Iulia Valentia Banasa was a Roman-Berber city in northern Morocco. It was one of the three colonias in Mauretania Tingitana[1] founded by emperor Augustus between 33 and 25 BC for veterans of the battle of Actium, on top of a Mauretanian village. The site was in fact already occupied by the local Amazigh people from the 4th century BC, or perhaps earlier.[2]
 Roman ruins of Banasa: great occidental thermae | |
  Shown within Morocco | |
| Location | Sidi Ali Boujenoun, Kénitra Province, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°36′06″N 06°06′56″W / 34.60167°N 6.11556°W |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Augustus |
| Founded | Between 33 and 25 BC |
| Abandoned | Approximately 285 AD |
Characteristics
editBeautiful mosaics decorated the buildings and now most are shown at the Rabat archeological museum[3]
Some of the other major Roman companion cities to Iulia Valentia Banasa of this early era are Chellah and Volubilis, the latter of which shares the features of basilica and regular street pattern.[4]
Objects recovered at Banasa may be seen at the Rabat Archaeological Museum.
Gallery
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Stone written in Latin -
Section of Roman column -
View of Banasa ruins -
View of the Roman Forum and Basilica
See also
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References
edit- ^ Dictionnaire de l'Antiquité. 2005
- ^ "BANASA (Sidi Ali bou Djenoun) Morocco". Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ "Banasa". Archived from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ Hogan, C. Michael (2007). "Chellah". The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham.
- ^ William Seston. Tabula Banasitana ( Banasa )
Bibliography
edit- William Seston & Maurice Euzennat, « La citoyenneté romaine au temps de Marc Aurèle et de Commode, d'après la Tabula Banasitana », CRAI, 105-2, 1961, p. 317-324
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banasa (Morocco).
- Diplomatie France
- Catalogue des Mosaïques de Banasa
- Tabula Banasitana
- Manar al-Athar digital photo archive (photos of different areas and angles of the site)