern Tunisia.
Located 45 km south of Sfax and 10 km south-east of Maharès in the region of Sahel,[1] it is known for its oil fields.[2][3]
Name
The town is currently known as Ounga, Younga or Jounga, but during antiquity was known as Iunca or Macomades.
Poinssot identifies Younga as the new name of the city of Macomades Minores also called Macomades Iunci or Iunca. The discovery in 1936 of a fragment of a milestone from the mid-3rd century close to Younga definitively confirmed the relationship. The name of the city then changed in the 4th century. Thus, the city bore the name of Macomades Minores under the Early Empire and that of Iunci or Iunca under the Lower Empire.
History
It was located on the Carthage-Tacape highway, at the intersection with the inland route from Sufetula[4] and the town has a history stretching back to Punic times.
During the Roman and Byzantine eras Ounga was known as Iunca in Byzacena. [5] and also Macomades Minores[6]
In ancient times Younga experienced ardent Christian activity resulting in the construction of various religious buildings. Accordingly, it maintained relations with other cities such as Carthage. Historians, like the Tunisian archaeologist Zainab Benzina, state that a representative of the city of Younga, the bishop Valentinianus, attended the Council of Carthage in 412. In addition, the Christian city hosted a provincial council in 524.
Remains of the Roman town include three Byzantine basilicas [7] and city ramparts, citadel and a vaulted cistern and crypts. Some of the remains show Coptic influence. [8] [9][10]
The citadel, identified in 1944 by the French archaeologist Louis Poinssot as the place described by Arab geographers Al Bakri and Al-Idrissi, under the name of Kasr er-Roum (Castle of the Romans) was transformed in the 9th century by the Aghlabids, modifying the upper part of the walls.
Bishopric
Ounga was the seat of an ancient Christian bishopric, of the history of which very little is known.
There was a synod here after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.[11] and another about 523. A Christian monastery was founded in the town about 500. Two bishops are known:
- Verecundus of Iunca
- Valentinianus, who attended the Council of Carthage in 412, as above
The bishopric survives today as a titular bishopric, which has been vacant since the departure of the last bishop, Marcel Roger Buyse, in 2008. [5]
Fortress
The remains of the Byzantine fort known as Bordj Younga are in excellent condition.
References
- ^ Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 33 F4
- ^ Don Hallett, Petroleum Geology of Libya (Elsevier, 26 Feb 2002) p115
- ^ Edward Tawadros, Geology of North Africa (CRC Press, 2 Nov 2011) p322
- ^ Imperium.ahlfeldt.se: Macomades Minores/Iunci, Bordj Younga
- ^ a b Iunca in Byzacena, at GCatholic.org
- ^ R. Talbert, Jeffrey Becker, R. Warner, Sean Gillies, Tom Elliott Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places -Macomades Minores/Iunci Pleiades, 2014
- ^ G. L. Feuille, “Le baptistère de Iunca”, CahArch 3 (1948) pp75-81; P. Garrigue, “Une Basilique byzantine à Iunca en Byzacène”, MélRome 65 (1953) pp173-96
- ^ A Ennabli, MACOMADES MINORES (Princeton, N.J. Princeton University Press. 1976)
- ^ Hachmi Bibi, Mahares. Strategic site, civilization and arts (Tunis, 2002)
- ^ Pol Trousset, "Iunci": Berber Encyclopedia, Vol 25, ed. (Eduud, Aix-en-Provence, 2003), pp.3806-3812
- ^ Jonathan Conant, Staying Roman: Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean 439-700 (Cambridge University Press, 2012) p100