Thapsus

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography

THAPSUS(Θάψος, Ptol. 4.3.10), a maritime city of Byzacium, in Africa Propria. It lay on a salt lake, which, according to Shaw ( Trav. p. 99), still exists, and on a point of land 80 stadia distant from the opposite island of Lopadussa. Thapsus was strongly fortified and celebrated for Caesar's victory over the Pompeians, B.C. 46. (Hirt. B. Af. 28, seq.) Shaw (l. c.) identifies it with the present Demass, where its ruins are still visible. (Cf. Strabo, xvii, pp. 831, 834; Liv. 33.48; Plin. Nat. 5.4. s. 3, &c.)
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