Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Thignica

by Sophron Pétridès

A titular see in Numidia. The Roman Curia's official list of titular sees places Thignica in Numidia. It belonged to Proconsular Africa. Its ruins are called Ain Tounga, south-west of Testour, Tunisia. They are very extensive and cover the summit and slopes of a series of hills. One inscription calls it "Civitas Thignicensis" and states that it was divided into three parts, another that it became a municipium at the beginning of the third century under the name of "municipium Septimium Aurelium Antoninianum Herculeum Frugiferum Thignica". Towards the centre of the ruins is a Byzantine fortress, trapezoidal in shape, flanked by five square towers. Here an inscription makes mention of the proconsul Domitius Zenophilus (326-32), famous in the annals of Christian Africa. Among the other ruins are a small triumphal arch, a temple, a Christian church, the remains of the enclosure, etc. Despite the splendour and importance of this town we know only one bishop, Aufidius, who assisted in 411 at the Conference of Carthage where he had a Donatist rival.

TOULOTTE, Geographie de l'Afrique chretienne. Proconsulaire (Paris, 1892), 269-271; DIEHL, L'Afrique byzantine (Paris, 1896), passim.

S. Pétridès.