Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania
Encyclopedia
The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is a funerary monument on the road between Cherchell
and Algiers
, in Algeria
. The Mausoleum
is the tomb where the Roman
clients Juba II
and Cleopatra Selene II, king and queen of Mauretania
, are buried.
the mausoleum is known as Tombeau de la Chretienne, "the tomb of the Christian woman", because there is a cross-like shape of the division lines on the false door. In Arabic, the mausoleum is called the Kubr-er-Rumia or Kbor er Roumia, which means the tomb of the Roman woman. When the Arabs first conquered North Africa they used to call people, places or anything that was not from non-Muslim
origins Rûm
, "Roman", after the Eastern Roman Empire.
, and later King of Mauretania
, Juba II
, and his wife Cleopatra Selene II. Cleopatra Selene II was an Egyptian
Greek
Ptolemaic
princess, the daughter of the Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony
. Through her marriage to Juba II, she became the last Queen of Numidia and later Queen of Mauretania.
The mausoleum is probably the Royal Tomb that the 1st-century Roman geographer Pomponius Mela
(1.31) described as the monumentum commune regiae gentis ("the communal mausoleum of the royal family"). If the geographer’s description of the mausoleum is correct, then the building was not intended just for Juba and Cleopatra, but envisaged as a dynastic funeral monument for their royal descendants.
The Mauretanian Mausoleum looks similar to the Mausoleum
built by the first Roman Emperor
, Augustus
, in Rome
. Augustus began constructing his mausoleum between 29 BC-27 BC, some time before Juba II left Rome
to return to Numidia. The similarity of the Mauretanian monument with Augustus' own tomb was deliberate, and sent a clear political message of loyalty and allegiance by the Mauretanian client kingdom to Rome.
from Anatolia
and Egypt
. It is built on a hill some 250 metres or 756 feet above sea level. The monument is entirely built from stone, while its main structure is in a circular form with a square base topped by a cone or a pyramid
. The square base measures 60 to 60.9 metres square or 200 to 209 foot. The height of the monument was originally about 40 metres or 130’ in height. Due to damage that the mausoleum has suffered from natural elements and vandalism, the monument now measures 30-32.4 metres in height. The base of the monument was decorated with 60 Ionic columns
whose capitals were removed, possibly stolen. Inside the centre of the mausoleum has two vaulted chambers, separated by a short passage connected by a gallery outside by stone doors which can be moved up and down by levers. The passage leading to the chambers are about 500’. One chamber measures 142 feet long by 11 feet broad and is 11 left high, while the other is smaller.
for target practice.
to Tipaza. On this archeological site, there are various monuments and infrastructure that has survived from the Phoenician (see also Carthage National Museum
), Roman, Early Christianity
and Byzantine
periods. This group of ruins that are located along the Mediterranean Sea
were recognized and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site
in 1982.
Although these archeological remains including the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania are protected, the ruins located between Cherchell and Tipaza face constant threats from constant urban construction and expansion; open sewage drainage run offs; poor maintenance and constant vandalism. Due to these ongoing problems, these archaeological remains face an uncertain future.
The local authorities have failed and had problems implementing a 1992 ‘Permanent Safeguarding and Presentation Plan’ an effective management program in preserving these ruins. In 2001, the World Heritage Site provided emergency assistance for this archaeological site. In 2002, experts from UNESCO went to visit the site and to the condition of the ruins, the archeological site has been placed on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Cherchell
Cherchell is a seaport town in the Province of Tipaza, Algeria, 55 miles west of Algiers. It is the district seat of Cherchell District. As of 1998, it had a population of 24,400.-Ancient history:...
and Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
is the tomb where the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
clients Juba II
Juba II
Juba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.-Early life:Juba II was a prince of Berber descent from North Africa...
and Cleopatra Selene II, king and queen of Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
, are buried.
History
This monument is sometimes known as the Mausoleum of Juba and Cleopatra Selene. In the French languageFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
the mausoleum is known as Tombeau de la Chretienne, "the tomb of the Christian woman", because there is a cross-like shape of the division lines on the false door. In Arabic, the mausoleum is called the Kubr-er-Rumia or Kbor er Roumia, which means the tomb of the Roman woman. When the Arabs first conquered North Africa they used to call people, places or anything that was not from non-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
origins Rûm
Rûm
Rûm, also Roum or Rhum , an indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and referring to Greeks living outside of Greece or non-muslims...
, "Roman", after the Eastern Roman Empire.
Royal Family of Mauretania
The monument was built in 3 BC by the last King of NumidiaNumidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
, and later King of Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
, Juba II
Juba II
Juba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.-Early life:Juba II was a prince of Berber descent from North Africa...
, and his wife Cleopatra Selene II. Cleopatra Selene II was an Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
princess, the daughter of the Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
. Through her marriage to Juba II, she became the last Queen of Numidia and later Queen of Mauretania.
The mausoleum is probably the Royal Tomb that the 1st-century Roman geographer Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
(1.31) described as the monumentum commune regiae gentis ("the communal mausoleum of the royal family"). If the geographer’s description of the mausoleum is correct, then the building was not intended just for Juba and Cleopatra, but envisaged as a dynastic funeral monument for their royal descendants.
The Mauretanian Mausoleum looks similar to the Mausoleum
Mausoleum of Augustus
The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Mausoleum, now located on the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is no longer open to tourists, and the ravages of time and carelessness have stripped the ruins bare...
built by the first Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
, Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Augustus began constructing his mausoleum between 29 BC-27 BC, some time before Juba II left Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to return to Numidia. The similarity of the Mauretanian monument with Augustus' own tomb was deliberate, and sent a clear political message of loyalty and allegiance by the Mauretanian client kingdom to Rome.
Construction
The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is a common type of ancient mausoleums found in Numidia. The architectural type of the monument originates from the various Ancient Greek mausoleumsArchitecture of Ancient Greece
The architecture of Ancient Greece is the architecture produced by the Greek-speaking people whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland and Peloponnesus, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Asia Minor and Italy for a period from about 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with the earliest...
from Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is built on a hill some 250 metres or 756 feet above sea level. The monument is entirely built from stone, while its main structure is in a circular form with a square base topped by a cone or a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
. The square base measures 60 to 60.9 metres square or 200 to 209 foot. The height of the monument was originally about 40 metres or 130’ in height. Due to damage that the mausoleum has suffered from natural elements and vandalism, the monument now measures 30-32.4 metres in height. The base of the monument was decorated with 60 Ionic columns
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
whose capitals were removed, possibly stolen. Inside the centre of the mausoleum has two vaulted chambers, separated by a short passage connected by a gallery outside by stone doors which can be moved up and down by levers. The passage leading to the chambers are about 500’. One chamber measures 142 feet long by 11 feet broad and is 11 left high, while the other is smaller.
Under the Arabs and French
In 1555 the Pasha of Algiers, Salah Rais, gave orders to pull down the mausoleum. After large black wasps swarmed out and stung some of the workers to death however, the effort was abandoned. At the end of the 18th century, Baba Mahommed tried in vain to destroy the monument with artillery. Later, when the French occupied Algeria the monument was used by the French NavyFrench Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
for target practice.
Recognition and conservation of the Mausoleum
The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is a part of a unique archeological site along the road from CherchellCherchell
Cherchell is a seaport town in the Province of Tipaza, Algeria, 55 miles west of Algiers. It is the district seat of Cherchell District. As of 1998, it had a population of 24,400.-Ancient history:...
to Tipaza. On this archeological site, there are various monuments and infrastructure that has survived from the Phoenician (see also Carthage National Museum
Carthage National Museum
Carthage National Museum, along with the Bardo National Museum one of the two main archaeological museums in Tunisia, is a national museum displaying archaeological items; it is sited at the hill of Byrsa in the heart of the city of Carthage...
), Roman, Early Christianity
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
and Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
periods. This group of ruins that are located along the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
were recognized and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1982.
Although these archeological remains including the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania are protected, the ruins located between Cherchell and Tipaza face constant threats from constant urban construction and expansion; open sewage drainage run offs; poor maintenance and constant vandalism. Due to these ongoing problems, these archaeological remains face an uncertain future.
The local authorities have failed and had problems implementing a 1992 ‘Permanent Safeguarding and Presentation Plan’ an effective management program in preserving these ruins. In 2001, the World Heritage Site provided emergency assistance for this archaeological site. In 2002, experts from UNESCO went to visit the site and to the condition of the ruins, the archeological site has been placed on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Sources
- Duane R. Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier. New York and London: Routledge, 2003
- http://www.lunalucifera.com/Mauretania/index.html
- http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18906
- http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_news_35_en.pdf
- http://www.algeria.com/blog/algeria-archeological-finds-reveal-a-varied-past
- Italian Article from Italian version of Wikipedia about the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania
External Links
- A photo of the damaged side of the Mausoleum
- Various photos of the Mausoleum
- General view of the Mausoleum
- Annular Corridor of the Mausoleum
- One funeral chamber of the Mausoleum
- The other funeral chamber of the Mausoleum
- Explore Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania with Google Earth on Global Heritage NetworkGlobal Heritage NetworkGlobal Heritage Network , established by Global Heritage Fund , is an early warning and threats monitoring system for cultural heritage sites in developing countries...
- Duane R. Roller, The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier. New York and London: Routledge, 2003
- Page at UNESCO website
