SBEITLA.
The modern name of Sbeitla, like so many others in Tunis, is simply an
Arab corruption of the ancient one, Sufetula. That, again, is probably
a diminutive of Sufes, the modern Sbiba. Though originally smaller
than Sufes, it soon became a place of very much greater importance. No
city in Africa possessed finer specimens of architecture, and even
as late as the Arab invasion it continued to be one of the most
considerable cities in Byzacene, and the centre whence all the roads
leading through the country radiated. Bruce is of opinion that the
name is derived from the Suffetes, a magistrature in all countries
dependent on Carthage. Sbeitla is the scene of the romantic account
given by several Arab writers, amongst others En-Nowairi, of the first
great and disastrous encounter between Christianity and Mohammedanism
in North Africa. The story is certainly apocryphal in some of its
details, though the main facts are probably accurate.[146]
In the twenty-seventh year of the Hedgira (A.D. 647) the Khalifa
Othman determined to effect the conquest of Africa, and on the
arrival of the Arab army in Egypt a detachment was sent on to Tripoli.
The Patrician Gregorius, as Theophanes calls him, was at this time
Exarch or governor of Africa. He had been originally appointed
by Heraclius, Emperor of the East, whose father had held the same
office, and who himself had started from Africa on the expedition
which resulted in the overthrow of the Emperor Phocas and his own
elevation to the purple. Gregorius subsequently revolted from the
Byzantine empire, and by the aid of the native Africans made himself
Tyrannus, or independent sovereign of the province. Ibn Khaldoun
says that his authority extended from Tripoli to Tangiers, and that
he made Sbeitla his capital.[147]
The command of the expedition was given to the brother of the Khalifa,
Abdulla ibn Saad, under whose orders were placed the _élite_ of
the Arab troops, to whom were added 20,000 Egyptians. The number of
the whole force did not certainly exceed 40,000 men. On entering the
country occupied by the Romans the Arab general sent on a detachment
to Tripoli commanded by Ez-Zohri. On their arrival before the city
they found it too strong to be carried by assault, and they continued
their march to Gabes.
A message was sent to Gregorius offering him the usual conditions—to
embrace Islamism or to accept the payment of tribute, both of which
he indignantly refused. The invaders continued their march till they
met the Byzantine army on the plain of _Acouba_, situated about a
day and a night’s march from Sbeitla.
The army of Gregorius is said to have numbered 120,000 men, but this
immense multitude was probably composed of naked and disorderly Moors
or Africans, amongst whom the regular bands of the Empire must have
been nearly lost.
For several days the two armies were engaged from dawn of day till
the hour of noon, when fatigue and the excessive heat obliged them
to seek shelter in their respective camps.
The daughter of Gregorius, a maiden of incomparable beauty, fought by
her father’s side; and her hand, with 100,000 dinars, was offered
to whomsoever should slay Abdulla ibn Saad. The latter retaliated by
offering the daughter of Gregorius and 100,000 dinars to anyone who
would slay the Christian prince, her father. The combatants had been
in the habit of discontinuing the battle every day at noon, but on one
occasion, the Mohammedan leader, having kept a considerable portion
of his troops concealed and in reserve, recommenced the action with
these at midday, and utterly defeated the Christian force. Gregorius
and a vast number of his followers were killed, the camp was pillaged,
and the beautiful daughter of the prince was captured and allotted
to Ibn ez-Zobeir, who had slain her father. Ibn Saad next lay siege
to Sbeitla, which was speedily taken and destroyed. The booty found
here was so great that every horseman got 3,000 dinars and every
foot-soldier 1,000!
Even before this time Christianity had begun to decline; henceforth
it almost immediately ceased to exist. Gibbon remarks, ‘The
northern coast of Africa is the only land, in which the light of
the Gospel after a long and perfect establishment has been totally
extinguished. The arts, which had been taught by Carthage and Rome,
were involved in the cloud of ignorance, and the doctrines of Cyprian
and Augustine ceased to be studied. Five hundred episcopal churches
were overturned by the hostile fury of the Donatists, the Vandals
and the Moors. The zeal and number of the clergy declined, and the
people, without discipline or knowledge or hope, submissively sank
under the yoke of the Arabian prophet. Within fifty years from the
expulsion of the Greeks, Abdoul Rahman, Governor of Africa, wrote
to the Caliph Abdoul Abbas, the first of the Abbassides, that the
tribute of the infidels was abolished by their conversion. In the
next age, A.D. 837, an extraordinary mission of five bishops was sent
from Alexandria to Cairoan by the Jacobite patriarch to revive the
dying embers of Christianity; but the interposition of a foreign
prelate, an enemy to the Catholics and a stranger to the Latins,
supposes the decay and dissolution of the African hierarchy. In
the eleventh century, A.D. 1053-1076, the unfortunate priest, who
was seated on the ruins of Carthage, implored the protection of
the Vatican; and he bitterly complains that his naked body had been
scourged by the Saracens. Two epistles of Gregory VII. are destined
to soothe the distress of the Catholics and the pride of a Moorish
prince; but the complaint, that three bishops could not be found
to consecrate a brother, announces the speedy and inevitable ruin
of the episcopal order. About the middle of the twelfth century,
the worship of Christ and the succession of pastors was abolished
along the whole coast of Barbary.’[148]
Shaw observes that Sbeitla is situated on a rising ground, shaded all
over with juniper-trees.[149] Bruce says that it is surrounded above
by a wood of _white firs_, by which he means the _Pinus haleppensis_,
from which the inhabitants made pitch; and he remarks that Dr. Shaw
has called them juniper-trees by mistake. Desfontaines, the well-known
botanist, visited the place in 1783 and noticed both the Aleppo
pine and the _Juniperus macrocarpa_.[150] At present not a tree or
a bush is to be seen on the wide plain as far as the eye can range;
the inhabitants have disappeared almost as completely as the pitch
they once made; and the traveller may sleep in peace amongst the
ruins, without any dread of the Oulad Amran—who twice attempted to
surprise Bruce’s camp at night, and whom he described as ‘the
greatest robbers and assassins in the kingdom of Tunis’—or of
the lions, who ‘greatly incommoded’ him, and ‘who came to the
door of the tent, and afterwards fell upon the neighbouring dowar.’
One of the most remarkable features of this part of the country,
and which evidently led to its selection as the site of the ancient
city, is its excellent water-supply. To the north of Sbeitla two
ranges of hills diverge to the north-east and the north-west. Several
streams flowing in a south-easterly direction drain this district
and eventually become the Oued Djilma. One of these is the Oued
Sbeitla, which in the first part of its course flows through a deep
and narrow ravine, but as it emerges into the plain, the soil of
which is extremely absorbent, the water becomes lost in the sand.
In the neighbourhood of Sbeitla the bed of the river is of compact
limestone; on either side of it numerous tepid springs are seen
bubbling up from the earth, accompanied by free carbonic acid
gas. These unite into one stream of volume sufficient to supply an
immense city, quite as large as the famous fountain of Zaghouan, and
for more than a mile it thus flows in a clear and beautiful stream,
never dry even in the hottest part of summer.
We observed numbers of small fish, probably barbel, and a large
water-snake of a pale brown colour spotted with yellow; it was
probably not venomous, but, even if it had been, its presence would
not have deterred us from revelling in the delicious coolness of the
stream after our long and arduous journey from Djebel Trozza. The
temperature of this stream is just high enough to make it slightly
warm in winter, but quite sufficiently cool in summer.
Roughly-built aqueducts brought the upper waters of this river along
either bank into the city; that on the left bank crossed by a bridge
of three arches, evidently of comparatively modern construction. It
is of rubble masonry with conical buttresses to the right and left
of the central arch, through which alone the stream flows, and on
both façades of it. The piers of the arch are strengthened with
three upright courses or bonds of cut stone on each side, evidently
from older buildings; in one is a cippus of white marble containing
the following inscription:—
M . AELIO AV
RELLIO[151] VERO
CAES. COS. II
IMP. CAES. T. AE
L. HADRIANI
ANTONINI AVG
PII. PP. T. DD. PP.
The bridge apparently served both as an aqueduct and a viaduct.
The existence of this river induced the late Sidi Mustafa ben Azooz,
of Nefta, to endeavour to found a city here about ten years ago. He
sent his son-in-law, Sidi Ahmed bin Abd-el-Melek of Siliana, to
commence the necessary buildings. One very large house was commenced
and even part of it roofed in, but the experiment proved a failure,
no one could be induced to live here; so the building and the
restoration of the aqueduct was abandoned, and now, save by a few
wandering Arabs who come to pasture their flocks amongst the ruins,
and wash their wool at the stream, the country is uninhabited.
Since the last Algerian insurrection a douar of Nememchas, who were
then compromised and fear to return to their homes, have fixed their
abode in the vicinity.
Had nothing but failure resulted from the experiment of Sidi Ahmed,
it would have been a matter of small regret, but he drew his building
materials, stone, and lime, in the most wanton manner, from amongst
the ruins.
Squared stones all ready to his hand, and smaller ones to burn into
lime, exist in abundance in every direction, but he seems to have had
a decided preference for all the most exquisite morsels of sculpture
that he could find. The court of the temples is full of fragments
of capitals, cornices, and architraves, every one a gem, which he
has thus ruthlessly broken up, and some of those yet unbroken have
mineholes drilled in them ready for explosion. The fine paved road
leading from the upper triumphal arch, which was tolerably complete
when Guérin visited Sbeitla, is now almost annihilated; enough only
remains to show its original size and direction. The fragments of
slabs, broken up and ready to be calcined, still remain in heaps on
the spot. In one of the walls of his house is an inscription placed
upside-down, in the peculiar character which marks the Byzantine
period. It has been chiselled over again, so that the first line
is hardly legible, and it is almost impossible, in some cases,
to distinguish between the L, I, and T. It is as follows:—
CRVITOMMVN. . . A . EPC . T
ALFEQVE POMPEIAEIOCAT
LF . AMEN HOC DOLORIBVS
LACRIMIS QIAVEAMCRID{HD}H
ATNVNCVIDENDOIVCITER .
EIFLEIVMEIGEMIIVS INTECRAI
Bruce has illustrated the three temples, with the monumental entrance
to the inclosure, in ten sheets.
1. An admirable Indian-ink perspective drawing of the triumphal arch
forming the entrance to the inclosure, exhibiting part of the façades
of the composite and left-hand Corinthian temples (Plate XIV.)
2. A similar view of the back of the three temples (Plate XV.)
3. An enlarged finished Indian-ink drawing of back of composite
temple.
4. A similar view of back of left Corinthian temple (_i.e._ that on
the left hand of spectator, looking through the arch).
5. A front view of right Corinthian temple, in the same style. All
these are happily without accessories of any kind.
6. A very slight pencil sketch, showing plan and a few dimensions
of the temple area.
7. Drawing in pencil of plan, and details of entrance gateway.
8, 9, 10. Pencil details of the composite order. Bruce, in allusion
to these, says:—
[There is] a beautiful and perfect capital of the composite order,
the only entire one which now exists. It is designed in all its parts,
and, with the detail of the rest of the ruin, is a precious monument
of what that order was, now in the collection of the King. . . . I
recommend the study of the composite capital, as of the Corinthian
capital at Dougga, to those who really wish to know the taste,
with which these orders were executed in the time of the Antonines.
The form and disposition of the ancient city are still perfectly
apparent, and many of the streets can be traced from one side to the
other. There do not appear to have been any defensive works, properly
so-called, although the temple area has been used as a fortress at a
late period of its history, probably at the time of the Arab conquest.
To the south of the town is a triumphal arch, which Shaw and several
succeeding writers have confounded with that of the temple area. It
appears to have been erected during the reign, or in memory, of
Constantine, A.D. 305-306, as it bears not only his name but that
of Maximian, by whom he was adopted.
Although it has but one opening, and is of smaller dimensions than
that of the hieron of the three temples, it is in some respects of
a richer composition.
The four columns of the Corinthian order, that decorate its principal
façade, are not fluted, and instead of being half-engaged were
entirely isolated from the walls. All these columns have now fallen
down, and lie in fragments at the base of the monument. There is
a square niche on either side of the gateway between the pairs of
columns. The entablature was surmounted by an attic, the cornice
and base of which are still perfectly recognisable. As is generally
the case in African monuments of a late date, the arch is without
archivolt. The impost turns all round the building and under the
arch, except on the faces of the jambs occupied by the square niches,
which are situated equally above and below the level of the impost.
On the frieze of that side of the gate which looks towards the
country is the following inscription copied by Bruce:—
DDD . . . N . ER . . VIS . IMP . PE . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INVICTIS . AVG . ITEMQVE . CONSTANTIO . MAXIMIANO . . .
LISSIMIS . CAESARIBVS . DN . . . AVGVSTO . . . . . . . . .
ISTIC . IN . PROVINCIA . SVA . M . TVTOS . . . . . . . . .
The total length of the monument, according to M. Guérin, is 10·35
mètres, the opening of the arch 5·70 mètres, and the height to
the keystone about 7 mètres.[152] We did not ourselves verify these
measurements. Bruce has made no drawing of this building.
The most important of the ruins of Sbeitla is the hieron enclosing
three semi-attached temples, the central one being of the composite
order, and that on either side Corinthian; the whole, however, forms
one composition or design. Shaw has given figures of these temples,
which are described by Bruce as ‘in a style much like what one
would expect from an ordinary carpenter or mason,’ and adds the
remark that he hopes he has done them more justice.
This no one will dispute. The two illustrations selected are done
with a conscientiousness and ability, which could not be surpassed,
and they are accompanied by none of the accessories which disfigure
some of his highly finished drawings. It is to be regretted, however,
that he has shown the three temples as an isolated block of buildings,
instead of indicating the manner in which they were joined to the
general enclosure of the sacred ground. The back wall of the hieron
was formed by the rear of the temples themselves, and a prolongation
on each side of the line thus formed; on this the two side walls abut,
while the front side is opened by a splendid triumphal arch dedicated
to Antoninus Pius, and bearing, as is usual in similar inscriptions,
the name of his adoptive father Hadrian, as well as that of Nerva.
This monument has not in the slightest degree deteriorated since it
was drawn by Bruce. A careful examination of it with the photograph
taken by my companion does not enable me to detect the slightest
difference, except that the broken column to the right of the arch
has now disappeared; even the four stones which remain in the second
course of the attic are now exactly as they were.
It is composed of a large central arch and a small one on either
side. Four unfluted Corinthian columns, with a complete entablature,
envelop these three arches. The impost of the principal arch goes
round the building, but stops short of the columns, which project
beyond it. The heads of the lateral arches are below this line, and
between it and the entablature are square-headed niches, slightly
recessed. The entablature is complete in three parts, architrave,
frieze, and cornice, and was surmounted by an attic, two courses of
which remain, but the crowning moulding has disappeared.
On the frieze above the principal gate is the following inscription:—
. . . . IVI . HADRIANI ANTONINI
. . . DIVI . NERVAE . PRONEP . . . . R
. . . INO . . . . PONT.MAX.T . . . . II.P.P.[152]
Above one of the lateral arches is the following:—
IMP . . . . .
. . . . . . .
NI . ANTONI
NI . AVG. PII
P.P. F.D.D. P.P.[153]
Above the corresponding arch on the other side was a third
inscription, now quite illegible. This is probably the one recorded
by Shaw,[154] bearing the ancient name of the city, and which,
he says, existed on the architrave of the building. There is every
reason, however, to believe that Shaw never visited Sbeitla at all,
but appropriated the information he received from Peyssonnel, who
gives the same inscription, which he found ‘à côté _d’une
des portes_ de la ville.’
It ran thus:—
IMP. CAESAR AVG
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
SVFFETVLENTIVM
HANC EDIFICAVERVNT
ET DD. PP.[155]
In Shaw’s copy the letters ONIN occur in the second line, which
do not exist in Peyssonnel’s, owing no doubt to a typographical
error on the part of his editor.
Dr. Louis Frank, who copied the same inscription, gives the word
ANTONIN at greater length.[156]
In addition to the principal gate there were large arched openings on
the west and east sides, not placed symmetrically; the west one being
further from the temples themselves than that on the east. Within
the inclosure, and exactly opposite the gate, are the three temples,
which have been very accurately described by Sir Grenville Temple, and
as he was the first to publish anything like a detailed description
of them, I feel that I ought to quote his own words:—
‘The three temples occupy, or rather form, the north-western façade
(or side) of an enclosed square, or court, measuring two hundred
and forty feet, by two hundred and twenty-nine. The centre one of
these temples is of the composite order, and in length, including the
portico, sixty-one feet nine inches; that of the _cella_ itself is
forty-four feet, leaving seventeen feet nine inches for the pronaos,
which, like those of the others, has been destroyed; the breadth of
this temple is thirty-three feet nine inches. The _cellæ_ of the two
flank temples measure forty feet eight inches by thirty; but as the
sites of the porticos are much encumbered with their ruins, I could
not well ascertain to what extent they projected. These outward or
flanking temples are both of the Corinthian order. The roofs have all
fallen in, as have also the porticos and façades. The lateral temples
had four columns in front, and six pilasters along the sides; those of
the centre one being round attached columns, and of the others square;
the shafts of the columns of the centre temple are twenty-three
feet three inches long, by nine feet six inches in circumference,
and the height of the capital is three feet three inches.
‘One of these temples, judging from its ornaments, seems to have
been dedicated to Bacchus. The ornaments of all of them are very rich
and of excellent execution. Whatever inscriptions these temples may
have borne are now buried under the ruins of the porticos, and the
columns and stones were much too large to be removed, at least with
the means at my disposal.’[157]
[Illustration: _Plate XIV._
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
ENTRANCE TO HIERON OF TEMPLES AT SUFFETULA (SBEITLA)
FAC SIMILE OF INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.]
[Illustration: _Plate XV._
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
BACK OF TEMPLES AT SUFFETULA (SBEITLA)
FAC-SIMILE OF INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.]
It may be added that the porticos are raised upon a lofty stylobate,
which runs all round the three temples. The front walls that connect
the central temple to those on either side, and which rise no higher
than the base of the columns, are arched, the voussoirs being flat
at the top; this may possibly indicate the existence of vaults,
which are hid in the débris lying around.
A peculiarity of the central temple is worthy of notice, as showing
the Roman origin of a very common feature in sacred mediæval
architecture. A stone lintel traverses the opening of the arch,
the ends of it forming the first voussoir on either side.
The hieron was paved with magnificent blocks of stone, some of which
are seven feet six inches long by thirty-one-and-a-half inches broad;
below was a foundation, six feet deep, of concrete, formed of lime,
stones and broken pottery.
In its original condition it appears to have had a colonnade or
small apartments round the inside, as is attested not only by the
projecting stones in the masonry, but by the foundations of the rooms
themselves. These had windows or doors leading to the exterior as
well as the interior, square apertures with _flat arches_, of which
seven can still be traced on the west side, filled up with masonry.
The dimensions given by Bruce are as follows:—
Ft. in. lines.
Length of hieron 238 0 0
Breadth of ditto 195 1 6
Total breadth of entrance gateway 33 0 0
Width of central arch 10 3 6
„ lateral arches 5 0 0
Diameter of columns 1 8 0
Depth of gateway 3 3 0
Total height of columns 16 9 0
Within the inclosure, and to the left of the temples, looking
towards them, were two buildings evidently of a later period. One
has a round-headed window opening towards the north, and the other a
semicircular apse; this was probably a Christian basilica. A number
of columns are still standing upright within the inclosure; these
probably belonged to the original structure, but were put in their
present position at some subsequent period. There are two other
buildings outside the enclosure, one on either hand, which appear
also to have been Christian churches. That to the south is in a very
ruinous condition; near it are several fragments of entablature
and inscription of rather a rude character. I could only make out
the words CIVIBVS and . . . LESIVS, and again . . . . . ENDORS and
IVAEIVALIM . . . . IVM. The building to the east of the inclosure is
perfect in ground plan; it consists of a nave twenty-seven paces long
by eleven broad, and a semi-circular apse, the diameter of which is
sixteen feet.
The amphitheatre is at the north of the city, bearing nearly due
north from the triumphal arch; it is almost circular in form, but
it is entirely destroyed, and only a depression exists to mark its
site. It probably never was a building of any architectural merit.
Other important ruins exist, but they sink into insignificance when
compared to those which I have attempted to describe. One is the cella
of a temple of admirable construction, against which has been built
a vaulted apartment, probably the residence of the Marabout Sidi
Ibrahim mentioned by Guérin. We pitched our tent close to these,
which afforded an excellent shelter for our attendants. Suddenly,
about two o’clock P.M., a very violent storm came on, the sky
got completely darkened, as though a total eclipse of the sun were
taking place; beautiful dark violet-coloured clouds came up from the
west, which seemed to be struggling for the mastery with clouds of
fine sand from the east. We saw that heavy rain would soon follow,
so we made haste to strike our tent and remove all our property to
the Marabout’s house. We had no sooner done this than the rain
began to fall in torrents, and continued without intermission till
an early hour next morning. Fortunately, it cooled the air, which
had been oppressively hot for some days past, and for a short time
at least it hardened the soil and made it more pleasant for riding.
This was the only place in Tunis where we received no hospitality or
even assistance from the people of the country. One of our spahis had
gone on before us to request the Kaid of the district to arrange for
the usual supply of forage and food. But he absolutely refused to do
so, and but for our good fortune in finding some Algerian refugees
near the spot—who sold us a few chickens and a little barley,
taking good care to be paid in advance—we should have fared badly;
as it was, we were obliged to hasten our departure. Under other
circumstances we would gladly have lingered a little longer amongst
these remarkable ruins. I feel convinced that excavations judiciously
carried out, especially in the hieron of the temples, would bring to
light many objects of archæological interest; but the stones, which
encumber it, are of immense size, and could hardly be moved without
mechanical appliances, and labour would be difficult to obtain.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 146: Ibn Khaldoun, _Hist. des Berbers_, trad. de Slane,
vol. i. p. 316. Cordonne, _Hist. d’Afrique sous la domination des
Arabes_, vol. i.]
[Footnote 147: Ibn Khaldoun, i. p. 209.]
[Footnote 148: Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of Roman Empire_,
vol. ix. p. 495.]
[Footnote 149: Shaw, p. 202.]
[Footnote 150: Desfontaines, ap. Dureau de la Malle, ii. p. 76.]
[Footnote 151: _Sic._]
[Footnote 152: Guérin, i. p. 380.]
[Footnote 153: Guérin, i. p. 380.]
[Footnote 154: Shaw, p. 201.]
[Footnote 155: Peyssonnel, ap. Dureau de la Malle, i. p. 119.]
[Footnote 156: Frank, _L’Univers_, ‘Tunis,’ p. 41.]
[Footnote 157: Sir Gren. Temple, _Excurs. in Med._ ii. p. 235.]