Graham, Alexander: Roman Africa: an outline of the history of the Roman occupation of North Africa ; based chiefly upon inscriptions and monumental remains in that country (London [u.a.], 1902)

Africa under Septimius Severus

203

alleged to have been seven stories in height.1 It was placed as
a conspicuous object near the road by which travellers from
Africa approached the city, and was intended by the Emperor
to impress his countrymen with the magnificence of their ruler.
The monumental remains in the African provinces, which may
be assigned to his reign, are not remarkable for grandeur of
conception, with the exception of a triumphal arch at Zanfour,
the ancient Assuras. When Bruce visited this spot in 1765 the
monument was in fair condition, but since that time the Corin-
thian columns which adorned the archway have been overthrown,
and the structure generally has a ruinous aspect. It had only
one arch, the width being 17 feet 5 inches. The height of the
edifice, which was surmounted by an attic bearing an inscription,
may be estimated at 41 feet. According to Guerin the dedica-
tory inscription reads thus :2

DIVO OPTIMO . . . SEVERO PIO AVG ■ ARAB . . IAB ■ PART ■ MAX •
ET IMP • CAES • M • AVRELIO AN TO NINO PIO ■ AVG ■ FELICI

PART ■ MAX _

BRIT • MAX • GERM • MAX ■ PONT ■ MAX • FIL • TRIB ■ XVIII
IMP m

COS • IIII P • P • PROCOS • OPTIMO MAXIMOQVE PRINCIPI ET
IVLIAE DOMNAE PIAE FELICI AVG ■ MATRI AVG ■ ET

CASTRORVM

ET SENATVS ET PATRIAE VXORI DIVI SEVERI AVG ■ PI I
COL • IVL

ASSVRAS DEVOTA NVMINI EORVM D-D P • P

The records of Assuras, Colonia Julia Assuras, are very scanty.
It is mentioned by Pliny as Oppidum Azuritanum, and is noted
in the Itinerary of Antoninus as well as by Ptolemy. For many
generations it was a stronghold of Christianity, and was the
seat of a bishopric mentioned by St. Cyprian, who addressed
one of his epistles to the episcopum et plebem Assuritanorum.
The situation of x^ssuras had much to commend it as a residential
town, favoured by charming scenery, surrounded by country of
great fertility, and with a river of pure water that never failed.

1 A view of the remains of the Septizonium, as they appeared in the sixteenth
century, is reproduced by Signor Lanciani, Ancient Rome, p. 126, from a drawing
in the Uffizi Palace, Florence.

2 Playfair, Travels in the Footsteps of Bruce, p. 208. A drawing is given of this
arch as it appeared in Bruce's time. The inscription has been noted by Bruce;
Temple, ii. p. 266 ; and Guerin, ii. p. go.