Timgad

The former Roman city of Thaugadi in NE Algeria; a world heritage site. Founded by the Emperor Trajan in AD 100, and abandoned after the 5th-c, it is a noted example of Roman planning. The site has been extensively restored, and archaeological work still continues.

Timgad (Arabic, Thamugadi, called Thamugas by the Romans, was a Roman colonial town in North Africa founded by the Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The ruins are noteworthy for being one of the best extant examples of the grid plan as used in Roman city planning.

The ruins of the town are located at 35°27′N 6°38′E, in modern-day Algeria, about 35 km from the town of Batna. The city was founded ex nihilo as a military colony, primarily as a bastion against the Berbers in the nearby Aures Mountains.

Located at the intersection of six roads, the city was walled but not fortified. Originally designed for a population of around 15,000, the city quickly outgrew its original specifications and spilled beyond the orthogonal grid in a more loosely-organized fashion.

The original Roman grid plan is magnificently visible in the orthogonal design, highlighted by the decumanus maximus and the cardo lined by a partially-restored Corinthian colonnade.

At the west end of the decumanus rises a 12 m high triumphal arch, called Trajan's Arch, which was partially restored in 1900. Southeast of the city is a large Byzantine citadel built in the later days of the city.

The city enjoyed a peaceful existence for the first several hundred years and became a center of Christian activity starting in the 3rd Century, and a Donatist center in the 4th Century.

In the 5th Century, the city was sacked by the Vandals before falling into decline. In 535 Byzantine general Solomon found the city when he came to occupy it. In the following century, the city was briefly repeopled as a primarily Christian city before being sacked by Berbers in the 7th Century and being abandoned.

At the time of its founding, the area surrounding the city was a fertile agricultural area, about 1000 meters above sea level.

Timgad was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.