CARTENNAE
Location:
Nowadays
Ténès is situated c.50 km west of Gouraya (Gunugu), the perfect distance for a
day sailing by the Phoenicians. It is a small flat coast, where we find the old
settlement (Al-Atika) next to a cape with the same name Ténès and the
lighthouse of Sufism. Here we find Phoenician steles and pottery. There are
also Phoenician graves on the west-coast next to the town with rings on the
quayside on the rocks of Sidi Adasmas (Traghnia) for the landing of ships. On
the cape the Phoenician/Punic necropolis has been found, but a large part of it
is already fallen into the sea.
Name:
There are
several explanations.
1.
Carthenna is made of two words. Carth = town. Thenna = the name of the river in
this region.
2.
Carthennas is of Punic origin and consists of Qart = town and Tennes (Greek
name). We are aware of a Sidonian king Tennes, but in reality he was known as
Tabnit. His name means ‘model’ or ‘picture’ in Hebrew. Tabnit was translated by
the Greeks to Thamn(e)i or Thammai(on) and finally Tennes. T b n y is also a king
of Israel Sidon Sidon
fled in that period all the way to Cartennae and called it the town of Tennes
3.There
could be a similarity in the name with Krṭn, Sbrtn, ṭp‘tn and if so, then the
name is of Libyco-Berber origin.
Which one
of this explanation is true, is impossible to say.
Legend:
There is an
old legend of 3000 years ago, that says: “In the time of Moses, the people of
Ténès were renowned magicians. The pharaoh of Egypt
invited some of the best to come over and confront a thaumaturgic (making
wonders) Israelite, who slew all the magicians on the banks of the Nile ” (Shaw).
Tradition:
Pomponius
Mela (c.44/43 AD) reports in: De Chorographia I 31: “Diesseits davon – denn Io;
liegt fast in der Mitte der Küste – sind die Städte Kartinna (Ténès] and
Arsinna sowie das Kastell Quiza, der Laterus-Golf (Arzew) und der Sarbale
Fluss..... (Kai Brodersen in: Kreuzfahrt durch die Alte Welt). Pomponius Mela calls the town Kartinna,
another variation on Qart-tennes.
Roman
colonization:
From c.150
BC Cartennae was already dominated by the Romans, although in name it was a
part of the Numidian/Mauretanian kingdoms. Effective colonization begins
between 43-25 BC together with Igilgili, Saldae, Rusazus, Rusguniae and Gunugu
on the coast. In the interior: Tubusuctu, Aquae Calidae and Zucchabar. A Roman
road is made from Cartennae to Castellum Tingitanum in the Zalacus mons.
Augustus brought there a colony of veterans of the legion II Augusta. The
feminine name of the place is Cartenna on the Wadi Allal and that was a
Berber-town. The masculine name was Cartennas and that was former Phoenician
port of call. Gaius Fulcinus Optatus defended successfully the town against
attacks of the Baquates. The Greeks called this tribe: Bakoutai. Plinius
mentions the tribe also.
Rogatus is
a Donatist bishop. Vincentius is his Catholic successor. Bishop Rusticus is
mentioned in 411 AD. St.Augustinus writes a letter, where the town also
mentioned. After that the Vandals came and in that period a Roman woman buried
all her jewelry in a hole in the ground and that was found intact in our days.
Conclusion:
Qart-tennes
was a small port of call in Phoenician/Punic times. It was a part of the
Mauretan/Numidian kingdoms and in Roman times it became a Roman colony. It was
however never an important town, although her size reached the circumference of
700 x 400m. Almost all the Roman buildings are now gone.
Literature:
Salomon Reinach,
Antiquités découvertes aux environs de Ténès – rapport sur une communication de
M.Brunet, p.81. BCTH 1893.
Jacques Heurgon,
Médaillon du trésor de Ténès, p.45-46. BCTH 1958.
F.Decret –
M.Fantar, L’Afrique du Nord dans l’antiquité, Paris 1981.
G.Vuillemot,
Réconnaissances aux échelles puniques d’Oranie, Autun, Musée Rolin, 1965.
Nicolas Carayon
does not include the place in his catalog: “Les ports Phéniciens et Puniques,
Geomorphologie et infrastructures, Strassbourg, 2008.ӈ but this time he seems to be wrong!
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