Tébessa

Tebessa, written {{lang|fr|Tébessa}} in French, was known to the ancient Greeks as {{lang|grc-latn|Thebéstē}} ({{lang|grc|Θεβέστη}}) or {{lang|grc-latn|Hekatompýlē}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑκατομπύλη}}, 'Hundred Gates'). This was Latinized as Theveste.

{{main|Theveste}}

In antiquity, Theveste formed part of the Roman Republic.

After the establishment of the Roman Empire, the 3rd Augustan Legion was based in Theveste before being transferred to Lambaesis. Theveste later became a Roman colony, probably under Trajan in the early 2nd century. At the time of Trajan it was a flourishing city with around 30,000 inhabitants. The ruins surviving in present-day Tebessa are very rich in ancient monuments, among them being the Arch of Caracalla, Roman triumphal arch, a Roman temple, and a Christian basilica of the 4th century.

There is mention of a council held there by the Donatists. Among its saints were its bishop Lucius, who assisted at the 256 Council of Carthage and died as a martyr two years later; Maximilianus, martyred on 12 March 295; and Crispina, martyred on 5 December 304. Some of its other bishops are known: Romulus in 349; Urbicus in 411; Felix exiled by the Vandals in 484; Palladius mentioned in an inscription.

During the 4th and 5th centuries, Theveste was a hotbed of Manichaeism as well. In June 1918, a Latin codex of 26 leaves written by the Manichaeans was discovered in a cave near the city. A month later, Henri Omont found its other 13 initial leaves. The whole book is now known as the Tebessa codex and is kept in Cologne. It has been edited by Markus Stein.

Theveste was rebuilt and incorporated into Byzantine North Africa by the patrician Solomon at the beginning of the reign of Justinian I. Solomon built his own tomb in Theveste, which still exists.

In the 7th century, the Muslim conquest reduced Theveste in importance but did not completely destroy it. In the 11th century, Banu Hilal, an Arab tribe originally living between the Nile and Red Sea, settled in Tripolitania, Tunisia, and Constantinois (the area around Constantine and Tebessa).

During the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire established a small garrison of Janissaries in Tebessa.

In 1851, the town was occupied by the French. It became the capital of its canton, then an arrondissement of the department of Constantine in Algeria. Later, its arrondissement was moved to the department of Bône. After Algerian independence, it became the capital of its own eponymous province.

• Arch of Caracalla, a Roman triumphal arch (AD 214).
• Roman theater
• Temple of Minerva (early 3rd century AD), with walls decorated by mosaics.
• Amphitheatre (4th century AD)
• Remains of the basilica of St. Crispina (4th century AD), one of the biggest in Africa. It was partially destroyed by Berbers, and rebuilt in 535 by the Byzantine general Solomon. It has chapels, baptism urns, catacombs, and gardens, and a tessellated pavement.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Tebessa|volume=26|page=487}}
• Byzantine walls (6th century), popularly known as "Solomon's Walls" and flanked by thirteen square towers.
• Archaeological museum.

File:German Climate Tebessa.pngTébessa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with hot, fairly dry summers and mild, somewhat wetter winters.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|location = Tébessa

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 24.0

|Feb record high C = 30.1

|Mar record high C = 32.0

|Apr record high C = 32.4

|May record high C = 40.6

|Jun record high C = 41.3

|Jul record high C = 45.2

|Aug record high C = 43.0

|Sep record high C = 40.0

|Oct record high C = 37.3

|Nov record high C = 31.0

|Dec record high C = 27.0

|Jan high C = 12.2

|Feb high C = 13.3

|Mar high C = 16.3

|Apr high C = 20.9

|May high C = 24.6

|Jun high C = 29.9

|Jul high C = 32.6

|Aug high C = 30.7

|Sep high C = 25.9

|Oct high C = 22.0

|Nov high C = 17.4

|Dec high C = 12.6

|Jan mean C = 6.5

|Feb mean C = 7.3

|Mar mean C = 9.8

|Apr mean C = 13.0

|May mean C = 17.4

|Jun mean C = 21.7

|Jul mean C = 25.0

|Aug mean C = 23.8

|Sep mean C = 19.1

|Oct mean C = 15.3

|Nov mean C = 10.6

|Dec mean C = 7.0

|Jan low C = 0.8

|Feb low C = 1.3

|Mar low C = 3.0

|Apr low C = 5.1

|May low C = 10.2

|Jun low C = 13.5

|Jul low C = 17.4

|Aug low C = 16.7

|Sep low C = 12.3

|Oct low C = 8.6

|Nov low C = 2.8

|Dec low C = 1.4

|Jan record low C = -14.7

|Feb record low C = -12.8

|Mar record low C = -8.0

|Apr record low C = -5.8

|May record low C = -1.2

|Jun record low C = 5.4

|Jul record low C = 8.0

|Aug record low C = 5.6

|Sep record low C = -2.0

|Oct record low C = -5.1

|Nov record low C = -12.3

|Dec record low C = -14.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 28.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 34.5

|Mar precipitation mm = 56.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 47.3

|May precipitation mm = 38.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 24.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 20.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 32.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 60.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 58.5

|Nov precipitation mm = 51.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 42.7

|unit precipitation days = 1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 8.4

|Feb precipitation days = 9.1

|Mar precipitation days = 10.8

|Apr precipitation days = 8.9

|May precipitation days = 6.4

|Jun precipitation days = 3.8

|Jul precipitation days = 2.7

|Aug precipitation days = 5.9

|Sep precipitation days = 6.3

|Oct precipitation days = 7.2

|Nov precipitation days = 7.3

|Dec precipitation days = 7.9

|year precipitation days =

|Jan humidity = 75.1

|Feb humidity = 70.8

|Mar humidity = 65.0

|Apr humidity = 64.1

|May humidity = 58.7

|Jun humidity = 49.6

|Jul humidity = 43.9

|Aug humidity = 48.3

|Sep humidity = 61.6

|Oct humidity = 64.9

|Nov humidity = 72.2

|Dec humidity = 74.7

|source 1 = NOAA (precipitation 1991-2020){{cite web |title=Climate Normals for Tebessa |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Algeria/CSV/Tebessa_60475.csv |access-date=14 March 2024}}

|source 2 = climatebase.ru (extremes, humidity){{cite web |title=Tebessa, Algeria |url=http://climatebase.ru/station/60475/?lang=en |publisher=Climatebase.ru |access-date=11 February 2013}}

|date=February 2013}}

The city commands the entire southeastern region of eastern Algeria and is a key point on the Annaba - El Oued border axis.

Tébessa Province has many phosphate mines, including the Djebel Onk mine. It also has several industrial units.

Tébessa is connected by road and rail with the other parts of both Algeria and Tunisia. It is served by Tébessa Airport for air transport.

{{reflist|30em}}

• Stein (M.) (ed.) Manichaica Latina 3.1. Codex Thevestinus (Papyrologica Coloniensia volume 27/3.1.) Paderborn, Munich, Vienna and Zurich: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2004, Pp. xx + 328.
• Stein (M.) (ed.) Manichaica Latina 3.2. Codex Thevestinus (Papyrologica Coloniensia volume 27/3.2.) Paderborn, Munich, Vienna and Zurich: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2006, Pp. vi + 81, ills.

{{Portal|Algeria}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080204205026/http://www.tbessa.com/ Official site of Tebessa]
• [http://members.aol.com/txt34567/actamaximiliani.htm Acta Maximiliani Martyris]
• [http://www.aeria.phil.uni-erlangen.de/photo_html/topographie/algerien/tebessa.html Page with photos of ancient ruins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208105255/http://www.aeria.phil.uni-erlangen.de/photo_html/topographie/algerien/tebessa.html |date=2016-12-08 }} {{in lang|de}}
• {{Catholic|wstitle=Theveste}}
• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Tebessa}}

{{Province seats of Algeria}}

{{Tébessa Province}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tebessa}}

Category:Roman sites in Algeria

Category:Communes of Tébessa Province

Category:Province seats of Algeria

Category:Roman amphitheaters in North Africa

Category:Roman legionary fortresses in Algeria

Category:Roman fortifications in Mauretania Caesariensis

Category:Cities in Algeria