part of Numidia to constitute a special province governed by a
procurator, subordinate to the imperial legate and resident
at Cirta (Tissot ii. 34). This province was called Numidia
Cirtensis, as opposed to Numidia Inferior or proconsular Numidia.
In Diocletian's great reform of the administrative system of
the empire, the whole of Roman Africa, with the exception of
Mauretania Tingitana (which was attached to the province of
Spain), constituted a single diocese subdivided into six
provinces: Zeugitana (Carthage), Byzacium (Hadrumetum, now
Susa), Numidia Cirtensis (Cirta, Constantine), Tripolitana
(Tripolis), Mauretania Sitifensis (Sitifis, Setif), and
Mauretania Caesariensis (Caesarea, now Cherchel). These
provinces were administered, according to circumstances, by
a praeses of senatorial rank, a legatus pro praetore, or
a vir clarissimus consularis. Some changes were eventually
necessitated by the wars with the Moors and the Vandals.
By a treaty concluded in 476, the emperor Zeno recognized
Genseric as master of all Africa. Reconquered by Belisarius in
534, Africa formed, under the name of praefectura Africae,
one of the great administrative districts of the Byzantine
empire. It was subdivided into six provinces, which were
placed under the authority of the praetorian prefect of
Africa. These provinces were Zeugitana (the former
Proconsularis), Carthage, Byzacium, Tripolitana, Numidia and
Mauretania. The civil government was carried on by consulares
or praesides, while the military government was in the
hands of four duces militum, who made strenuous efforts to
drive out the barbarians. The country was studded thickly
with burgi (small forts) and clausurae (long walls), the
ruins of which still subsist. In 647 the Arabs penetrated
into Ifrikia, which was destined to fall for ever out
of the grasp of the Romans. In 697 Carthage was taken.
The bulk of the population of Roman Africa was invariably
composed of three chief elements: the indigenous Berber tribes,
the ancient Carthaginians of Phoenician origin and the Roman
colonists. The Berber tribes, whose racial unity is attested by
their common spoken language and by the comparatively numerous
Berber inscriptions that have come down to us, bore in ancient
times the generic names of Numidians, Gaetulians and Moors or
Maurusiani. Herodotus mentions a great number of these
tribes. During the Roman period, according to Pliny, there
were settlements of 26 indigenous tribes extending from the
Ampsaga as far as Cyrenaica. The much more detailed list of
Ptolemy enumerates 39 indigenous tribes in the province of
Africa and 25 in Mauretania Caesariensis. Ammianus Marcellinus,
Procopius and Flavius Cresconius Corippus give still further
names. Besides the Afri (Aourigha) of the territory of
Carthage, the principal tribes that took part in the wars
against the Romans were the Lotophagi, the Garamantes, the
Maces, the Nasamones in the regions of the S.E., the Misulani
or Musulamii (whence the name Mussulman), the Massyli
and the Massaesyli in the E., who were neighbours of the
Moors. The non-nomads of these Libyan tribes dwelt in huts
made of stakes supporting plaited mats of rush or asphodel.
These dwellings, which were called mapalia, are the modern
gourbis. African epigraphy has revealed the names of some
of their deities: deus invictus Aulisva; the god Motmanius,
associated with Mercury; the god Lilleus; Baldir Augustus;
Kautus pater; the goddess Gilva, identified with Tellus, and
Ifru Augustus (Tissot i. 486). The Johannis of Corippus
mentions three native divinities: Sinifere, Mastiman and
Gurzil. There were also local divinities in all the principal
districts. The rock bas-reliefs and other monuments showing
native divinities are rare, and give only very summary
representations. Dolmens, however, occur in great numbers
in Tunisia and the province of Constantine. Tumuli, too,
are found throughout northern Africa, the most celebrated
being that near Cherchel, the Kubr-er-Rumia (``tomb of
the Christian lady''), which was regarded by Pomponius
Mela as the royal burying-place of the kings of Numidia.
During the Roman period the ancient Carthaginians of Phoenician
origin and the bastard population termed by ancient authors
Libyo-Phoenicians, like the modern Maltese, invariably formed
the predominant population of the towns on the littoral,
and retained the Punic language until the 6th century of the
Christian era. The municipal magistrates took the title of
suffetes in place of that of duumvirs, and in certain
towns the Christian bishops were obliged to know the lingua
Punica, since it was the only language that the people
understood. Nevertheless, the Roman functionaries, the
army and the colonists from Italy soon brought the Latin
element into Africa, where it flourished with such vigour
that, in the 3rd century, Carthage became the centre of a
Romano-African civilization of extraordinary literary brilliancy,
which numbered among its leaders such men as Apuleius,
Tertullian, Arnobius, Cyprian, Augustine and many others.
Carthage regained its rank of capital of Africa under
Augustus, when thousands of Roman colonists flocked to the
town. Utica became a Roman colony under Hadrian, and the
civitates liberae, municipia, castella, pagi and turres
were peopled with Latins. The towns of the ancient province
of Africa which received coloniae were very numerous:
Abitensis (civitas Avittensis Bibba), Bisica Lucana
(Tastour), Byzacium, Capsa (Gafsa), Carthage, Cuina, Curubis
(Kurba), Hadrumetum (Susa), Hippo Diarrhytus or Zarytus
(Bizerta), Leptis Magna (Lebda), Maxula (Ghades, Rades or
Gades), Neapolis (Nabel, Nebeul), Oea (Tripoli), Sabrata
(Zoara), colonia Scillitana (Ghasrin), Sufes (Sbiba), Tacape
(Gabes), Thaenae or Thenae (Tina), Thelepte (Medinet Kedima),
Thugga (Dugga), Thuburbo maius (Kasbat), Thysdrus (El Jem),
Uthina (Wadna) and Vallis (Median). Of the municipia may
be mentioned Gigthis or Gigthi (Bu Grara), Thibussicensium
Bure (Tebursuk), Zita and the turris Tamalleni (Telmin).
The province of Numidia was at first colonized principally by
the military settlements of the Romans. Cirta (Constantine)
and Bulla Regia(Hammam Darraj), its chief towns, received
coloniae of soldiers and veterans, as well as Theveste
(Tebessa) and Thamugas (Timgad). The fine ruins which have
been discovered at the last-mentioned place have earned
for it the surname of the African Pompeii (see below).
Archaeology.--Roman Africa has been the subject of innumerable
historical and archaeological researches, especially since
the conquest of Algeria and Tunisia by the French. The
country is covered with Roman and Byzantine remains. Each
of these ruins has been visited by archaeologists who have
copied inscriptions, described the temples, triumphal arches,
porticos, mausoleums and the other monuments which are still
standing, collected statues or other antiquities; and in many
cases they have actually excavated. The results of all these
labours have been published, from about 1850 onwards, annually,
and, indeed, almost from day to day, in various scientific
periodicals. Among the principal of these are:--Memoires
de la Societe archeologique de Constantine, Bulletin
de la Societe geographique et archeologique d'Oran,
Revue africaine of Algiers, to which we should add the
Revue archeologique of Paris, the Archives des missions
scientifiques and the Bulletin archeologique du Comite
des travaux historiques and the Melanges of the French
School at Rome. In all the towns of Algeria and Tunisia
museums have been founded for storing the antiquities of
the region; the most important of these are the museums of
St Louis, Carthage and the palace of Bardo (musee Alaoui)
near Tunis, those of Susa, Constantine, Lambessa, Timgad,
Tebessa, Philippeville, Cherchel and Oran. Under the title
of Musees et collections archeologiques de l'Algerie
et de la Tunisie, the Ministry of Public Instruction
publishes from time to time illustrated descriptions of all
these archaeological treasures. In this collection have
already appeared descriptions of the museums of Algiers by
G. Doublet; of Constantine by G. Doublet and P. Gauckler;
of Oran by R. de La Blanchere; of Cherchel by P. Gauckler;
of Lambessa by R. Cagnat; of Philippeville by S. Gsell and
Bertrand; of the Bardo by R. de La Blanchere and P. Gauckler;
of Carthage by R. P. Delattre; of Tebessa by S. Gsell; of
Susa by P. Gauckler; of Timgad by R. Cagnat and A. Ballu.
The archaeological exploration of Algeria has kept pace with
the expansion of French dominion. From 1846 to 1854 Delamarre
published his Exploration archeologique de l'Algerie, in
collaboration with the French officers. In 1850 Leon Renier
was officially instructed to collect all the inscriptions in
Algeria which should be found by the military expeditionary
columns. This scholar examined first the ruins of Lambessa,
an account of which he published in 1854 in his Melanges
d'epigraphie; subsequently he made his important collection
of Inscriptions romaines de l'Algerie (1855-1858)
which formed the groundwork of the volume of the Corpus
Inscr. Lat. of the Academy of Berlin, devoted to Roman
Africa. A little later General Faidherbe published his
Collection complete des inscriptions numidiques
(1870). Apart from the province of Constantine, Algeria
is less rich in Roman remains than Tunisia; mention must,
however, be made of the excavations of Victor Waille at
Cherchel, where were found fine statues in the Greek style
of the time of King Juba II.; of P. Gavault at Tigzirt
(Rusuccuru), and finally of those of Stephane Gsell at Tipasa
(basilica of St Salsa) and throughout the district of Setif
and at Khamissa (Thuburticum Numidarum). In the department
of Constantine, which is peculiarly rich in Roman remains,
Tebessa has been most carefully explored by M. Heron de
Villefosse, who has laid bare a beautiful temple of Jupiter,
a triumphal arch of Caracalla, a Byzantine basilica and the
gate of the Byzantine general Solomon. But all these ruins
fade into insignificance in comparison with the majestic
grandeur of those of Timgad which are almost entirely laid
bare; they are described in Timgad, une cite africaine sous
l'empire romain, by R. Cagnat, G. Boeswillwald and A. Ballu.
In Tunisia, Carthage early became the object of archaeological
investigation. Major Humbert was sent there by Napoleon
in 1808 and his notes are still preserved in the museum of
Leiden. Chateaubriand visited and described the ruins; the Dane
Falbe, the Englishman Nathan Davis, Beule, P. de Sainte-Marie
and others also have carried out researches; for more than
twenty years Pere Delattre has explored the ruins of Carthage
(q.v.) with extraordinary success. For the rest of Tunisia,
the first explorer interested in archaeology was Victor
Guerin in 1860; his results are contained in his remarkable
Voyage archeologique dans la Regence de Tunis (1862, 2
vols.). A. Daux, in the years preceding 1869, explored the
sites of the ancient harbours of Utica, Hadrumetum, Thapsus
(Dimas). But it was the occupation of Tunisia by the French
in 1881 which really gave the impetus to modern investigations
in this district of ruined cities. They were put on a solid
foundation by the publication of the Geographie comparee
of Charles Tissot (1884). Trained scholars were sent there
annually by the French government: Cagnat, Saladin, Poinssot,
La Blanchere, S. Reinach, E. Babelon, Carton, Audollent,
Steph. Gsell, J. Toutain, Esperandieu, Gauckler, Merlin,
