Madaurus University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Madaurus University (in Latin Madaurus, Madauros or Madaura)[1] is a former university, one of the first on the African continent, of which only ruins remain, located in the city of M'daourouch in the wilaya of Souk Ahras in Algeria. It is often considered one of the earliest, if not the oldest, centers of higher learning in North Africa and the first in Africa, the university's construction dating back to the Roman era around 75 AD.[2][3][4]
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Martianus Capella
Saint Augustine
Ruins of Madauros | |
| Latin: Madaura or Madaurus | |
| Type | Public University |
|---|---|
| Active | Established in 75 BC–closed in the 7th century AD |
| Students | Apuleius Martianus Capella Saint Augustine |
| Location | , 36°04′45.40645″N 07°54′04.33087″E |
| Campus | Urban |
| Language | Numidian, Latin, Greek |
| Website | https://souk-ahras.mta.gov.dz/fr/maduro/ |
 | |
History
It was on the site of an ancient Numidian city from the third century BC that the Roman city of Madauros was founded in 75 AD under the Flavians.[5] Its early public functions date from the Roman period between the 1st and 2nd centuries.[6][7][8][9] The city is mentioned in ancient manuscripts from the third century, but fell into decay following the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the seventh century.[10][11]
Famous students
At the time, the university was considered a great centre of cultural influence[12] and frequented by great men of letters, philosophers, mathematicians and rhetoricians of the ancient world such as the North African Christian theologian and philosopher Saint Augustine, the Numidian writer, orator and philosopher Apuleius (author of the Metamorphoses or the Golden Ass), the Roman orator and grammarian Maximus of Madaurus, and the writer, poet, music theorist and philosopher Martianus Capella.[13][14][15][16][17][18]