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Roman Tunisia initially included the earlyancient Roman province ofAfrica, later renamedAfrica Vetus. As the Roman empire expanded, the present Tunisia also included part of the province ofAfrica Nova.
TheCarthaginian (orPunic) empire was finally defeated by the Romans in theThird Punic War (149–146 BC) and there followed a period when nearby kingdoms ofBerber kings were allied with Rome and eventually these neighbouring countries were annexed and reorganised. The city of Carthage was rebuilt, eventually becoming the capital of the province and the 3rd city of the Empire.
A long period of prosperity ensued based on rich agricultural exports, leading to a cosmopolitan culture.
Christianity became important in the province and provided Roman Catholicism with three Popes, as well asAugustine of Hippo.
TheVandals invadedTunisia in 439 with the help of the Maurii (Libyans of Northwest Africa) and reigned over the province for nearly a century. SeveralBerber revolts occurred and some established self-rule at the periphery.
TheByzantine Empire eventually recaptured the area from the Vandals in 534, which endured until the Islamic conquest in 705.
Following thedefeat of Carthage in theThird Punic War (149–146), theRoman Republic destroyed the city and occupied the region with its rich and developed agricultural lands. At first the old cityUtica, north of ruined Carthage, served as provincial capital.
The RomanProvince of Africa was named after the Berbers for the Latins knewAfri as a local word for region'sBerber people.[1] The subsequent Arabic name for the regionIfriqiya evidently derives from the Roman province of Africa.
Adjacent lands to the west were allocated to their Berber allies, who continued to enjoy recognition as independent Berber kingdoms.[2]
Roman Africa expanded to encompass modern Tunisia and all of northern modern Africa.[3]
The rebuilding of the city of Carthage from the ashes began underJulius Caesar from 49 to 44 BC and continued underAugustus (63 BC – 14 AD). After Utica lost its privileged status in 54-46 BC,[4] it became the capital of the new province ofAfrica Proconsularis from 27 BC and was home to a Romanpraetor orproconsul.
Carthage flourished during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries.[5][6]
The province became known for finemosaics with decorative and figurative designs by its resident artisans. Many large mosaics formed the floors of courtyards and rooms invillas within Carthage and the countryside,[7] Beyond the city, many pre-existing Punic and Berber towns found fresh vigor and prosperity. Many new settlements were founded, especially in the rich and fertile Bagradas (modernMedjerda) river valley, north and northwest of Carthage.[8] Anaqueduct about 120 km in length, built by the EmperorHadrian (r. 117–138), travels from a sanctuary high up Jbel Zaghouan overland about 70 km. to ancient Carthage. It was repaired and put into use during the 13th century, and again in modern times.[9][10]
Carthage, and other cities in Roman Africa, contain the ruins or the remains of large structures dedicated to popular spectacles. The urban games performed there included the infamous blood sports, withgladiators who fought wild beasts or each other for the whim of the crowd. TheTelegenii was one of the gladiator associations of the region. Although often of humble origins, a handsome, surviving gladiator might be "considered someone worthy of adulation by the young ladies of the audience."[11]
Another city entertainment was the theater. The renownedGreek tragedies and comedies were staged, as well as contemporary Roman plays. Burlesque performances bymimes were popular. Much more costly and less vulgar were productions featuringpantomimes.[12] The African writerApuleius (c. 125 – c. 185) describes attending such a performance which he found impressive and delightful. An ancientepitaph here celebrates Vincentius, a popular pantomime (quoted in part):
He lives forever in the thoughts of the people... just, good and in his every relationship with each person irreproachable and sure. There was never a day when, during his dancing of the famous pieces, the whole theater was not captivated enough to reach the stars."[13]
Peace and prosperity came to Carthage and Africa Province. Eventually Roman security forces began to be drawn from the local population. Here the Romans governed well enough that the Province became integrated into the economy and culture of the Empire, attracting immigrants. Its cosmopolitan, Latinizing, and diverse population enjoyed a reputation for its high standard of living. Carthage emerged near the top of major Imperial cities, behind onlyAlexandria andRome.[6][14]
Rome occupied the lands of Carthage after its fall (146 BC) not to develop the harvest and benefit themselves, than to keep others off.[15] Many Punic survivors of the defeated city, including owners ofolive groves,vineyards, and farms, had "fled into the hinterland".[16]
Public lands (ager publicus) passed to Rome byright of conquest, and many privately held lands also, those ruined or abandoned, or that had unpaid taxes. Some land good for agriculture, which had been used up to then only seasonally by Berberpastoralists, were also taken and distributed for planting. Accordingly many nomads (and small farmers, too) "were reduced to abject poverty or driven into the steppes and desert."Tacfarinas led asustained Berber insurgency (17–24) against Rome; yet these rural tribal forces eventually met defeat. Thereafter the expansion of farming operations over the provincial lands did produce a higher yield. Yet Rome "never succeeded in keeping the nomads of the south and west permanently in check."[17][18]
Great estates were formed by investors or the politically favored, or by emperors out of confiscated lands. Calledlatifundia, their farming operations were leased out tocoloni often from Italia, who settled around the owner's 'main house'--thus forming a small agrarian town. The land was divided into "squares measuring 710 meters across". Many small farms were thus held by incoming Roman citizens or army veterans (thepagi), as well as by the prior owners, Punic and Berber. The quality and extent of largevillas with comfort amenities, and other farm housing, found throughout Africa Province dating to this era, evince the wealth generated by agriculture. Working the land for its fruits was very rewarding.[19][20]
Rich agricultural lands led the province to great prosperity.[21] New hydraulic works increased the extent and intensity of theirrigation. Olives and grapes had for long been popular products commonly praised; however, the vineyards and orchards had been devastated during the last Punic war; also they were intentionally left to ruin because their produce competed with that of Roman Italia. Instead Africa Province acquired fame as the source of large quantities of fine wheat, widely exported—though chiefly to Rome. The ancient writersStrabo (64 BC – c. 21 AD),Pliny (23 – c. 79 AD), andJosephus (37 – c. 95 AD) praised the quality of African wheat. TheBaradas river valley was acclaimed as productive as the Nile. Later, when Egypt began to supplant Africa Province as the supplier of wheat to Rome, the grape and the olive began reappearing again in the fields of the province, toward the end of the 1st century.St. Augustine (354–430) wrote that in Africa lamps fueled by olive oil burned well throughout the night, throwing light over the neighborhoods.[22][23][24]
Evidence, from artifacts and the often large mosaics of great villas, indicates that one favorite sport of the agrarian elite wasthe hunt. Depicted are well-dressed sportsmen (in embroidered riding tunics with striped sleeves). Mounted on horseback they go cross-country in pursuit of illustrated game—here perhaps ajackal. Various wild birds are also shown as desired prey, to be gotten with traps. On the floor of a patio, a greyhound appears to be chasing a hare across the surface of its mosaic.[25]
Ceramics andpottery, skills developed and practiced for many centuries under the prior Phoenician-derived, urban culture, continued as an important industry,[26] Bothoil lamps andamphorae (containers with two handles) were produced in quantity. This pottery, of course, complemented the local production of olive oil, the amphorae being valuable not only as hard goods, but also useful for oil transportation locally and for export by ship. Numerous ancient oil presses have been found, producing from the harvested olive both oils for cooking and food, and oils for burning in lamps. Ceramics were also crafted into various statuettes of animals, humans, and gods, found in abundance in regional cemeteries of the period. Later,terra-cotta plaques showing biblical scenes were designed and made for the churches. Much of this industry was located in central Tunisia, e.g., in and around Thysdrus (modernEl Djem), a drier area with less fertile agricultural lands, but ample in rich clay deposits.[27][28][29]
The export of large amounts of wheat, and later of olive oils, and wines, required port facilities, indicated are (among others):Hippo Regius (modernAnnaba),Hippo Diarrhytus (modernBizerte),Utica,Carthage,Curubis (north of modernNabeul), Missis,Hadrumentum, Gummi and Sullectum (both near modernMahdia), Gightis (nearDjerba isle), andSabratha (near modernTarabulus [Tripoli]). Marble and wood was shipped out ofThabraca (modernTabarka).[30] Ancient associations engaged in export shipping might formnavicularii, collectively responsible for the commodities yet granted state privileges. Inland trade was carried onRoman roads, built both for theRoman legions and for commercial and private use. A major road led from Carthage southwest toTheveste (modernTébessa) in the mountains; from there a road led southeast to Tacapes (modernGabès) on the coast. Roads also followed the coastline. Buildings were erected occasionally along such highways for the convenience of traders with goods and other travelers.[31]
Other products of Africa Province were shipped out. An ancient industry at Carthage involved cooking up a Mediterraneancondiment calledgarum, a fish sauce made with herbs, an item of durable popularity. Rugs and wool clothing were fabricated, and leather goods. The royal purple dye,murex, first discovered and made famous by the Phoenicians, was locally produced. Marble and wood, as well as live mules, were also important export items.[32]
Local trade and commerce was conducted atmundinae (fairs) in rural centers at set days of the week, much as it is today insouks. In villages and townsmacella (provision markets) were established. In cities granted a charter the market was regulated by the municipalaediles (Roman market officials dating to the Roman Republic), who inspected the vendor's instruments for measuring and weighing. City trading was often done at the forum, or at stalls in covered areas, or at private shops.[33]
Expeditions ventured south into the Sahara. Cornelius Balbus, Roman governor then at Utica, occupied in 19 BC.Gerama, desert capital of the Garamantes in theFezzan (now west-centralLibya).[34][35] These BerberGaramantes had long-term, though unpredictable, breakable, contacts with the Mediterranean.[36][37] Although Roman trade and other contact with the BerberFezzan continued, on and off, raid or trade, extensive commercial traffic across the Sahara, directly to the more productive and populous lands south of the harsh deserts, had not yet developed; nor would it for many centuries.[38][39]
People from all over the Empire began to migrate into Africa Province, merchants, traders, officials, most importantlyveterans in early retirement who settled in Africa on farming plots promised for their military service. A sizableLatin speaking population developed that was multinational in background; they shared the region with those speaking Punic and Berber languages.[40] Usually the business of the empire was conducted in Latin, so that a markedly bi- or tri-lingual situation developed.[41] Imperial security forces began to be drawn from the local population, including the Berbers. The Romans apparently sounded the right notes, which facilitated general acceptance of their rule.
"What made the Berbers accept the Roman way of life all the more readily was that the Romans, though a colonizing people who captured their lands by the might of their arms, did not display any racial exclusiveness and were remarkably tolerant ofBerber religious cults, be they indigenous orgrafted from the Carthaginians. However, the Roman territory in Africa was unevenly penetrated by Roman culture. Pockets of non-Romanized Berbers continued to exist throughout the Roman period, even in such areas as eastern Tunisia and Numidia."[42]
That the majority of the Berbers adjusted to the Roman world, of course, does not signify their full acceptance. Often the presence of cosmopolitan cultural symbols coexisted with the traditional local customs and beliefs, i.e., the Roman did not supplant the Berber, but merely augmented the prior Berber culture, often the Roman being on a more transient level of adherence.[43]
The success of the Berber Apuleius, however, may be regarded as more an exception than the rule. Evidently many native Berbers adopted to the Mediterranean-wide influences operating in the province, eventually intermarrying, or otherwise entering the front ranks as notables. Yet the majority did not. There remained a social hierarchy consisting of theRomanized, the partlyassimilated, and the unassimilated (here were the many rural Berbers who did not know Latin). Yet in this schema considered among the "assimilated" might be very poor immigrants from other regions of the Empire. These imperial distinctions overlay the preexisting stratification ofeconomic classes, e.g., there continued the practice of slavery, and there remained a coopted remnant of the wealthyPunic aristocracy.[44][45]
The stepped-up pace and economic demands of acosmopolitan urban life could impact very negatively on the welfare of the rural poor. Large estates (latifundia) that produced cash crops for export often were managed for absentee owners and usedslave labor. These 'agrobusiness' operations occupied lands previously tilled by small local farmers.[46] At another social interface met the fundamental disagreement and social tensions betweenpastoral nomads, who had their herds to graze, andsedentary farmers. The best lands were usually appropriated for planting, often going to the better-connected socially, politically. These economic and status divisions would become manifest from time to time in various ways, e.g., the collateral revolt in 238,[47][48] and the radical, quasi-ethnic edge to theDonatist schism.[49][50]
In 238 local proprietors rose in revolt, arming their clients and agricultural tenants who enteredThysdrus (modern El Djem) where they killed a rapacious official and his bodyguards. In open revolt, they then proclaimed as co-emperors the aged Governor of the Province of Africa,Gordian I (c. 159–238) and his son,Gordian II (192–238). Gordian I had served at Rome in theSenate and as Consul, and had been the Governor of various provinces. The very unpopular current EmperorMaximinus Thrax (who had succeeded the dynasty of Severus) was campaigning on the middleDanube. In Rome the Senate sided with the insurgents of Thysdrus. When the African revolt collapsed under an assault by local forces still loyal to the emperor, the Senate elected two of their number, Balbinus and Pupienus, as co-emperors. Then Maximus Thrax was killed by his disaffected soldiers. Eventually the grandson of Gordian I,Gordian III (225–244), of the Province of Africa, became the Emperor of the Romans, 238–244. He died on thePersian frontier. His successor wasPhilip the Arab.[51][52]
Julian's life demonstrates the opportunities available to gifted provincials. Also it gives a view of Roman Law, whose workings crafted much of the structure holding together the various nationalities across the Empire. Apparently Julian came from a family of the Latin culture which had gradually become established in Africa Province, although his youth and early career are not recorded.
Salvius Julianus (c. 100 – c. 170), Romanjurist,Consul in 148, was a native ofHadrumetum (modernSousse, Tunisia) on the east coast of Africa province. He was a teacher; one of his students,Africanus, was the last recorded head of the influentialSabinian school of Roman jurists.[53] In Roman public life, Julian eventually came to hold several high positions during a long career. He acquired great contemporary respect as a jurist, and modernly is regarded as one of the best inRoman legal history. "The task of his life consisted, in the first place, in the final consolidation of the edictal law; and, secondly, in the composition of his greatDigest in ninety books."[54]
Julian served the Empire at its top echelon, on theCounsilium (imperial council) of three emperors:Hadrian (r. 117–138),Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161), andMarcus Aurelius (r. 161–180). His life spanned a particularlybeneficial era of Roman rule, when relative peace and prosperity reigned. Julian had beentribune; he "held all the importantsenatorial offices fromQuaestor toConsul". Later, after his service on the emperor's Counsilium, he left forGermania Inferior to becomeits Roman governor. He served in the same capacity atHispania Citerior. At the end of his career, Julian became theRoman governor of his nativeAfrica Province.[55][56] An inscription found near his native Hadrumetum (modernSousse, Tunisia) recounts his official life.[53]
The emperor Hadrian appointed Julian, this native of a small city in Africa province, to revise thePraetor's Edict (thereafter called theEdictum perpetuum). This key legal document, then issued annually at Rome by thePraetor urbanus, was at that time a most persuasive legal authority, pervasive inRoman Law. "The Edict, that masterpiece of republican jurisprudence, became stabilized. ... [T]he famous jurist Julian settled the final form of the praetorian andaedilician Edicts."[57]
Later Julian authored hisDigesta in 90 books; this work generally followed the sequence of subjects found in the praetorian edict, and presented a "comprehensive collection ofresponsa on real and hypothetical cases".[53][58] The purpose of hisDigesta was to expound the whole of Roman Law.
In the 6th century, this 2nd-centuryDigesta of Salvius Julianus was repeatedly excerpted, hundreds of times, by the compilers of thePandectae, created under the authority of theByzantine emperorJustinian I (r. 527–265). ThisPandect (also known as theDigest, part of theCorpus Juris Civilis) was a compendium of juristic experience and learning. "It has been thought that Justinian's compilers used [Julian'sDigesta] as the basis of their scheme: in any case nearly 500 passages are quoted from it."[59] ThePandect, in addition to its official rôle as part of the controlling law of the eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, also became a principal source for themedieval study of Roman Law in western Europe.[60]
About Julian's personal life little is known. Apparently he became related in some way (probably through his daughter) to the family of the Roman emperorDidius Julianus, who reigned during the year 193.[61]
Julian died probably in Africa province, as its Roman governor or shortly thereafter. This was during the reign of the philosophical emperorMarcus Aurelius (r. 161–180), who described Julian in arescript asamicus noster (Latin: "our friend"). "His fame did not lessen as time went on, for later Emperors speak of him in the most laudatory terms. ...Justinian [6th century] speaks of him as the most illustrious of the jurists."[62] "With Iulianus, the Romanjurisprudence reached its apogee."[53]
LuciusApuleius (c. 125 – c. 185), a Berber author of Africa Province, wrote using an innovative Latin style. Although often calledLucius Apuleius, only the name Apuleius is certain.[63] He managed to thrive in several Latin-speaking communities of Carthage: the professional, the literary, and the pagan religious. A self-described full Berber, "halfNumidian, halfGaetulian",[64] his origins lay on the upper Bagradas (modernMedjerda) river valley, in Madaura (modernM'Daourouch). In the town lived many retired Roman soldiers, often themselves natives of Africa. His father was a provincial magistrate, of the upperordo class. When he was still young his father died, leaving a relative fortune to him and his brother.[65]
His studies began at Carthage, and continued during years spent at Athens (philosophy) and at Rome (oratory), where he evidently served as a legal advocate. Comparing learning to fine wine but with an opposite effect, Apuleius wrote, "The more you drink and the stronger the draught, the better it is for the good of your soul."[66] He also traveled to Asia Minor andEgypt. While returning to Carthage he fell seriously ill inOea (an ancient coastal city near modern Tripoli), where he convalesced at the family home of an old student friend Pontianus. Eventually Apuleius married Prudentilla, the older, wealthy widow of the house, and mother of Pontianus. Evidently the marriage was good;Sidonius Apollinaris called Prudentilla one of those "noble women [who] held the lamp while their husbands read and meditated."[67] Yet debauched and greedy in-laws (this characterization by Apuleius) wantonly claimed he had murdered Pontianus; they did, however, prosecute Apuleius for using nefarius magic to gain his new wife's affections. At the trial in nearbySabratha the Roman proconsulClaudius Maximus presided. Apuleius, then in his thirties, crafted a trial speech in his own defense, which in written form makes hisApology;[68] apparently he was acquitted.[69] A well-regarded modern critic characterizes his oratory, as it appears in hisApologia:
"We feel throughout the speech a keen pleasure in the display of superior sophistication and culture. We can see how he might well have dazzled the rich citizens of Oea for a while and how he would also soon arouse deep suspicions and hostilities. Particularly one feels that he is of a divided mind about the accusation of wizardry. He deals with the actual charges in tones of amused contempt, yet seems not averse from being considered one of the great magicians of the world."[70]
Apuleius and Prudentilla then moved to Carthage. There he continued his Latin writing, dealing with Greek philosophy, with oratory and rhetoric, and also fiction and poetry. Attracting a significant following, several civic statues were erected in his honor.[71] He showed brilliance speaking in public as a "popular philosopher or 'sophist', characteristic of the second century A.D., which ranked such talkers higher than poets and rewarded them greatly with esteem and cash... ." "He was novelist and 'sophist', lawyer and lecturer, poet and initiate. It is not surprising that he was accused of magic--".[72]
His celebrated work of fiction isMetamorphoses, by moderns commonly calledThe Golden Ass.[73][74][75] A well-known work, Apuleius here created an urbane, inventive, vulgar, extravagant, mythic story, a sort offable of the ancient world.[76][77] The plot unfolds in Greece where the hero, while experimenting with the ointment of asorceress, is changed not into an owl (as intended) but into a donkey.[78][79] Thereafter his ability to speak leaves him, but he remains able to understand the talk of others. In a famous digression (one of many), the celebrated folktale ofCupid and Psyche is artfully told by a crone. ThereinCupid, son of the Roman goddessVenus, falls in love with a beautiful but mortal girl, who because of her loveliness has been jinxed by Cupid's mother; the godJupiter resolves their dilemma. The hero as donkey listens as the story is told.[80][81] After such and many adventures, in which he finds comedy, cruelty, onerous work as a beast-of-burden,[82] circus-like exhibition, danger, and a love companion, the hero finally manages to regain his human form—by eating roses.Isis, the Egyptian goddess, in answer to his petitions, directs her priests during a procession to feed the flowers to him. "At once my ugly and beastly form left me. My rugged hair thinned and fell; my huge belly sank in; my hooves separated out into fingers and toes; my hands ceased to be feet... and my tail... simply disappeared."[83] In the last few pages, the hero continues to follow the procession, entering by initiations into the religious service of Isis andOsiris of theEgyptian pantheon.
Metamorphoses is compared byJack Lindsay to two other ancient works of fiction:Satyricon byPetronius andDaphnis and Chloe byLongus. He also notes that at the end ofMetamorphoses "we find the only full testimony of religious experience left by an adherent of ancient paganism... devotees of mystery-cults, of the cults of the savior-gods... ."[84]H. J. Rose comments that "the story is meant to convey a religious lesson: Isis saves [the hero] from the vanities of this world, which make men of no more worth than beasts, to a life of blissful service, here and hereafter."[85] About Apuleius's novelMichael Grant suggests that "the ecstatic belief in mystery religions [here, Isis] marked, in some sense, the transition between state-paganism and Christianity." Yet later he notes that "the Christian Fathers, after long discussion, were disposed to let Apuleius fall from favour."[86]
St. Augustine mentions his fellow African Apuleius in hisThe City of God.[87] When Apuleius lived was an age, Augustine elsewhere decries, ofdamnabilis curiositas.[88] In discussingSocrates andPlato on 'the souls of gods, airy spirits, and humans,' Augustine refers to "a Platonist of Madaura", Apuleius, and to his workDe Deo Socratis [The God of Socrates].[89] Augustine, holding the view that the world was under the lordship of the devil,[90][91] challenged the pagans their reverence for particular gods. Referring to what he found as moral confusion or worse in stories of these gods,[92] and their airy spirits, Augustine suggests a better title for Apuleius' book: "he should have called itDe Daemone Socratis, of his devil."[93]
That Apuleius worked magic was widely accepted by many of his contemporaries; he was sometimes compared toApollonius of Tyana (died c. 97), a magician (whom some pagans later claimed as a miracle-worker, equal to Christ). Apuleius himself was drawn to mystery religions, particularly the cult ofIsis.[94] "He held the office ofsacerdos prouinciae at Carthage."[95] "In any event Apuleius became for the Christians a most controversial figure."[96]
Apuleius used aLatin style that registered aselocutio novella ("new speech") to his literary contemporaries. This style expressed the everyday language used by the educated, along with naturally embedded archaisms. It worked to transform the more formal, classical grammar once favored sinceCicero (106–43 BC). Torhetoricians perhaps it would beasiatic as opposed toattic style.[97][98][99] Alsonew speech pointed toward the future development of modernRomance languages.[100] Some suggest a style source in Africa, "owing its rich colours to the Punic element... his Madauran origins"; yet, while calling Africa informative, Lindsay declares it insufficient:
"[W]e cannot reduce his style as a whole to African influences. His mixture of ornate invention and rhetorical ingenuity with archaic and colloquial forms marks him rather as a man of his epoch, in which the classical heritage is being transformed by a welter of new forces."
Phrases like "oppido formido" [I greatly fear] litter his pages. Apuleius' "prose is a mosaic of internal rhymes and assonances. Alliteration is frequent." One who involutarilly remains alive after a loved one's death is "invita remansit in vita". "This may seem an over-nice analysis of a verbal trick; but Apuleius' creative energy resides precisely in this sort of thing--".[101]
The RomanImperial cult was based on a generalpolytheism that, by combining veneration for thepaterfamilias and for theancestor, developed a public celebration of the reigningEmperor as a father and divine leader. From time to time compulsory displays ofloyalty orpatriotism were required; those refusing the state cult might face a painful death.[102] While polytheists might go along with little conviction, such a cult ran directly contrary to the dedicated Christian life, based on a confessed foundation of asingletriune deity.[103]
In the Province of Africa lived two newly baptised Christians, both young women: Felicitas aservant to Perpetua anoble. Felicitas was thenpregnant and Perpetua anursing mother. Together in the arena both were publiclytorn apart by wild animals at Carthage in 203 AD.Felicitas and Perpetua became celebrated among Christians assaints. An esteemed writing circulated, containing the reflections andvisions of Perpetua (181–203), followed by a narrative of themartyrdom.[104][105] These manuscriptActs were soon read aloud in Churches throughout the Empire.[106][107]
Three significanttheologians arose in the Province, all enjoying native African ancestry: Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine.
Tertullian (160–230) was born, lived, and died at Carthage. An expert in Roman law,[108] a convert to Christianity and then a priest, his Latin books on theology were once widely known. He articulated an early understanding of theTrinity.[109] Tertullian later came to espouse an unforgiving puritanism, afterMontanus, and so ended in heresy.[110][111]
Cyprian (210–258) was Bishop of Carthage, and a martyr. Also a lawyer and a convert, he considered Tertullian his teacher. Many of Cyprian's writings kindly offer moral counsel, and are read today. His bookDe Unitate Ecclesiae [On Church Unity] (251) also became well known. He accepted the Church's correction of these views (which he then renounced): that a repentant heretic required a new baptism;[112] that a bishop in his diocese was supreme.[113][114]
St. Augustine (354–430),Bishop of Hippo (modernAnnaba), was born at Tagaste in Numidia (modernSouk Ahras). His motherSt. Monica, a pillar of faith, evidently was of Berber heritage.[115] Augustine himself did not speak aBerber language; his use ofPunic is unclear.[116][117][118] At Carthage, Augustine received his higher education. Later, while professor ofRhetoric atMilano (then the Roman imperial capital), he pursued his belief inManichaean teachings. Following his strong conversion toChristianity, and after his mother died atOstia in Italia, Augustine returned to Africa. Here he served as a priest, and later as bishop of Hippo; as the author of many works, he eventually became a primary influence on subsequent Christian theology.[119]
Well-versed in the pagan philosophy of the Greco-Roman world, Augustine both criticized its perceived shortcomings, and employed it to articulate the message of Christianity.[120] Although open to the study and close reading of his fellow African writer,Apuleius (c. 125–185), a pagan thaumaturge, Augustine strongly criticized his understanding of spiritual phenomena.[121] In a well-known work,The City of God, Augustine embarks on wide-ranging discussions of Christian theology, and also applies his learned views to history. He harshly criticizes the ancient state religion of Rome, yet frankly admires traditional Roman civic virtues; in fact he opines that their persistent practice found favor with God (unknown in name to them), hence the progress of the Roman cause throughout the Mediterranean. Later he traces the history of Israel as guided by God, and searches out the gospels of Christianity.[122]
Augustine remains one of the most prominent and most admired of allChristian theologians. Hismoral philosophy remains influential, e.g., his contribution to the further evolved doctrine of theJust War, used to test whether or not a military action may be considered moral and ethical.[123] His books, e.g.,The City of God,[124] andConfessions,[125] are still widely read and discussed.[126][127][128][129]
TheDonatistschism was a major disruption to the church.[130][131] The schism followed a severe Roman persecution of Christians ordered by the EmperorDiocletian (r. 284–305). An earlier persecution had caused divisions over whether or how to accept back into the church contrite Christians who had apostatized under state threats, abuse, or torture. Then in 313 the new EmperorConstantine by theEdict of Milan had granted tolerance to Christianity, himself becoming a Christian. This turnabout led to confusion within the Church; in Northwest Africa this accentuated the divide between wealthy urban members aligned with the Empire, and the local rural poor who were salt-of-the-earth believers (which included as well social and political dissidents). In general, agrarian Christian Berbers tended to be Donatists, although more assimilated urban Berbers probably were Catholic.[132][133][134] To this challenge the Church did not respond well. The Donatists became centered in southernNumidia, the Catholics in Carthage.
One issue was whether apriest could perform his spiritual office if not personally worthy of the holy sacraments. The Donatist schismatics set up parallel churches in order to practice a ritual purity as a collective body like ancient Israel,[135] a purity beyond that required by the Catholic Church.[136]
Some Donatists sought to become martyrs by provocative acts.[137] A disorderly, rural extremist group became associated with the Donatists, thecircumcellions, who opposed taxes, debt collection, and slavery, and would obstruct normal commerce in order to protect the poor.[138][139][140] The Donatist schism also became later linked to two revolts led by the Berber half-brothers,Firmus (372–375), and thenGildo (395–398).[141][142][143] As a bishopAugustine came to condemn the Donatists throngs for rioting;[144] at one time there were Imperial persecutions. Church negotiations lasted about a century until finally the Catholics declared Donatism aheresy in 405, though general tolerance persisted until the ban became enforced late in the 6th century.[145][146][147]
The two armed conflicts described below may or may not differ from the revolt ofTacfarinas in 17–24 AD. According to one view, the two conflicts were not class struggles, nor Berber versus Roman insurrections, although containing potential elements of each. More likely the fighting concerned "adynastic struggle pitching one lot of Africannobles, with their tribes, against another." Although enjoying maybe "unquestioningly loyal tribesmen on [their] great estates" the nobles themselves held a divided loyalty stemming from their ambivalent role as mediators between Roman Empire elites and local tribal life, mostly rural. Based on subsistence farming, or herding, such tribes remained remote from the literate cities. To their Berber subjects "the nobles offered protection in exchange fortribute and military service." Protection promised safety against attacks by another tribe, but also againstslave raiders from the cities. The nobles themselves required revenue and the ability to marshall "armed might" on the one hand, and on the other "their fluency in Roman cultural forms and their ability to communicate as equals with the rest of the Romanelites." If so equipped the nobles "occupied key positions in Roman provincial administration." Yet an unexpected shift in status among the nobles might on occasion trigger a desperate resort to arms, an intra-noble dynastic struggle.[148]
Another view holds that the nobles Firmus and Gildo each continued the struggle of thecommoner Tacfarinas, that the fight involved class issues and pitted Berber against Roman. In the intervening 350 years the struggle had gone on—hot or cold, or 'underground'. Both Firmus and Gildo enlisted thedispossessed by aligning with the dissentingDonatist churches and its more radicalcircumcellion movement. The conflicts were part of the long effort by native agricultural people to reclaim their farming and pasture lands, seized by the Romans as a result of military victories.[149][150] Professor Laroui differentiates two primary perspectives on North African history of the Roman period, i.e.,colonial andliberal. Thecolonial perspective conforms to the "dynastic struggle view" first suggested above; it adopts the interests of Imperial Rome and its clients. Theliberal perspective takes the conquered and colonized view, that of the dispossessed farmers and herders, the expropriated natives—former proprietors of the land. Taking this "liberal" view, Laroui sees the conflict here as centuries old, and as more of an ethnic struggle for fairness and justice.[151]
Firmus (died 375) andGildo (died 398) were half-brothers, from a family of Berber landowners whose Roman affiliation was recognized by the imperial government atConstantinople. Their father Nubel was known as aregulus ("little king") of aMauri tribe of Berbers,[152] according to the historianAmmianus Marcellinus.[153][154][155] Nubel the father held three positions: influential leader in Berber tribal politics; Roman official with high connections; and, private master of large land holdings. Nubel probably is the same person as Flavius Nubel, the son of avir perfectissimus andComes (Roman titles of prestige and authority). Flavius Nubel himself was a commander of Roman cavalry, whose inscription also credits to him the construction of a local Christian church. Six sons of Nubel are listed: Firmus, Sammac, Gildo, Mascezel, Dius, and Mazuc.[156] In addition to his wife Nonnica, the father Nubel had concubines, "a Christianized version of polygamy." The names of Nubel's children probably indicate an ambivalent cultural strategy, half-imperial, half-tribal, half Roman, half Berber. Gildo from the Libyan root GLD signifies a "ruler" (in modernBerber "Aguelid"). Firmus and Dius derive fromLatin. Sammac and Mascezel are alsoBerber. A daughter's name Cyria isGreek.[157]
Sammac became holder of "a fortified estate built up... like a city" whose inhabitants were local Mauri Berbers. An inscription erected by Sammac refers to his endorsement by the tribal Mauris and to his authority conferred by Imperial Rome.[159] Sammac was a close friend of theComes ("Count") ofAfrica, Romanus; he also enjoyed substantial family connections. Yet by order of his brother Firmus, Sammac was assassinated for unstated reasons (sibling rivalry is suggested). Firmus sought to justify his actions, but Romanus effectively blocked his efforts, and denounced him to higher Roman officials. Cornered, Firmus took up arms. Hence Ammianus Marcellinus calls Firmusperduellis (national enemy),rebellis (insurgent), andlatro (brigand); the nearby bishopAugustine of Hippo calls himrex barbarus (barbarian king).[160] The historianGibbon, however, blames a corrupt Romanus for the revolt.[161]
Firmus gained support for his revolt (372–375) from three of his brothers and from Mauri tribal allies that he through his family could summons to the struggle. Also attracted were the dissendentDonatist Christian churches,[162] and anti-Roman, anti-taxation sentiment. Evidently Firmus styled himself King ofMauritania.[163] Perhaps he went over to the side of the rural dispossessed and championed their cause. Yet he was opposed by his younger brother Gildo, who remained aligned with Rome. The formidableComesTheodosius (father of the future Emperor) led a Roman force to Africa against Firmus. The subsequent military campaign, wrote Ammianus, tore at social loyalties, "disrupted the balance of power relationships in the region."[164] In the fighting that led to the defeat of Firmus, Gildo served the Romans under theComes Theodosius.[165][166]
Gildo a decade later in 386 became theComes ofAfrica,[167] commander of its Roman military forces, the effective leader. Gildo's appointment resulted from his long association with the house of Theodosius, whose son now reigned atConstantinople in the east as the EmperorTheodosius I the Great (r. 379–395).[168] Gildo's daughter Salvina also "had married into the ruling house and into the Constantinopolitan establishment."[169] The Empire, divided into East and West, endured turbulence.Magnus Maximus ruled in the West, having overthrown its EmperorGratian in 383. Then Maximus moved to claim the purple; for a while in 387 he occupied Africa. Theodosius declared Maximus a "usurper" and after invading Italia in 388 he defeated Maximus in battle.[170] In the meantime in Africa theComes Gildo had occupied a problematic position during the conflict; his loyalty to Emperor Theodosius was put to the test with questioned but passable results.[171] In 394 atMilan in ItalyStilicho, a half-Vandal Roman general, becameregent of the West. With Egypt's grain assigned to the East, Italy's main source was Gildo's Africa. Preferring to deal directly with Theodosius at Constantinople, Gildo suggested the "transfer" of Africa to the East, anathema to Stilicho. Stilicho's protagonistClaudian in his poemDe bello Gildonico mocked Gildo's disloyalty.[172]
On the death of EmperorTheodosius I in 395, Gildo "gradually waived his loyalty". His regime drew upon Mauri Berber alliances, and was supportive ofDonatist churches (then internally divided, its radicals calledcircumcelliones).[173][174] Gildo in 397 declared his loyalty to the new, weak eastern Emperor.[175] "Gildo started his rebellion by withholding the shipment of wheat to Rome."[176] Conflicting evidence may indicate that Gildo "confiscated the imperial lands and distributed them among thecircumcelliones and his troops."[177] Ironically,Gildo's defiance was opposed by his own brother Mascezel, who served Stilicho. Conflict between the two brothers had already become bitter, murderous.[178] Driven from the field by Stilicho, Gildo failed to escape east by ship and died captive in 398. Mascezel died soon after. Gildo's daughter Salvina raised her children inConstantinople at the imperial court, in its Christian community.[179][180] TheVandals led by Gaiseric crossed over to Africa in 429.[181]
These events show a once powerful, 4th-century, Berbero-Roman family in the context of the Mediterranean-wide Empire. "As Roman aristocrats, Nubel's family was not unique in exploiting a local power base in order to play a role at the centre." They also demonstrate the complexities of the loyalties tugging on the Africans of that time and place.[182] Or, on the other hand, beneath all the political complexity may exist a simpler story of the dispossessed seeking capable leaders to further their struggle for the land.[183]
TheDecline of the Roman Empire in the West was a gradual process punctuated by unheard of events. After eight centuries secure from foreign attack,Rome fell to the Visigoths in 410. By 439 Carthage had beencaptured by Vandals under Gaiseric (see below).[184] These changes were traumatic to Roman citizens in Africa Province including, of course, those acculturated Berbers who once enjoyed the prospects for livelihood provided by the long fading, now badly broken Imperial economy.
Yet also other Berbers might see a chance for betterment if not liberation in the wake of Rome's slide toward disorder. Living within the empire in urban poverty or as rural laborers, or living beyond its frontiers as independentpastoralists primarily but also astillers of the soil, were Berbers who might find new political-economic opportunities in Rome's decline, e.g., access to better land and trading terms. The consequent absence of Imperial authority at the periphery soon led to the emergence of new Berber polities. These arose not along the sea coast in the old Imperial cities, but centered inland at the borderland (thelimes) of empire, between the steppe and the sown. This "pre-Sahara" geographic and cultural zone ran along the mountainous frontier, theTell, hill country and upland plains, which separated the "well-watered, Mediterranean districts of theMaghreb to the north, from theSahara desert to the south." Here Berber tribal chiefs acted through force and negotiation to establish a new source of governing authority.[185]
From west to east across Northwest Africa, eight of these new Berbers states have been identified, being the kingdoms of:Altava (near present-dayTlemcen); theOuarsenis (byTiaret); Hodna; theAures (southernNumidia); theNemencha; theDorsale (at Thala, south ofEl Kef);Capsus (atCapsa); and, Cabaon (inTripolitania, atOea).[186] The easternmost five of these Berber kingdoms were located within the oldAfrica Proconsularis, and all eight were within the now defunctDiocese of Africa (314–432), Carthage its capital. Alike in situation to the newly formed Germanic kingdoms within the fallen Empire in Europe to the north,[187] these Berber kingdoms served two disparate populations: theRomani who were "the settled communities of provincial citizens" and the "barbarians", here theMauri, "Berber tribes along and beyond the frontier". TheRomani contributed the urban resources and fiscal structure for which a civil administration was required, while theMauri provided fruits of the countryside and satisfied essential military and security requirements. This functional and ethnic duality at the core of the Berber successor states is reflected in the title of the political leader at Altava, oneMasuna, found on an inscription:rex gent(ium) Maur(orum) et Romanor(um).[188]
In the Kingdom of Ouarsenis (byTiaret) were built thirteen large funerary monuments known asDjedars, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries, many being square measuring 50 meters on a side and rising 20 meters high. "While their architectural form echoes a long tradition of massiveNorthwest African royal mausolea, stretching back toNumidian andMauretanian kingdoms of the 3rd–1st centuries BC, the closest parallels are with thetumuli orbazinas, with flanking 'chapels', which are distributed in an arc through the pre-Saharan zone and beyond" perhaps several thousand kilometers to the southwest (to modernMauritania). Some display "decorative carvings and Christian motifs" although the bilingual dedicatory inscriptions are virtually illegible. "The Djedars could thus be considered the ultimate development of an indigenous, pre-Saharan funerary architectural tradition, adapted to fit a Christian, Romanized environment."[189]
Yet an unresolved issue concerns the Christianity of independent Berbers after Roman rule, both Catholic andDonatist, i.e., Berber Christianity under the Vandals, Byzantines, and Arabs.[190] Christianity never completely supplanted the ancient pagan beliefs of Berbers, mixed and augmented by Punic practices and later Greco-Roman. Nor did Christianity among the Berbers attain an enduring unity among its diverse and conflicting believers.[191]
Under the Byzantines, several Berber political entities proximous to Imperial power became nominal vassal-states pledging loyalty to the Empire, who invested their leaders. A major Imperial concern was, by negotiation and trade, or by show or demonstration of might, to harness the anarchic tendencies of these more rural regimes; otherwise, to withstand any challenge. Roman urban centers, however, survived into the 7th century atTiaret, Altaya,Tlemcen, and Volubilis, where practicing Christians wrote in Latin. Other Berber polities at the periphery of the settled regions retained their total independence.[192]
In the 5th century, the western Roman Empire was in a steep decline. A Germanic tribal nation theVandals had already trekked across the Empire to Hispania. In 429 under their kingGaiseric (r. 428–477) the Vandals and theAlans (their Iranian allies), about 80,000 people, traveled the 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) fromIulia Traducta in Andalusia across the straits and east along the coast toNumidia, west of Carthage. The next year the Vandals besieged the city ofHippo Regius (on the coast of Numidia) whileSt. Augustine within awaited his natural death.[194] Eventually in 439 the Vandals captured Carthage, which became the center of their Germanic kingdom.[195]
The western Imperial capital atRavenna recognized his rule in 442. Yet fromConstantinople the eastern Empire attempted reconquest several times. At lastin 468 a large Byzantine fleet approached Cape Bon by Carthage, and Gaiseric asked for time to consider submission to Imperial demands. When the wind changed Vandal fire ships were scudded into the fleet causing its ruin. After guaranteeing Catholic freedom of worship, Gaiseric entered a peace treaty with the Byzantines in 474, which lasted about sixty years.[196]
"Nothing could have been more unexpected in North Africa than these conquerors of Germanic origin."[197] Initially many Berbers fought the Vandals as they arrived; after the Vandals' conquest, Berber forces remained the only military threat against them.[198] Yet in governing their kingdom the Vandals did not maintain in full their martial posture against the Berbers, but made alliances with them in order to secure their occupation of the land. In 455 the Gaiseric sailed with an army to the city ofRome.[199]
In religious policy, the Vandals tried to convert the urban Catholic Christians of Africa to theirArian heresy (named after the Egyptian Christian priestArius, who taught that theFather is greater than theSon and theSpirit). The Vandal regime sent the Catholic clergy into exile and expropriated Catholic churches; in the 520s their efforts turned to persecution, including martyrdom of resisters, yet without success. The Berbers remained aloof. In all Vandal rule would last 94 years (439–533).[200][201]
The Vandals did provide functional security and governed with a light hand, so that the former Roman province prospered at first. Large estates were confiscated, but with former owners as managers. Roman officials administered public affairs and Roman law courts continued, Latin being used for government business. Yet Romans would wear Vandal dress at the royal court in Carthage. Agriculture provided more than enough to feed the region and trade flourished in the towns.[202] Yet because of their desire to maintain a superiority in status, the Vandals refused to intermarry or agreeably assimilate to the advanced culture of the Romans. Consequently, finer points were overlooked; the Vandals failed to sustain in its entirety the workable civil society situated subtly, uniquely. Berbers confederacies beyond the frontier grew increasingly powerful, dangerous to the prevailing regime.[203][204]
The Eastern Romans, known also as theByzantine Empire, eventually recaptured Rome's Africa province during theVandalic War in 534, when led by their celebrated generalBelisarius. The Byzantines rebuilt fortifications and border defenses (thelimes), and entered into treaties with the Berbers. Nevertheless, for many decades security and prosperity were precarious and were never fully restored. Direct Byzantine rule didn't extend far beyond the coastal cities. The African interior remained under the control of various Berber tribal confederacies, e.g., the Byzantines contested against the BerberKingdom of Garmules.[205]
Early in the 7th century, several new Berber groups (theJarid andZanata of the Auruba) converted to Catholicism, joining Berbers already Christian, although other Berbers remained attached to their gods.[206][207] In the 540s the restored Catholic Church in Africa was disrupted by the EmperorJustinian's position in favor of theMonophysite doctrine.
In the early 7th century, the Byzantine Empire entered a period of serious crises that would alter the future of Tunisia. For centuries Byzantium's greatest enemy had been theSassanid Persians, and the two powers were chronically at war with each other (theRoman-Persian Wars). The warfare was often intense but usually resulted in small border changes. In the 7th century however, the situation changed dramatically. Persistent religious discord within the Empire, followed by the overthrow ofEmperor Maurice by the tyrantPhocas, severely weakened the Byzantines. The Persians underChosroes IIinvaded the Byzantine Empire, along with allies from the north: theEurasian Avars andSlav confederacies. Much of the Empire was overrun and its end seemed near.[208]
It was the son of theExarch of Carthage,Heraclius (575–641), who would restore the empire's fortunes. Heraclius sailed east across the Mediterranean with an African fleet to the Byzantine capital city ofConstantinople and overthrew the usurperPhocas. Heraclius then became Roman Emperor in 610. He began reorganizing the government and erecting defenses to counter threats to the capital. Notwithstanding, the Persians continued their invasion, meeting little resistance, takingAntioch in 611,Jerusalem in 614, andAlexandria in 619, in an astonishing series of victories. The hostile forces of Chosroes II soon stood before Constantinople. In response, Heraclius at great risk moved quickly a Roman army by ship east over theBlack Sea, landing near hisKhazar allies. In subsequent fighting the Byzantines managed to out-flank the Persians. By 627 Heraclius was marching on their capitalCtesiphon in a complete reversal of fortune. Then in 628 the Persian Shah, Chosroes II, was killed in a revolt by his generals.[209]
As a result of these dramatic and tumultuous events,Sassanid Persia was in disarray and confusion. Consequently, the Byzantines were able to retake their provinces ofEgypt andSyria. Yet with the return of the Romans, the pre-existing religious discord between the localMonophysite Christians of Egypt and the official imperialChalcedonian Church also returned. In order to mediate thisChristological conflict, Emperor Heraclius attempted to work out a theological compromise. The result wasMonothelitism, whose compromise doctrine satisfied neither Monophysite nor Chalcedonian; the religious discord among Christians continued to conflict the Empire.[210]
Yet events along the imperial frontier did not rest. To the south, the Arab peoples of the desert began to stir under the influence of a newIslam. In 636 at theBattle of Yarmuk to the east of theSea of Galilee the Arab Islamic armies decisively defeated the Byzantine forces.[208] Soon the recently lost and regained Roman provinces of Syria and Egypt would be lost again by the Byzantines—with finality—to emerging Islam.[211]
Following theArab invasion and occupation of Egypt in 640, there were Christian refugees who fled west, until arriving in the Exarchate of Africa (Carthage), which remained under Byzantine rule. Here serious disputes arose within the Catholic churches at Carthage over Monophysite doctrines and Monothelitism, withSt. Maximus the Confessor leading the orthodox Catholics.[212]
"As if the very rememberance (sic) that he is man ought not to procure his greater sorrow in that he has cause of just wars, and must needs wage them, which if they were not just, it were not for him to deal in, so that a wise man should never have war. For it is the other men's wickedness that makes his cause just that he ought to deplore, whether it produce wars or not."The City of God (London: Dent 1945) at II: 243 (XIX,7). Also,ibid. at II: 247 (XIX,12).
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