The Roman city of Tamugadi (formerly called Timgad) is located on a high plateau north of Ores in north-eastern Algeria. It is one of the best preserved and most thoroughly excavated and studied ancient cities in North Africa. Founded as a colony of Marcian Ulpianus Trajanus Tamugadi around 100 AD, the site was semi-military, representing strategic importance for the defence of Numidia. Located at the intersection of six roads, Timgadi was one of the outposts of the Roman Empire in Africa and had the status of a Roman city.
The population of Tamugadi was around 10,000-15,000 and was mainly composed of former Roman soldiers who had obtained land after years of service. It had a 3,500-seat theatre, 4 baths-therms, a public library, and a forum. The building was a typical Roman square street layout. The prosperity of the city was ensured by the rich fertile soil of the area, which contributed to the rapid growth of the population and increased it to 50 thousand, in connection with which, the buildings went beyond the city limits and represented chaotic neighbourhoods.
Climate change, drying up of rivers became one of the reasons for the decline of the city. At the end of the 4th century it became the seat of Bishop Optatus, an ardent supporter of the heretical Christian movement known as Donatism. Timgad came under Byzantine rule in 535, but was destroyed by the Berbers in the early 7th century.
The desert sands and remoteness from busy roads and towns have preserved Timgad's architecture well. The triumphal arch dedicated to Trajan, the thermae with furnace cellars and aqueducts, the main street of Decumanos paved with stone slabs, the remains of the walls of the houses, the columns of the temple of the three gods, the basilica near the forum and the library all give a complete picture of how the city looked in its heyday. Of particular interest is the market with its preserved stalls, richly decorated with carvings and mouldings. The Timgada Amphitheatre has suffered the least damage and is still in use today.
The architectural ensemble was inscribed on UNESCO's list of protected sites in 1982.
