# Capitol of Dougga (166)

URL: https://allhistories.com/tunisia/timeline/166-capitol-of-dougga
Location: Dougga, Tunisia
Themes: main-event

Thugga, on a hillside above the Oued Khalled valley, had been an important Numidian and Punic town, home to a 2nd-century BC royal mausoleum. Under Rome it long had a dual status, with a Roman community (pagus) living alongside the native civitas, as was common in the Tunisian Tell. In AD 166–167 two members of the wealthy Marcii family, Lucius Marcius Simplex and Lucius Marcius Simplex Regillianus, paid for a Capitol dedicated to the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva and to the welfare of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The temple stands on a high podium with a portico of fluted Corinthian columns; its pediment carries a relief of an eagle carrying off a man, interpreted as the apotheosis of Antoninus Pius. The Capitol, one of the best-preserved Roman temples in North Africa, reflects the Romanisation of a Berber town and the generosity of local elites. Thugga became a municipium under Septimius Severus in 205 and a colonia under Gallienus in 261. Its exceptionally complete townscape was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. At this point in the timeline (AD 166–167), the Roman Emperor was Marcus Aurelius (7 March 161 – 17 March 180).

## Why it matters
The Capitol is the emblem of Dougga, one of the best-preserved Roman towns in Africa and a World Heritage Site.

Ruler at the Time: [Marcus Aurelius](https://allhistories.com/tunisia/rulers/marcus-aurelius)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Dougga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougga)
- [UNESCO World Heritage — Dougga / Thugga](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/794)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Dougga](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Dougga)
- [Wikipédia (French) — Dougga](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougga)
- [Wikipedia — Roman Africa (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_(Roman_province))