Ruspe orRuspae was a town in theRoman province ofByzacena, inAfrica propria.[1] It served as theepiscopal see of SaintFulgentius of Ruspe. It is now aRoman Catholictitular bishopric.
The name "Ruspe" is usually understood to be ahellenization of aPhoenician name including the element "rush" (Punic:𐤓𐤔,RŠ), meaning "head" or "headland".[2]
TheTabula Peutingeriana notes the Byzacenan towns ofRuspina and Ruspe, the latter being to the south of the former.[3]Ptolemy'sGeography usually mentions the same two towns in the same order,[4] although Stevenson's defective English translation gives "Ruspina" and "Rheuspena".[5] The name "Ruspe", aGreek feminine singular name, also appears in a list of dioceses that theGreek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria saw as dependent on itself at the beginning of the 8th century.[2]Henricus de Noris considered it equivalent to theLatinRuspa. "Ruspae", aLatin feminine plural name, was preferred by Alexander MacBean,[6] William Smith,[7] Morcelli;[8] Mesnage,[2] and theAnnuario Pontificio.[9]
According to theTabula Peutingeriana, Ruspe was situated betweenAcholla andUsilla. It was near the promontory that Ptolemy called Brachodes, the Romans'Caput Vadorum, later known as Capaudia or—inArabic—Qaboudia[7][10][11] (cf.Chebba).
Ruspe was commonly[2][10] identified with the ruins known as Sbia or Henchir Sbia in present-dayTunisia, four miles west of that cape.[12] An alternative site is that of the ruins known as Ksour Siad.[12] In the mid-20th century, a new argument emerged in favour of Koudiat Rosfa, 30 kilometers north ofSfax,[13] because of the discovery in 1947 of an inscription at Henchir Bou Tria[14] that seems to identify that place with ancient Acholla.[10] (Saumagne had earlier proposed to identify it with Ruspe.)[10] A nearby headland is called Rass Bou Tria.[15] This identification of Acholla gives grounds for considering Ptolemy mistaken in placing Acholla and Usilla north of Cape Brachodes and for identifying Ruspe as Koudiat Rosfa, which is seen as having preserved the ancient name in anArabic form.[12] Excavations at Koudiat Rosfa have not confirmed the perhaps flattering description applied to the city by Fulgentius's biographer Ferrandus: "a noble town illustrious for its famous inhabitants" (Latin:nobile oppidum clarissimis habitatoribus prorsus illustre).[10]
The city was important enough in theRoman province ofByzacena to become asuffragan of its Metropolitan ofArchdiocese of Hadrumetum, but was to fade.
Bishops of Ruspe earlier than Saint Fulgentius (Italian:Fulgenzio di Ruspe) whose names are known are
The immediate successor of Fulgentius wasFelicianus, his companion in exile, who participated in theCouncil of Carthage (534).
No longer a residential bishopric, Ruspae (the spelling used in theAnnuario Pontificio) is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[9][17][18]
The bishops who have held this title are:
