FOOTNOTES:
[145]This railway, which leaves the main line at St. Barbe de Tlelat, twenty-six kilometres from Oran, proceeds thence to Sidi Bel Abbes. It was opened for traffic on June 10, 1877. It was constructed entirely by Mr. Harding, of Paris, and was transferred by him to a company only on the completion of the work.
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:—
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:—
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:—
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:—
Above one of the lateral arches is the following:—
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:—
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]
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.
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:
[146]Ibn Khaldoun, Hist. des Berbers, trad. de Slane, vol. i. p. 316. Cordonne, Hist. d’Afrique sous la domination des Arabes, vol. i.
[147]Ibn Khaldoun, i. p. 209.
[148]Gibbon, Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, vol. ix. p. 495.
[149]Shaw, p. 202.
[150]Desfontaines, ap. Dureau de la Malle, ii. p. 76.
[151]Sic.
[152]Guérin, i. p. 380.
[153]Guérin, i. p. 380.
[154]Shaw, p. 201.
[155]Peyssonnel, ap. Dureau de la Malle, i. p. 119.
[156]Frank, L’Univers, ‘Tunis,’ p. 41.
[157]Sir Gren. Temple, Excurs. in Med. ii. p. 235.
BRUCE’S JOURNEY FROM SBEITLA TO HYDRA.
Here I must make a digression to follow Bruce on his route to Hydra, which time did not permit us actually to visit. The following account is taken partly from his rough notebook, and partly from the narrative written on his return from Abyssinia:—
November 16, 1765.—Continued our course near northwards; decamped at half-past eight. At two o’clock passed the Wed Hataab as before, near the tents of the Welled Hassan. At night encamped on the west side of the plain among the Welled Hassan, called Ghazelma,[158] part of Majerg.[159] This was about three miles south-west of a steep precipice of reddish stone, called Keff, away about twenty-two miles from our last lodging.
November 17.—At the ordinary time, between eight and nine, decamped and continued our course till ten. Passed Keff, away along the plains filled with tents of the Dreedy and their camels, after which turned due west, continued our course along a plain, in the middle of which was a rivulet, so had this day good water. At night came to an encampment of Welled Seel, under the mountain Jibbel Henneish, west of the Marabout Sidi Abdel Azeez twenty-six miles, and due south of Gella Adjmaar.[160]
This was November 18. The mountains were covered with cedars[161] and fir[162] very thick, the resort of lions. The plains below partly waste, partly cultivated by the Ghazelma.
The 19th, arrived at Hydera. Began immediately designing the triumphal arch, which was finished the day after—the 20th.
Hydera belongs to the Algerines,[163] though it is inhabited by the Welled Boogannim, Moors of Tunis, whose saint is here buried. By the instructions of their founder they are obliged to live off lions’ flesh, as far as they can procure it, and in consideration of the utility of their vow they are not taxed, like the other Arabs, with payments to the State. The consequence of this life is that they are excellent and well-armed horsemen, exceedingly bold and undaunted hunters. It is generally imagined that these considerations, and that of their situation on the frontier, have as much influence in procuring them exemption from taxes as the utility of their vow.
Before Dr. Shaw’s travels first acquired the celebrity that they have maintained ever since, there was a circumstance that very near ruined their credit. He had ventured to say, in conversation, that these Welled Sidi Boogannim were eaters of lions, and this was considered at Oxford, the university where he had studied, as a traveller’s licence on the part of the doctor. They thought it a subversion of the natural order of things that a man should eat a lion, when it had long passed as almost the peculiar province of the lion to eat the man. The doctor flinched under the sagacity and severity of this criticism. He could not deny that the Welled Sidi Boogannim did eat lions, as he had repeatedly said; but he had not yet published his travels, and therefore left it out of his narrative, and only hinted at it in his appendix.
With all submission to that learned university, I will not dispute the lion’s title to eating men, but since it is not founded upon patent, no consideration will make me stifle the merits of the Welled Sidi Boogannim, who have turned the chase upon the enemy. It is an historical fact, and I will not suffer the public to be misled by a misrepresentation of it. On the contrary, I do aver, in the face of these fantastic prejudices, that I have eaten the flesh of lions—that is, part of three lions—in the tents of the Welled Sidi Boogannim. The first was a he-lion, tough, and smelling violently of musk, and had the taste which I imagine old horseflesh would have. The second was a lioness, which they said had been barren that year; she had a considerable quantity of fat within her, and had it not been for the musky smell which the flesh had, though in a lesser degree than in the former, and for our foolish prejudices against it, the meat, when broiled, would not have been very bad. The third was a lion whelp, six or seven months old; it tasted, on the whole, the worst of the three.
I confess I have no desire of being again served with such a morsel, but the Arabs, a brutish and ignorant folk, will, I fear, notwithstanding the disbelief of the University of Oxford continue to eat lions as long as they exist.
Hydera is about two miles in length, and a quarter in breadth, along a riverside well watered with springs, likewise a fine natural cascade, below the castle, which is a modern building.
There is at Thunodronum[164] a triumphal arch, which Dr. Shaw thinks is more remarkable for its size than for its taste or execution; but the size is not extraordinary. On the other hand, both taste and execution are admirable. It is, with all its parts, in the King’s Collection, and, taking the whole together, is one of the most beautiful landscapes in black and white now existing. The distance, as well as the foreground, are both from nature, and exceedingly well calculated for such representation.
There are no other antiquities, except four sepulchres, one of which is in front sustained by four Corinthian pillars, but is in very bad taste and form. The other is a simple pentagon without ornament. They are both small, and of no consequence. The mountains to the south of Hydera are all covered with wood, chiefly pines and cedars, stored with game. It is about twenty-four miles from the encampment of Bel Hanneish, and three miles from this last place are the remains of an ancient city called Sicca, which retains its name to the present time. From Hydera we continued our route to Tebessa. The 21st November, arrived there at four. Twenty-two miles, through deep valleys, between high mountains covered with firs, which now grow first to the height of timber trees. Saw ostriches this day for the first time,[165] and a species of red deer,[166] called Edmee.
There are two sheets of drawings of Hydra in the Kinnaird Collection; the first, a single one, containing a beautifully executed perspective view in Indian ink (Plate XVI.), and the second, a double sheet, containing a rough plan of the same building, and exquisite pencil drawings of details of architrave of order, enrichments of soffits, capitals, &c.
On the latter sheet is given the inscription:—
This fixes the date of the building, A.D. 195.
This monument is ornamented with two monolithic, disengaged Corinthian columns on each side of the arch, behind which are square pilasters. They stand on a common pedestal, one-third the height of the columns, and are surmounted by a very high entablature, the frieze of which carries the inscription. It is of unusual height, being three times that of the architrave, and making the entablature half the height of the columns. There is a blocking course above the cornice, but no attic proper. The arch is without archivolt. The impost encircles the building, except that it stops short at the pilasters.
The following are the dimensions given in the plan:—
| Ft. | in. | lines. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width of opening of arch | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Angle of jamb to pilaster | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Width of pilaster | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Between pilasters | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Depth of arch | 9 | 11 | 1 |
Plate XVI.
J. LEITCH &. Co. Sc.
TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT AMMAEDARA (HYDRA)
FAC-SIMILE OF INDIAN INK DRAWING BY BRUCE.
HENRY S. KING Co. LONDON.
FOOTNOTES:
[158]Zeghalma.
[159]Medjers.
[160]Doubtless Geläat es-Senan is here meant, the ancient citadel of the Harrars.
[161]If cedars ever existed in the Regency of Tunis, they certainly do not at the present day.
[162]Aleppo pine.
[163]It now belongs to Tunis.
[164]Both Shaw and Bruce identified Hydra with the ancient Thunodronum; but Sir Grenville Temple is certainly correct. He recognised it as the Ammædara of Ptolemy, the Admedera of the Itinerary, and the Ad Medera of the Tables of Peutinger, twenty-five miles north-east of Tebessa. The word Ammædara has since been found in inscriptions on the spot.
[165]Ostriches are now no longer found, save in the Sahara.
[166]Cervus Barbarus, still existing in the mountains of the Beni Salah in Algeria, where they are called Bukr el-Wahash, wild cows.
LEAVE SBEITLA — SBIBA — ER-RAHEIA — HAMADA OULAD AYAR — ARRIVAL AT MUKTHER.
We left Sbeitla early on April 16; the morning was fresh and delightful, and notwithstanding the rain of the previous night, there was nothing like mud on the road, even the watercourses were not running. About half a mile north of the town is a group of ruins, which Guérin imagines to have been a temple,[167] from the number of columns of red marble still standing and lying about. To me it has more the appearance of a Byzantine fortress; it is built on an eminence commanding the plain to the north, which Sbeitla itself, situated in a depression, could not do, and it is evident that older materials have been used in its construction. A little further off, and on the opposite or left bank of the river, are the ruins of a temple. Thence to Sbiba is a distance of nineteen miles; the road lies over a plain bounded by mountains, similar to what we had traversed since leaving Trozza, but quite destitute of trees. It is exactly the same route as was taken by Desfontaines in 1784,[168] who states that for several hours he marched through a forest of pines and the Phœnician juniper before descending into the verdant plain in which Sbiba is situated. There he observed the Turks burning a superb olive-tree of great age close to the ruins, and the process has, no doubt, been carried on vigorously ever since, as the forests which he alludes to have quite disappeared.
Sbiba has been identified with the ancient Sufes, Sufibus, or Colonia Sufetanæ, mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus as xxv miles north of Sufetula, and the same distance south of Tucca Terebinthina, the modern Dougga. M. Guérin discovered an inscription here, placing this beyond all doubt. It commenced with the words SPLENDIDISSIMVS . ET . FELICISSIMVS . ORDO . COL. SVFETANAE . and showed further on that Hercules was the tutelar deity of the city.[169]
St. Augustine, in his Epistle 50, addressed to the elders and chiefs of this place, makes allusion to the martyrdom of sixty of its inhabitants for having destroyed the statue or symbol of this god, ‘quod Christiani signum Herculis confregissent.’
A council was held here in A.D. 524, when the Bishop Quodvultdeus was displaced in favour of Fulgentius. Other Bishops are mentioned as having taken part in the councils of Carthage and in the religious dissensions of the time.[170]
It was probably a lingering memory of this martyrdom which gave rise to the tradition mentioned by El-Bekri (A.D. 1068): ‘The body of a man is to be seen in a fissure of a rock. It is known to have been there since before the conquest of Ifrikia. All the parts of the body, great and small, have resisted the effects of decomposition and the attacks of wild animals. It is said that this is the body of one of the disciples of Jesus. God knows what there is of truth in all this.’[171]
Although it appears to have been a city of some importance, it was far from attaining the magnificence of its ‘little’ neighbour Suffetula. The existing ruins are in a state of great dilapidation, but one can still trace a handsome monumental fountain, baths, Christian churches, and several buildings constructed with older Roman materials.
After passing Sbiba, a bright and limpid stream, the Oued el-Hatab, or river of wood, is crossed. This is mentioned by Bruce, as is also an affluent of it, ‘the small river Gouseba.’ The country was then occupied by the Oulad Hassan and by wandering parties of the great tribe of Drid. We encamped for the night at Er-Raheia, a douar of the Oulad Mehenna, near the marabout of Sidi Ali el-Maregheni, a neat-looking koubba, situated in a pleasant little garden, evidently tended with the greatest care. All along our route to-day we noticed Roman remains more or less important at almost every mile.
As usual, the Kaid of the Oulad Mehenna was from home, but his brother acted for him in his absence; he it was who had refused to send us any supplies to Sbeitla. As our caravan appeared in sight he and his secretary came out on horseback to reconnoitre us. Instead of approaching, he kept at a considerable distance, and allowed us to pass without any sign of recognition or welcome. Our spahis were furiously indignant, and asked each other whose dog he was to offer such an indignity to guests and soldiers of our Lord the Bey; was he going to treat us at his own douar as he had done at Sbeitla? At last he approached us, looking exceedingly sulky, and still without making any salutation. One of the spahis, usually a very quiet and civil fellow, could stand it no longer; he jumped off his horse, ran to the Kaid’s brother, and, after some violent altercation, the two came to blows, and blood would certainly have flowed had I not rushed between the disputants and separated them. The chief was livid with passion at the indignity which had been put upon him before all his people, and I had much difficulty in smoothing matters over by severely censuring the spahi for having dared to strike a person of such importance, and by observing to the aggrieved party, that this certainly would not have happened, if he had shown us the commonest civility, due to any stranger whether travelling with the Bey’s amra or not. He subsequently became more than civil to us, and wished to give us a dhiffa, but I steadfastly refused to receive anything at his hands, save barley for the horses and food for the escort, without which we could not have continued our journey. We prepared our own dinner somewhat ostentatiously, which served as a lesson to him, and was certainly more agreeable to us than any food we should have received from his tents. I tried all I could to induce him to accept payment for the grain which he had supplied to us, but he was deaf to our requests, and even prevented us from giving a present to his retainers.
We started from our camping-ground, at Er-Raheia, about seven A.M. on April 17. Our friend was ready to bid us God-speed, and he over and over again begged us to dismiss anything like ill-feeling from our minds on account of what had taken place last night; he even implored me to overlook the behaviour of the spahi, whom I had contemplated sending back to Tunis, with a letter to the English Consul-General explaining my reason for dismissing him. I saw what an effort this cost him, so I could not but meet his advances more than half-way, and he accompanied us a short distance on our road and left us with renewed expressions of regret at what had taken place. For the first few miles our way led through irrigated fields, and meadow-land traversed by numerous streams of water; our baggage mules had the greatest difficulty in struggling through, and more than once their loads slipped. It was a long time before we got clear of these difficulties, but they were as nothing in comparison to the delight of abandoning for ever the interminable and scorching plains in which we had been travelling so long, and entering fairly into the fertile, well-watered region of the Tell.
The road ascended the north-west end of Djebel Skarna, at a place called Kef er-Rai, the shepherd’s rock, and passed between the Zaouiahs of Sidi Moëlla on the left, and that of Sidi Abou Dabous on the right, while some distance off to the west, on the opposite side of the plain, was a third, that of Sidi Ahmed ez-Zair. These koubbas or marabouts are not only picturesque objects in the landscape, but very useful to the traveller. They mark localities in a convenient manner, in a country where the inhabitants are never long stationary in one place, and to Mohammedans, at least, they afford a grateful shelter when overtaken by night or by bad weather.
At first the hill-sides were bare and arid, soon little patches of cornland began to appear, and when at length we found ourselves on the top and well into the Hamada of the Oulad Ayar, we were delighted to see an amount of cultivation and a richness of soil which we had not met with since our arrival in the country.
When Sir Grenville Temple passed through this district in 1832[172] the people had just killed three lions, whose skins they were sending to Tunis. These animals have now almost entirely disappeared from the Regency. It is said that one is occasionally to be heard of in the neighbourhood of Kef, but even that is doubtful; they are certainly extinct everywhere else.
He also met two Mamelukes who had been sent to collect the duties on tar and pitch, which were made in great quantities in the neighbourhood. The Aleppo pine has not disappeared as completely as the lions; and we did see some branches of it at the Kaid’s encampment, but we never met a tree growing in this part of the country, and it is probable that in a very short time this also will disappear.
On the top of this range is a large fertile plateau, about a thousand feet above the level of the plain below, where we found the tents of the brother of the Kaid of Oulad Ayar. He insisted on our resting in his camp, and gave us a delicious repast of excellent bread, dates and fresh milk. From this place to Mukther, wherever the soil was not tilled, it was covered with a carpet of grass, clover and trefoil, as rich as an English meadow, well watered by streams and springs, a perfect paradise after the dreary region of the Sahel from which we had just emerged. The climate too had changed entirely, partly owing to a general change of weather and partly to the height at which we were. The sky became slightly overcast, a fresh, cool breeze succeeded to the sirocco which dries up every mucous membrane in the body and makes life almost a burden; and our tempers improved and our spirits rose as the glass fell. This is the highest point in the country round about. The streams from its north-west slopes flow towards the Medjerda, while those on the south-east find their way in the direction of the Chotts, or are lost in the great plain of the Sahel.
About 2½ miles from Mukther we passed a mausoleum which the natives call Beit el-Hadjar, the stone house. This was also observed by Bruce, who says: