Byzacena

Byzacena (or Byzacium) (Ancient Greek: Βυζάκιον)[1] was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis.

Provincia Byzacena
ἐπαρχία Βυζακινῆς
Province of the Byzantine Empire
c. 293–698
CapitalHadrumetum
Historical eraAntiquity
• Division by Diocletian
c. 293
• Arab-Byzantine Wars
698
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Roman Empire
Rashidun Caliphate
Today part of Tunisia

History

At the end of the 3rd century AD, the Roman emperor Diocletian divided the great Roman province of Africa Proconsularis into three smaller provinces: Zeugitana in the north, still governed by a proconsul and referred to as Proconsularis; Byzacena to its adjacent south, and Tripolitania to its adjacent south, roughly corresponding to southeast Tunisia and northwest Libya. Byzacena corresponded roughly to eastern Tunisia or the modern Tunisian region of Sahel.

Hadrumetum (modern Sousse) became the capital of the newly made province, whose governor had the rank of consularis. At this period the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Byzacena was, after the great metropolis Carthage, the most important city in Roman (North) Africa west of Egypt and its Patriarch of Alexandria.

Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of Byzacena listed in the Annuario Pontificio as titular sees:[2]

Roman Africa.

See also

References
  1. Procopius, History of the Wars, §4.12
  2. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013
  3. located at Latitude: 36.19392 - Longitude: 10.02064.
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