The Archaeological site of Sbeitla
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The history of this city of the Tunisian steppes begins in the 1st century A.D. Raised to the status of a Roman colony in the 3rd century A.D., Sufetula became an important crossroads connected to the main ancient cities of the province. This factor, together with the cultivation ofes an olive tred the presence of water sources, explain the origin of its prosperity.
With the spread of Christianity, Sufetula became the seat of a bishopric by the 3rd century at the latest and was the venue for regional councils. It became Vandal from 439 until the arrival of the Byzantines in 533 and then became a key stronghold in the defensive scheme decided by Emperor Justinian. Proclaimed "capital" of the province by Patrice Gregory, who made it his residence, Sufetula and its surroundings were the scenes of battles in 647 between the Muslim armies, coming from Tripolitania, and the Byzantines who were defeated. This represented the beginning of the Arab conquest of the ancient Maghreb.
The monuments
They cover all of the Roman antiquity period; the sacred pagan and Christian buildings include the Capitol, which remains an extremely rare case in religious architecture: it comprises three temples, each dedicated to one of the main gods of the Roman Pantheon, Jupiter-Minerva-Junon, and not just one, set up at the end of a square (the forum) whose entrance is marked by a triple-arched gate dedicated to Emperor Antoninus Pious in 139. There are six Christian cult buildings; two of these churches have a baptistery, one of which – in the Saint is of Vitalis basilica - features a mosaic adorned font. Some have two apses or two choirs dedicated to the cult of the martyrs.
-Daily life and leisure activities are represented by a large thermal complex and four other more modest thermae often decorated with mosaics, shops near the forum, a theatre backed by a natural slope, an amphitheater, monumental fountains lining the main paved streets (4th century) fed by a network of lead and terracotta pipes connected to an aqueduct still preserved.
-Housing and economy: luxurious houses richly decorated such as the House of the Seasons (sculpture and mosaics), oil presses, millstones, or a metal workshop.
All these buildings are connected by paved streets, one of which is marked by a superb triumphal arch dedicated, among other emperors, to Diocletian (end of the 4th century).
