1 0 1100 “ H U M H REY M LF RD P I O , OX FO RD UN V Y PRESS AM EN C N E . C. I ERSIT . OR ER, L IFE A N D L ETT E RS IN RO MA N A FR ICA E . S . BO UCH IE R, M . A . $ grot h B H . K D E . BLAC WELL , BROA STRE T I 9 13 CO NTE NTS cmp‘rzn T E FR A N I. H A IC N PROVI CES . TH E CAPITALS : CARTHAGE I N II THREE , C RTA, A D E R I D N 111. L A N NG AND E UCATIO IV PR V TE L IFE A MU M N —TH E R . I A AND SE E TS A TS V FRONTO H IS CIRCLE . AND VI L Y R EL G O —APULE US . PHI OSOPH AND I I N I VII Y . POETR AN AFR VIII. CHRISTI ICA IX V AL BYZ T E R D . AND AND AN IN PE IO S X OME N DE A N ON THE STYLE . S CO SI R TIO S AND L ANGUAGE O F AFR ICAN WRITERS INDEX 7 4 0 8 9 L IFE A ND L ETTERS IN RO M A N A FR ICA C HAPTE R I T H E AFRICAN PROVI NCES ie b eiden Scho fun en aesars das Keltenl an d un d No d D p g C , r ’ e li — M O MMS N mrn erbauten b eben . r i a sin d Trfi . Af c , g E T H E small procon sular province which was annexed Pun ic War by Rome at the close of the third , by the su ccessive absorptions of the Tripolitan district u u and the client kingdoms of N midia and Ma ritania , had by the reign of Claudiu s grow n to a domain extending from the Atlantic to the Greater Syrtis , and bou nded on the so uth by the Atlas range and its fo contin u ations . It now included ur provinces fri ca u C aesarien sis A proper , Numidia , Ma ritania , and — Mau ritania Tingitana with the seats of government a Ca s at Carth ge , Cirta, e area , and Tingi , respectively . The district lay between two nearly parallel lines of mountains , the southerly separating it from the Sahara the northern , of less altitude , sloping down to the Mediterranean shore , and having on the r n northern face the p i cipa l port s . ' ‘ «Th ei A fri can P ro v i n ces There were no wide plains of great fertility , but many valleys and the lower slopes of the mountains could be made productive by carefu l agricultu re ; B a radas and the valley of the g near Carthage , together with parts of Numidia , were as rich and u populo s as the Nile region of Egypt . Even to the north of Atlas , however , especially towards Mauri tania, were many treeless wastes , interspersed with w as salt lakes , and the southern frontier constantly exposed to the forays of robber tribes from the great - . was desert The climate semi tropical , with no bu t - winter , a two months rainy season ; and in spite of the prevalence of hot dry winds , and dangers from serpents and scorpions , it was considered by 1 the Romans very healthy . Corn was thro ughou t the staple product ; as early f fi o rs C . as the middle the t century B . the popa la u s tion of Rome s bsi ted largely on African supplies , and a special frument ary fleet was established under the Antonines for its conveyance to Italy . The more stable condition of affairs under the empire also led to the plantation of extensive vine and s olive yards , and oil became one of the main export , being in special request among bathers at Rome . Considerable remains of an oil factory exi st near Theveste , with a large hall having rows of columns 1 ’ C . Sall . u . I : ler os ue sen ectus dissolvit f j g 7 p q . This is c on firmed by the great ages record ed i n the African in scrip n s The sco ion was so much as o ia tio . rp s c ted with Afr ica a s me imes to be i en as a s mbol so t g v y to be held by the figur e of im e ial o n . C b A ri ca on c i s elo . 6 . f p r f . w, p 5 2 Nat ural Feat ure s an d Pro d uc t s - The and a number of olive pre sse s . Ph oenicians had been noted for their attention to natural prod n e s ts , and many of the plant and vegetables which were widely cultivated by Roman settlers owed their n introduction to the Carthagi ians . Such were the - al rn olive , vine , artichoke , pomegranate , and date p , a branch of which last appears on Carthaginian coins by the side of the horse . O h P unic Christian tombs such a branch is often united to a cross. s s fort ified Isolated farmhou e , near the southern frontier, were scattered among the more fertile parts ; s and though the wide estate held by absentee owners , s a s and later the large imperial domain , became a s common in Italy and Sicily, they were often divided among free tenant farmers instead of being - . u wa s worked by slave gangs The co ntry a dry one , and seldom well wooded . Irrigation had therefore u w as to be caref lly studied , and rain preserved in tanks placed on the heights or in ci stern s at - interval s a long the chief military roads . L ow lying fields s a rt ificial and garden were watered by canals , which were dug out or cleared on the approach of u rain . I n the heat of the day bees cl stered round t he these streams , affording to poetic imagination a simile for the eager rush to the water of an ex 1 hansted army . The manufacture of purple dye set up by the C n s arthaginians continued under the Roma , and the dye was also obtained from the Atlantic coast of . was s Mauritania There much trade in woollen good , 1 C i or . 0 h V II c . 2 18. pp 7 . 339 ; f The African Prov inces skins , fruit , and sponges , and, by means of caravans , in negro slaves , gold dust , ivory , ebony , and in elephants or other wild beasts intended for pu blic spectacles in the great towns of Europe . Commerce with the interior was greatly facilitated by the intro im duction of camels under the Romans , and an portant trade rou te from the land of the G araman t es to the ports of Tripoli was secured under Augu st u s l 1 by the expedition of Corneli u s Ba bus . Many districts were noted for quarries of white or pink marble , and in the ruins of Carthaginian buildings may be fou nd marbles of the favourite yellow or brown tint dug from the imperial qu arries at Simuthu , near Hippo , but often called Numidian Tabraca . from , the port of shipment Porphyry and u finest onyx , sed in the African building, were found in Mauritania . The absence of any neighbouring civilized State made it possible to defend this extensive region s u by mean of a single legion , with some a xiliary forces and Moorish militia . The headquarters of first the legionaries were at at Theveste , later farther L ambaesis west at , where they were able to hold the approaches of the Aurus range against the a Gararn ant ian wild G etulian and tribesmen . A small detachment from the legion , together with u s a few rban cohorts , was tationed at Carthage to preserve order in that excitable but seldom mutinous capital ; and in the Antonine period other detachments were distributed along the southern 1 Pli n N H V . 6 . 5 , 3 . 4 D efe nsiv e Sy st e m on t he Fron t i er li mes s , as well as in some of the oases to the outh of s the mountains . All important pa ses or roads were u fort ified thus g arded by posts , consisting of a square t he enclosure with towers , and of quarters for soldiers also providing a refu ge for the neighbouring farmers in case of a raid . Isolated towers were ' s bur z as scattered along the line j oining uch g , they u were afterward called , and on these beacons co ld be s kindled , or signals made by rai ing or lowering so beams of wood, as to concentrate troops at the point of danger . The barbarians who threatened u i h these provinces were us ally marauding bands , capable of acting in concert , but further help could u be bro ght from Spain or Cyrenaica if needed . The legi o ter ti a A ug usta remained in Africa for fixed three centuries , and many remains of its camp L ambaesis at are preserved , as well as of the neigh bourin g town which grew up to provide re sidences ' for the officers and soldiers . It wa s legally a mum ci i um scholw p , with forum , capitol , temples , and or - u club rooms for the vario s grades in the service .