Tunisia: Makhtar, Kesra Berber village, Bou Abdellah Kesra resting place 04 Feb 2018
by marmusa
b The ancient town was founded by the Numidians as a defense post against the Carthaginians. It was settled by Punics after the destruction of Carthage by the Romans in 146 BC. Numerous inscriptions are recorded through the ruins.
Under Roman and Byzantine control, it served as a defense against the local Berber tribes. The Roman town at Maktar was known as Colonia Aelia Aurelia Mactaris[4] or simply Mactaris.[5] It was the seat of a bishopric in pre Islamic times. It is in the provence of Byzacena,[6] and mentioned by the Notia Africae. In 46 BC, it obtained status as a free city and by 146 AD was established as a Roman colony, when it saw its greatest development. The town appears on the 4th century Peutinger Map.
It was eventually destroyed by the Banu Hilal tribe in the 10th century.
