Zama Regia
Zama Maior
Numidian to Late Antique (4th c BCE-7th c CE; peak 2nd c BCE-3rd c CE)·Numidian / Roman·🇹🇳 Siliana Governorate, Tunisia
About
About Zama Regia
Zama Regia — royal residence of Numidian kings (hence Regia) 10 km west of Siliana at Jama — gave name to the 202 BCE Battle of Zama where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal ending Second Punic War, though battlefield itself lay weeks march away near Sakiet Sidi Youssef. City was Juba I capital until Caesars legate Titus Sextius took it 46 BCE, later Hadrianic colony. Monumental gate with dedicatory inscription to Hadrian, large forum with Capitolium podium, baths and cisterns; olives and grain wealth. Sallust recounts Metellus failed siege 109 BCE during Jugurthine War.
Why it mattersNamesake of decisive battle of antiquity; rare Regia titled in inscriptions.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Exact battlefield 25 km NW vs city namesake confusion
Theories
- 01Zama Minor vs Maior doublet denotes sectors
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Numidian royal town 4th c BCE; royal seat to 46 BCE; Hadrianic colony
- Period
- Numidian to Late Antique (4th c BCE-7th c CE; peak 2nd c BCE-3rd c CE)
- Culture
- Numidian / Roman
- Builders
- Numidian kings / Roman colonists
- Purpose
- Royal residence and grain-olive capital of Massylian Numidia
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Numidian royal town 4th c BCE; royal seat to 46 BCE; Hadrianic colony
Initial construction
c. 1414 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
36.1120° N · 9.2856° E · 260 m · 2 mapped features
Forum of Zama Regia
forumForum
36.1130° N · 9.2866° ETemple of Zama Regia
templeTemple
36.1110° N · 9.2846° E