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 Société archéologique de Constantine, Bulletin de la Société géographique et archéologique d’Oran, Revue africaine of Algiers, to which we should add the Revue archeologique of Paris, the Archives des missions scientifiques and the Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques and the Mélanges 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 Musées et collections archéologiques 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 archéologique 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 Mélanges d’epigraphie; subsequently he made his important collection of Inscriptions romaines de l’Algérie (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 cité 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 archéologique dans la Régence de Tunis (1862, 2 vols.). A. Daux, in the years preceding 1869, explored the sites of the
