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Gemellae was a Roman fort and associated camp on the fringe of the Sahara Desert in what is today part of Algeria. It is now an archaeological site, 25 km south and 19 km west of Biskra, and 5 km southwest of the present-day village of M'Lili with which it probably shares an original Berber name. It was connected by military roman road to Castellum Dimmidi and Capsa. ==History== Apparently there was a fortification at Gemellae prior to the coming of the Romans. Pliny the Elder recounts that when Lucius Cornelius Balbus celebrated his victory over the Garamantes of the Sahara in 19 BC, one of the conquests feted in the parade through Rome was that of Milgis Gemmella, described as an ''oppidum'' (usually meaning fortified settlement).〔Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia Bk. 5, 37.〕 The Romans seem to have then occupied the site and made it one of the southernmost outposts, marking the ''limes'' or boundary of the Roman Empire. The earliest epigraph retrieved from the site is an inscription for a statue〔Only the bases of the statues mentioned here were found, not the statues themselves (Baradez 1949).〕 of Emperor Hadrian, in about the year 126 AD, by a ''cohors equitata'' (equestrian regiment) originating from Chalcis in Syria. The presence of this army unit in Africa is attested by inscriptions elsewhere dating from as early as 78 AD and as late as 164 AD. A second very large dedication to Hadrian, which faced the central courtyard, dates from 132 AD. The name of the Legion to which the regiment belonged was hammered off, presumably because of the withdrawal of their legion for disciplinary reasons,〔Legio III Augusta, based at Lambaesis, was disbanded by Gordian III as punishment for their part in the deaths of the first two Gordians.〕 then re-inscribed, presumably following the return of the regiment in 253 AD.〔Baradez (1949) p. 14.〕 Also present in the ''sacellum''〔A chapel where the ''vexillae'' or standards and ensigns of the legion were stored.〕 were statues〔See note 2 above.〕 of Antoninus Pius, Pertinax and Gordian, the latter two with inscriptions indicating the presence of the Ala I Pannoniorum (a cavalry unit raised by the Emperor Gordian). Altars to the ''Dii Campestres'' (army gods) were dedicated by Marcus Celerius Augendus, prefect of the Pannonians, and by Titus Aurelius Aurelianus, prefect of another cavalry unit from Thrace. It is likely that the Pannonians were substitutes for the Legio III Augusta regiment until its reinstatement in 253 AD.〔Baradez (1949) p. 18.〕 The hypothesis is that the inscription of 126 AD, for a small-sized statue, represents the establishment of a 'provisional' camp, and that the inscription of 132 marks the completion of the greater fort.〔Baradez (1949) p. 14.〕 The establishment of the fort and surrounding settlement is probably linked to the construction of the Fossatum Africae. Gemellae is the largest of several forts in the area which follow the line of the Fossatum.〔(Detailed map of Gemellae and the Fossatum Africae )〕 In the 5th century there is still mention of a sector of the ''limes'' called '' Gemellensis'' just prior to the Vandal invasion.〔''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Roman administrative list).〕 Other than that, the history of Gemellae after 253 AD remains uncertain. No Christian artefacts have been recovered, so there is no current archaeological evidence for a Byzantine presence. However, Justinian is known to have ordered Belisarius in 534 AD to restore the fortifications of the ''limes'' as they were before the Vandal invasion. The 6th-century historian Procopius mentions a ''Meleon'' as one of those forts rebuilt as a result,〔Procopius, ''On Buildings'' (original in Greek, sometimes cited as the Latin translation ''De Aedificiis'') Bk. 6, 7, 11.〕 which may have been Gemellae.〔P. Trousset (2002) p. 149. Earlier workers suggested Milev (now Mila) but Trousset and others point out that Gemellae fits better with Procopius' text.〕 The 9th-century Arab historian Khalifa ibn Khayyat relates that when Abu al-Muhajir Dinar was emir of Ifriqiya (c. 675-682) he conquered ''Mila'' which may have been Gemellae.〔This is not certain, an alternative is again Milev or Mila but Gemellae arguably fits better with the known extent of Arab incursions at that time. Benabbès (2005) p. 467-8 discusses.〕 Gemellae has now been reclaimed by the desert, and excavators have complained about the continually blowing sand.〔e.g. Baradez (1949) p. 8.〕 The remains of the fort are known locally as al-Qasba (casbah, exactly a fort). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gemellae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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