Sbeitla is a largely forgotten town situated in southern Tunisia. There are few written references to the town, but its archaeology speaks of a substantial, affluent settlement dating from the height of the Roman empire in North Africa.

It is its religious buildings that mark Sbeitla out amongst the towns of Roman Tunisia. The town includes several well-preserved early Christian churches. It also has a particularly unique Capitoline temple.

History of Sbeitla

Also known as Sufetula, little is known about Sbeitla. A Roman city founded in the first century AD by the demobbed veterans of the third Augustan Roman legion, the veteran’s town was probably established over an earlier settlement. Archaeology has shown that the town prospered between the second and fourth centuries AD, deriving its wealth from olive growth and olive oil production, judging from the finds of olive oil presses.

Most of the public architecture of the city dates from the second century and suggests a thriving settlement. The town had three bathhouses, a triumphal arch of Diocletian, a theatre, and an amphitheatre yet to be excavated. The town may have had 10,000 residents at this time.

However, it is the religious buildings of Sbeitla that make it outstanding. Unlike many Roman settlements, the town reached its peak in the fourth to sixth centuries AD, when the rise of Christianity led to it becoming a powerful bishopric. This religious prominence continued after the Vandal invasions of the sixth century AD. Finally, in the seventh century AD, Sbeitla reached its height when it became the capital of Tunisia under one Gregorius, who defied the Byzantine Empire to make himself emperor.

Temple of Capitoline Triad

Of its classical pagan temples, the second century Capitoline temple of Sbeitla is of particular note. In imitation of the Capitol in Rome, every Roman town established a temple to the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the principal deities of the Roman pantheon. Usually, all three deities shared one temple. However, in Sbeitla, the arrangement was different, with each god in a separate temple, linked together by “bridges” of masonry.

The temples are not identifiable by any inscriptions. However, their construction and relative positions suggest that they formed Sbeitla’s Capitoline Temple. Moreover, the linked temples dominate the forum of Sbeitla; they were the first buildings anyone would see when entering through the monumental arch to Antoninus Pius, suggesting their importance. 

Aside from this visual emphasis and the obvious links between the three buildings, other architectural features offer clues to the temples’ importance. The central temple’s colonnade is solely composed of Corinthian columns, with its two companions having a mixture of different column types. It is impossible to say with certainty which temple belongs to which god. However, it is believed that the roofless temple at the far end is the Temple of Minerva and the prominent temple is the Temple of Jupiter.

The Christian Churches of Sbeitla

In all, six churches have been identified in Sbeitla, either purpose-built from the fourth century onwards or converted from pagan temples.

The principal Christian remains of Sbeitla lie in the Episcopal complex on the edge of the site. The complex consists of houses and a bathhouse for the use of the clergy, as well as three churches. The first is the Catholic cathedral of Bellator. Built in the fourth century, this building had three main asps, an ornate baptistery and a square colonnade.

However, the cathedral was by no means the most impressive of the complex’s churches. The Church of St Vitalis had five aisles, two apses and a baptistery complete with a beautiful white baptismal font. The final church of the complex was the fifth century Chapel of Jucundus.

The Church of Servus is of particular note of the converted Roman temples. Converted into a Donatist church by the Vandals, the old temple cella contains the baptistery and a chapel equipped with five aisles.

Resources

Romano-African Tunisia: 146BC-439AD Ministere de La Culture

Tomkinson, Michael, (2005) Tunisia. Michael Tomkinson Publishing: Oxford