The North African church

Contents

Map of North Africa ... ... ... To face title

Chapter I. The Province Of Africa

Limits of the district called Africa — The Christians of Cyrene — Probable spread of the Gospel to Carthage — Rapid growth and importance of the African Church — Natural fertility of the country — Intelligence of the people — The Phoenicians — Their religion : Baal and Ashtoreth — Worship of Melkarth — Skill in navigation — Constitution of Carthage — The Punic wars — Contrast of Roman and Carthaginian government — Genius of the chief Carthaginians— The city of Carthage — Other Phoenician cities — The Greeks — The Libyans — The Numidians — The Moors ■ — Mixture of races — Intellectual culture of Carthage — Foundation of the Roman colony by Augustus

CHAPTER n.

THE AFRICAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.

The Apology of Tertullian — His character— His description of the Christians — Argument of his treatise — Characteristics of Tertullian's Apology — Exorcism in the Early Church — The Emperor Severus— The Scillitan martyrs — The martyrdom of Perpetua and her companions ...

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Vi CONTENTS.

Chapter III. Tertullian And The Early Heresies

PAGE

Controversies of the early Church — The Gnostics — Marcion — The Canon of Holy Scripture — Praxeas — Rise of the doctrine afterwards called Sabellianism — Montanus — His doctrine of the Holy Spirit — Montanism of Tertullian — Historical value of Tertullian's works ... ... 44

Chapter IV. The Decian Persecution

Unpopularity of the Christians — Gradual progress of the Church— The Emperor Decius revives Roman traditions — Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage — Need of discipline in the African Church — Cyprian's idea of the episcopal office — The edict of Decius— Retirement of Cyprian from Carthage— His letter to the clergy — Difference of opinion concerning flight in persecution — Correspondence with the Church of Rome — The lapsed — "Letters of peace" granted by the martyrs — Cyprian's decision in various cases — Peculiarity of the Decian persecution — Return of Cyprian to Carthage— The Thurificati and Libellatici — Cyprian opposed by Novatus — Fortunatus consecrated bishop — Cyprian's treatise, On the Unify of the Church — Verses of Commodian, one of the lapsed ... ... 6i

Chapter V

Cornelius, Bishop of Rome — Novatian and Novatus — Schism of the Novatianists — The plague at Carthage, A.D. 252 — Cyprian's activity and charity — His vindication of the Christians — Dispute between Africa and Rome on second Baptism — Difference of practice in the East and West — Council of Carthage, A.D. 255— Correspondence between Cyprian and Stephen — Council of Carthage, A.D. 256 — Speeches of the bishops — Sequel of the controversy ... 83

CONTENTS. Vll

Chapter VI. Martyrdom Of Cyprian"

PAGE

The Emperor Valerian — Cyprian summoned to Carthage

Exiled to Curubis — His vision— His recall from exile —

Trial and martyrdom— Character of Cyprian ... ... ico

CHAPTER Vn.

MANICH^ISM— THE LAST PERSECUTION.

Defeat of Valerian by Sapor— Persian conquests and capture of Antioch— Rise of Manichseism— History of Mani— Religion of Persia— Mani's doctrines— Reasons of their popularity at Carthage— Diocletian's edict against the Manichaeans- Peace in the Church from Gallienus to Diocletian— Refusal by Christians of military service- Diocletian's edicts against the Christians, A.D. 303 —Effects of the persecution— The bishopric of Cirta — Device of Mensurius, Bishop of Carthage— Edict of toleration, A.D/ 311 — Extent and consequences of Diocletian's persecution — Triumph of Christianity ... ... no

CHAPTER VHI.

BEGINNING OF THE DONATIST SCHISM.

Death of Mensurius— Election of Ctecilian to the bishopric of Carthage— Discontent of the Numidian bishops— Majorinus elected as a rival bishop — Accession of Constantine — Constantine's measures for the peace of the Church— The Lateran Council, A.D. 313— The Council of Aries, A.D. 314— The Numidian party appeal to the emperor— Donatus appointed as successor to Majorinus— His ability and mfluence — The Donatists formed into a sect ... 132

CHAPTER IX.

CONSTANTINE.

The Edict of Milan, A.D. 313— Early life and character of Constantine — Arnobius and Lactantius — Constantine's vlii CONTENTS.

impulsiveness — His liberality to the Christians — His treatment of the Donatists — Rebuilding of Cirta — Transfer of the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople — Effects of the change— The Council of Nicsea, a.d. 325— Constantine and the Arians — Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria— Baptism and death of Constantine — His influence on the African Church — Characteristics of African Christianity ... ... ... ... .-. ••• 147

CHAPTER X.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE.

The emperor's example leads the Roman people — Number of the Christians at Rome — Probable number at Carthage — Religious supremacy of the emperor, according to heathen ideas — Change in the habits of the Christians : relics : pilgrimages — Constantine's liberal policy towards the Church — Arianism revives under Constantius — North Africa averse to Arianism — Labours and sufferings of Athanasius — Continuance of the Donatist schism — African bishops at Sirmium and Rimini — Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381 — Conversion of the Goths by Arian missionaries — Wavering policy of Constans towards the Donatists — The Circumcellions — Beginning of monasticism : Anthony the hermit ... ... ... 167

CHAPTER XL

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO.

Valerius takes Augustine for coadjutor — Augustine's accom- ])lishments — His genius — The charm of his character — His Confessions — His early life : his father and mother — His studies — He becomes a Manichrcan — Edict of Theodosius for the suppression of paganism, A. U. 384 — Augustine goes to Rome — Becomes professor of rhetoric at Milan — Ambrose, Bishop of Milan — Simplician — Conversion of Augustine — His baptism — Death of Monica — Return of Augustine to Africa ... ... ... 18S

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XII.

THE DOXATIST CONFERENCE.

PAGE

Augustine attempts to reconcile the Donatists — Division among the Donatists : Maximian — Their inveterate hostiUty to the Church — The moderate Donatists : Tichonius — Augustine's overtures — Series of Councils of the province of Africa — Imperial edicts against the Donatists — A conference appointed by the Emperor Honorius, A.D. 41 1 — Appeal of Augustine to Canonical Scripture — Arguments on both sides — Decision of the imperial commissioner Marcellinus — New edicts against the Donatists — Their desperation ... ... ... ... ... 206

CHAPTER XIII.

THE FALL OF ROME.

Capture of Rome by Alaric, A.D. 410 — Roman fugitives at^ Carthage — Christian and Pagan explanations of the fall of Rome — Augustine's treatise, De Civitate Dei — Immense influence of this treatise — Revolt of Africa under Gildo — Revolt of Heraclian — Death of Marcellinus ... ... 224

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY.

Arrival of Pelagius and Ca^lestius in Africa— Character of Pelagius — His friendship for Demetrias— Cselestius accused of heresy at Carthage, A.D. 412 — Pelagius accused of heresy at Jerusalem, A.D. 415 — Augustine takes part in the controversy — I'oints at issue : Original Sin, and Cnace — Appeal to Rome — Innocent and Zosimus, Bishops of Rome — Plenary Council of Carthage, A.D. 418 — Decisions of the Council — Zosimus condemns Pelagius and Cselestius — Julian of /liculanum opposes Augustine — Constantius III. demolishes the Temple of Coelestis at Carthage— The mor.ks of Adrumetum — The semi-Pelagians in Gaul — Augustine's authority afterwards claimed on opposite sides — Pelagianism condemned by the Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431 ... ... ... ... -36

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA.

PAGE

Councils at Carthage, A.D. 419 and 420 (sixth and seventh) — Boniface, Count of Africa, invites the Vandals from Spain — The Vandals besiege Hippo — Last years of Augustine — Devastation of Africa— Death of Augustine — Augustine's character and habits — Catholics in Africa persecuted by the Arian Vandals — Genseric takes Carthage — Banishment of the bishops — Fire at Carthage — Salvian's description of the citizens — Ferocity of Genseric — Alypius, Bishop of Tagaste — Evodius, Bishop of Uzalis — Possidius, Bishop of Calama — Comparative number of African bishops ... 263

CHAPTER XVI.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS.

Genseric's oppression of the African Church — Sympathy of Pope Leo the Great — Deogratias elected Bishop of Carthage— Rome taken and sacked by Genseric — Captives and plunder brought to Carthage — Charity of Bishop Deogratias — Vacancy of the see — Scanty records of this period — Legends of martyrdom — Victories and death of Genseric — Hunneric, King of the Vandals, A.D. 477 — He tries to suppress Manichaeism — His cruelty — Eugenius elected Bishop of Carthage, A.D. 481 — Conference of Catholics and Arians, A. D. 483 — Hunneric's edict for persecution of the Catholics — His treatment of the bishops — The martyrs of Tipasa — Guntamund, King of the Vandals, A.D. 484 — Plis tolerant disposition : the Church of St. Agileus restored to the Catholics — Thrasimund, King of the Vandals, A.D. 496 — He attempts to bribe the Catholics — Fame of Bishop Eugenius — Thrasimund banishes 120 bishops to Sardinia — Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe — His interviews with Thrasimund — His second banishment — Hilderic, King of the Vandals, A.D. 523 — Return of the exiled bishops — Council at Carthage, A.D. 525 — Hilderic deposed by Gclimer — Death of Fulgentius — Vigilius, Bishop of Thapsus — Effects of the Vandal persecution ... ... . ... ... 2S4

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XVII.

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN.

PAGE

The Vandals enervated in Africa — Increased power of Constantinople under Justinian — Belisarius sent against Gelimer — Conquest of Africa by Belisarius — Council at Carthage, A.D. 535 — Character of Justinian and Theodora — Theological controversies at Constantinople — Hooker's summary of the four General Councils — The Origenist controversy — The Three Chapters — The African clergy refuse to sign Justinian's edict — ^Justinian summons the chief bishops to Constantinople — The fifth General Council, A.D. 553 — Later years of Justinian — His influence on the African Church ... ... ... 314

CHAPTER XVIII.

STATE OF THE CHURCH BEFORE THE MOSLEM INVASION.

Strength and weakness of the Byzantine Empire — The Eastern sects — Image worship — Pope Gregory the Great corresponds with the African clergy — His influence in Africa limited — Ravages of the plague — Reign of the Emperor Heraclius, son of the Exarch of Africa — Conquests of Chosroes II., King of Persia — Chosroes defeated by Heraclius — Embassy of the prophet Mohammed — Rise of Mohammedanism — Heraclius attempts to reunite the Christians — The Monothelite controversy — Dispute at Carthage between Maximus and Pyrrhus — Fortunius, Monothelite Bishop of Carthage, deposed — Type of the Emperor Constans, A.D. 648 — The sixth General Council, A.D. 680 — Condemnation of Pope Honorius and the Monothelites — Want of sympathy between clergy and people... 337

CHAPTER XIX.

THE MOSLEM CONQUEST.

Progress of the Moslem arms — Causes of their success — Popular qualities of the Koran — The Caliph Abubeker's instructions to his generals — Seven precepts of Ferrandus, xii CONTENTS.

on the duty of a Christian soldier — North Africa invaded by Abdallah, A.D. 647 — Second invasion by Akbah, A.D. 665 — Carthage taken and destroyed by Hassan, A.D. 698 — Rising of the Moors under Queen Kahina — Devastation of the cities on the coast ... ... ... ... 362

CHAPTER XX.

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH.

Unrecorded miseries of the African Christians — Cessation of the tribute in A.D. 754 — Depopulation of Nortli Africa — Pestilence and famine — Egyptian missionaries visit Cairoan in A.D. 837 — Letter of Bishop of Carthage to Pope Leo IX. — Letter of Gregory VII. to Moorish sultan — Expedition of Louis IX. of France to Tunis — His death among the ruins of Carthage — Mission of Raymond Lully to Tunis — His death at Bugia — Piracy of the Algerines and Tunisians — Capture of Tunis by Charles V. — Christian captives : the confessor of Don John of Austria — The martyr Geronimo — Brotherhoods for the ransom of captives — St. Vincent de Paul's captivity — Extinction of Algerine piracy — Present desolation of Carthage ... 374

Appendix

The Ruins of Carthage ... ... ... •••397

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

Chapter I. The Province Of Africa

In the multitude of Jews who were assembled at Jerusalem from all parts of the world at the feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, were some who are described as having come from " the parts of Libya about Cyrene." This district adjoins that which was formerly called Africa ; a name which, like that of Asia, spread with advancing knowledge until, from denoting a single province, it became the name of an entire continent. Libya was the common Greek name for the African territory, so far as it was known to the Greeks. Africa proper was the portion which belonged to Carthage in the latest period of Carthaginian independence, a district at the northeast angle of the coast, opposite Sicily, about as

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

large as Portugal, and corresponding nearly in its limits with the modern province of Tunis. But already in the time of Sallust/ a little before the birth of Christ, Africa was used as a general name for the whole region westward of Cyrene to the Atlantic Ocean. It was a fertile and prosperous land, the coast-line being studded with numerous flourishing cities, of which Carthage was by far the most important.

There is good reason to suppose that the Jews of the dispersion were settled in considerable numbers in Carthage and the neighbourhood.^ The great commercial importance of the city, its ancient relations with Phoenicia, the large number of Jews who frequented other Mediterranean seaports, the fact that 35,000 Jews are to be found in the city of Tunis at this day, altogether forms a body of circumstantial evidence, which appears conclusive. Jews were certainly to be found as near as Tripolis in large numbers ; and as the City of Carthage increased rapidly in population during the Apostolic age, it is likely that the Christian faith was made known in the province of Africa before the end of the first century, brought thither by Jews from Cyrene, or from Rome, or direct from Judaea.

Cyrene, the chief of a group of five Greek cities, is the most probable of these three sources. The Cyrenian Jews were distinguished for their active

* Jtigurtha^ xvii.

2 See Farrar, St, Paid, i. 125 ; Josephus, Antiquities, xvi. 6, 5.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

interest in the Christian faith, both as enemies and as friends. Representatives of a synagogue of Cyrenians were prominent among the antagonists who disputed with Stephen ; ^ and Cyrenian converts, among whom are named a certain Lucius and possibly also Simeon called Niger, were among the Christians of Antioch, who took part in the solemn act of sending Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey.^ Another Cyrenian, Simon, who bore the cross of Christ at His crucifixion, is described by St. Mark as the " father of Alexander and Rufus : " ^ a suggestive notice, for it implies a familiar knowledge of the sons of Simon on the part of the Evangelist and his readers. Thus the Jews of Cyrene seem to have been among the first to oppose, and among the first to receive, the Gospel. In the warfare which the Church waged against Judaism and paganism, the foremost champions on the one side were often killed as martyrs, and those on the other side were often taken prisoners as converts. What is known of the zeal and energy of the Cyrenians justifies the supposition that they were not long in handing on the Gospel to their neighbours in the province of Africa. At all events, however planted and watered, the Christian faith made progress along the whole North African coast with extraordinary rapidity. The African Church comes to light as a large and zealous society, before the end of the second cen-

^ Acts vi. 9. ^ Acts xiii. i. * St. Mark xv. 21.

tury after the birth of Christ, being to all appearance far more vigorous than the Church of Rome or of Alexandria at that time.

There appears to be no sure ground for the conjecture that Carthage was indebted to Rome for the Gospel.^ In facilities of intercourse with the Holy Land, Carthage was not inferior to Rome. Its maritime position was more favourable, and though the city of Carthage had not, in the age of the Apostles, risen again from its ruins to the greatness which afterAvards made it a rival of Rome in population, the whole surrounding district swarmed with inhabitants.

From the second century to the fifth, Rome itself was not more important than Carthage as an ecclesiastical centre. In the time of St. Augustine, the number of African dioceses was 466, extending along the v/hole northern coast of the Mediterranean, from a boundary line west of Cyrene. But a still larger number of dioceses existed at one time or another. Without including doubtful names, which seem to be corruptions of others, there are 579 distinct sees of which the names are preserved : of which 108 are in proconsular Africa; 151 in Numidia; 139 in Byzacena, of which the civil

* Neander, i, p. 115 (Torrey's translation) : "In consequence of their connection with Rome, the Gospel early found its way to Carthage, and to the whole of proconsular Africa. The Church at Carthage becomes first known to us in the last years of the second century, through the presbyter Tertullian ; but it was then evidently in a very flourishing state." Sec Morcelli, Africa Christiaiuiy i. 10.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

metropolis was Adrumctum ; 49 in eastern Mauretania, now part of Algeria; and 127 in western Mauretania, corresponding nearly to Morocco ; besides 5 in Tripolis.^ Several of these dioceses contained three or four score towns and villages. The provincial Councils of Carthage show, by their frequency, the active zeal of the members of the African Church ; and the questions which were resolved there for the first time are among the cardinal questions of Church doctrine and discipline, as to which the Canons of Carthage carry weight in the Universal Church to the present day. But the great and singular distinction of the African Church is to have produced three men who, for different reasons, stand as the foremost representatives of Western Christendom for three several centuries after the Apostolic age, namely, TertuUian in the second century, Cyprian in the third, Augustine in the fourth. Through their mouths the African Church, "being dead, yet speaketh;" and though its place knows it no more, its spirit fills all Christendom.

As an introduction to the history of the African Church, some account must be given of the country and of the people by whom it was inhabited. The land was celebrated among the Romans for its extraordinary fertility. In no part of the world did the corn-fields bear such abundant increase ; in none did nature wear a more cheerful aspect.^ It

^ Bingham, Ecd. Antiq., Appendix to book ix. Morcclli enumerates 715. ' Newman, Callista.

was in Africa, on the slopes of Mount Atlas towards the ocean, that Greek fable placed the Gardens of the Hesperides. The cultivated lands of North Africa, sloping gradually in broad natural terraces from the mountains, were rich in depth of soil, and watered by the Bagradas and other rivers, flowing through well-wooded valleys. The mountain sides v/ere clothed with noble forests of cedar and other trees. The palm, the orange, the olive, grew luxuriantly ; while the rose and other sweet-scented shrubs were so abundant that their flowers were distilled for odours. The landscape was diversified by the foliage of the fig and the vine, and the delicate flowers of the oleander.

Where nature is so bountiful, the art of man is apt to content itself with slight efforts. But the Carthaginians had an energy of character which gave no rest to themselves or to those who served them. They were distinguished among the nations of antiquity for their skill in agriculture. When the Romans took Carthage, they gave away carelessly to the Numidians all the Punic books which they found, except one. This one, Mago's treatise on agriculture, was translated into Latin, and was afterwards held in the highest esteem as an authority on the subject.^

The climate of North Africa is tempered by the snows of the Atlas range, and the heat is not often excessive. At some seasons of the year, however^

' r>osworth Smith, Carthage and the Carikagim'ans, p. 44.

TilE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. /

it is described by physicians as predisposing to two opposite extremes, indolence and violence. The sultry heat produces languor ; and the sirocco from the desert, loaded with fine grains of sand, is apt to cause a nci*vous irritation, which sometimes leads, through delirium, to murder or suicide.-^

Of the people of ancient Carthage the dominant race were Phoenicians. According to the old legend. Dido, a princess of Sidon, nearly related to Ahab's queen, Jezebel, migrated to Carthage, and founded a city called Kirjath-Hadeskath, or New Town, which name was contracted and corrupted into Carthage. There were traditions of a still earlier migration. ' Procopius, writing in the sixth century after Christ, mentions two columns of white marble in Numidia, bearing the inscription, " We are they who fled from the robber Joshua son of Nun." The authority of Procopius is not sufficient to establish the fact of an inscription which, if it existed at all, must have been written in a language which was probably unknown to him.^ But the Phoenician descent of the people of Carthage, at whatever date, is proved by indisputable evidence. The names of places and of persons are Phoenician ; the religion was Phoenician ; and the common people, when asked of what race they were, answered that they were Canaanites.^

Some of the Carthaginian names have a curious

^ Seguin, Walks in Algiers, p. 8.

^ Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, ii. 298 ; Movers, Ph'dnizier^ ii. 427. ^ Augustine, quoted by Bosworth Smith, p. 41.

relation to names in the Bible. Two names which occur in Virgil's yEneid — Elissa, the second and perhaps the proper name of Dido ; ^ and Anna, her sister, are nearly identical with the Hebrew names Elizabeth and Hannah.^ The greatest of Carthaginians, Hannibal, bears a name which is cognate to the Hebrew name Johanan or John, being composed of two words which signify in the one case the grace of Baal, in the other the grace of Jehovah.

The chief gods of Carthage were the Syrian Baal and Ashtoreth. Each of these two underwent various modifications, while in general they represented the masculine and feminine powers of nature.^ Baal was the sun-god, the god of fire, of light, of health, and also of pestilence ; sometimes assuming the form of Apollo, sometimes that of ^sculapius, to the eyes of the imaginative Greek ; and more often wearing the hideous aspect of Moloch, when his worshippers immolated their children to him in the day of distress, or their captives in the day of triumph. Ashtoreth was the moon, the queen of heaven, the ruler of the night ; sometimes invested with the attributes of Diana, sometimes with those of Juno or Ceres,but popularly worshipped with the licentious orgies against which the prophets raised their inspired voice in Israel.

^ These names are certainly Phoenician, though the story, according to a modem theory, is mythical. See Movers, Phomz/er, i. 609.

^ See Gesenius, De linriid Phainicici, pp. 350, 406. Also C. Af. Yongc, Christian iVames, vol. i. p. 90 ; Bosworth Smith, pp. 14, 43.

' Movers, i. 149.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

' ' Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns ; To whose bright image nightly by the moon Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs ; In Sion also not unsung, where stood Her temple on the offensive mountain. "

The two together, Baal and Ashtoreth, presided over a religion of nature which, to thoughtful minds, was not incapable of association with sublime ideas ; but which, in its ordinary and popular form, consecrated the fiercest and grossest passions.

Another deity, belonging to another religious system, was also worshipped at Carthage. He was called the " King of the City," Melech-Kirjath, a name which, contracted into Melkarth, was identified with the Greek Herakles, or Hercules.^ Melkarth was the tutelary god of Carthage, and of other Phoenician towns, such as Tyre and Gades (the modern Cadiz).^ No image or temple was known to have been erected to him at Carthage. His temple at Tyre also contained no image, but only two lustrous columns, one of gold, one of emerald.^ The origin and meaning of this worship is unknown, but it appears to have been extremely primitive. It gives significance, on the one hand, to the title " Pillars of Hercules," applied by mariners to the two mountains on either side of the straits of the Mediterranean, but said by the natives of Gades to be

* It has been suggested that the Greek name, read from right to left, is nearly the same as Melkarth ; HPAKAH2.— Smith, Did. •** Phoenicia."

^ Gesenius, Deling. P/io:/!., pp. 352, 410. ^ Herodotus, ii. 44.

properly the pillars of their own temple ; ^ on the other hand, the recurrence of two pillars in connection with the Tyrian worship of an invisible tutelary god, throws a dim light on the mysterious pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which Solomon's Tyrian builders erected in front of the Temple at Jerusalem.^ Perhaps this worship may be associated with the early forms of patriarchal religion, which expressed itself in the erection of altars and pillars on any spot where the presence of God was specially felt as a protector, as by Jacob at Bethel ; or solemnly invoked as a guardian of covenants, as by Jacob and Laban at the two heaps of stones which they erected in witness of their contract at parting.^

Two mounds, or altars, known as altars of the Phileeni, were erected at an early date by the Carthaginians and Cyrenians, to mark the eastern boundary of the territory subject to Carthage. In this direction, between the greater and lesser Syrtis, is the land of the Lotos-eaters, celebrated by Homer,* where the companions of Ulysses, having tasted the sweet fruit of the lotos tree, forgot their home, and no longer desired to return. The plant, which is still better known by its Arab name, jujube, is a prickly shrub, bearing fruit about the size of olives.

The Carthaginians, like other members of the Phoenician race, were distinguished for ingenuity and enterprise. They were the greatest navigators

^ SlraLo, iii. - Movers, Phonizier, i. 293.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. II

of antiquity, and, as they pursued navigation for purposes of commerce, tliey became the wealthiest. Mercenaries were employed to fight their battles, and slaves to row their ships. The armed force which their wealth provided, and which their skilful policy directed, enabled them to keep the neighbouring cities in subjection. The western part of the Mediterranean became virtually a Carthaginian sea, until the strength of Carthage was broken by the Romans.

Aristotle praises the constitution of Carthage for its stability ; ^ and the continued prosperity of the city for many centuries justifies the praise. There were two chief magistrates appointed for life, whom the Romans called kings, but whose actual title, Suffetes, was the same which is given in the Old Testament to the judges of Israel. There was a council of one hundred, forming part of a larger body, the senate ; and there was also a popular assembly. For restless spirits in the city a wide field of adventure was open in maritime expeditions, which served to increase the wealth of the State. One famous navigator, Hanno, explored the west coast of Africa beyond the mouth of the Niger. Others formed colonies in Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and Spain. But about sixty years after Aristotle died, when Carthage had attained to her highest power, she came in conflict with a rival whose constitution was even more stable than her ovv^n.

^ Aristotle, Politics, ii.

The struggle between Rome and Carthage surpasses in interest all others recorded in ancient history. The vast scale of the Punic wars, the varied episodes by land and sea, the military genius displayed, and the extreme alternations of success and defeat, give to these wars a distinct and vivid character, which serves to place in its true light their world-wide importance. Rome fought for conquest, Carthage for existence ; but the stubborn persistence of the Romans was like that of men w4io are fighting for life, and the brilliant strategy of the Carthaginians was like that of men who are fighting for glory.

There was a vital difference between the political systems of the two States, which showed itself chiefly in their mode of dealing with their subject neighbours. Rome had learned to associate the other cities of Italy with herself, so that in her most extreme peril they continued firm and loyal allies. Carthage, with a more selfish policy, had kept her neighbours in a state of tributary dependence, and could never reckon upon their fidelity when they had an opportunity of throwing off the yoke. Whenever an invading army landed in Africa, it found its way open, almost to the walls of Carthage. Her jealousy had deprived the surrounding cities of the means of defence, and her oppression led them to give welcome to any stranger as a deliverer.^ But Rome had adopted

^ Boswortli Smiih, p. 55.

a more generous and far-sighted policy, with a better result. When Hannibal led his army through Italy, hoping to raise the Italian cities against Rome, he traversed the whole country in vain. Victorious in every battle, until he had all but destroyed the military power of Rome, he found himself still without allies. No city of the Latin name would join him ; and, after years of waiting, he was constrained by danger at home to return to Africa, to find himself for the first time overmatched in contending for Carthage upon African soil.