essentially Roman, and are unknown in any country unsubdued by Roman arms. They may be divided into three classes. Those at Capua, El-Djem, Verona, Arles, Nîmes, and Pola, all modelled after the Colosseum at Rome, may represent the first class; those of which we have examples at Pæstum, Pompeii, Italica, Caerleon, as well as at Bou-Chater, Oudena, and numerous other towns in North Africa, partly excavated and partly embellished with masonry, may be assigned to the second class; and others still traceable, of which the one at Dorchester may be recognised as a typical example, being excavations of elliptical form with cut benches of turf, belong to the third class. These are rightly called Castrensian amphitheatres, and probably no Roman castrum in any province, however remote, was unprovided with one of these rough constructions. Montfaucon says that every Roman city had its amphitheatre, and certainly in North Africa there is scarcely a town where the lines of one cannot be traced. Gordian III., the last survivor of a short-lived dynasty, shares with Alexander Severus the sympathetic regard of all lawabiding citizens of every age. Like so many of his predecessors, he paid the penalty for honourable conduct. The Prætorians, at the instigation of their prefect, demanded his removal. The youthful Emperor, just entering his twentieth year, was murdered, and Philip the Arab reigned in his stead. The name of Gordian must have continued a pleasant memory in after generations, for we are told by Capitolinus that, by a decree of the Senate, their descendants were to be free for ever, as citizens of Rome, from all the heavy taxes and burdens of the State. It is to be regretted that no Latin inscriptions have been brought to light in North Africa bearing the names of Gordian I. and his son. At Djemila (the ancient Cuiculum) a fragmentary slab has been found somewhat difficult to decipher, but the characters are Greek, and the few words that are legible do not convey information of any value. 1 C.I.L. No. 10895. 235 CHAPTER X AFRICA UNDER THE LATER EMPERORS A.D. 244-254 IN the long list of Emperors who crossed the stage in rapid succession towards the decline of the Empire, many may be regarded as puppets in the hands of a faction; others were invested with the purple by accident rather than by the deliberate will of the people, while a few were mere implements at the disposal of a corrupt and undisciplined army. The short rule of a few months accorded to many of them prevented their taking an active part in administrative affairs outside the walls of Rome, or finding opportunities for visiting any of the great provinces of the Empire. Although Africa was an unknown country to some, yet their names, honoured or dishonoured, may be found recorded on stone or marble in nearly every part of this great colony. To some of the Emperors are accorded a long array of superlative epithets, which the greatest of the Cæsars in the better days of the Empire would have hesitated to accept; while to others are given the customary titles that tradition had assigned to the Cæsar of the day. In testimony of the change which had taken place since the days of Augustus, a comparison may be made between the titles accorded to that great Emperor and those adopted by such an unworthy representative of the line of Cæsars as Philip the Arab, who treacherously murdered Gordian III., and ruled for five years more as a military adventurer than as guardian of the interests of a great Empire. But fortune favoured his career far beyond his deserts. The thousandth anniversary of the foundation of Rome A.C. 753 was commemorated shortly after he came to the throne, and consequently festivities on an unusual scale were held in every city and town of the Empire. This is partly shown by the large number of inscriptions of that period dedicated to the Emperor and his wife, as well as to his son Philip, who shared the imperial dignities, although he was only a child of eight years. Among those brought to light on African soil, the following, selected from a large number, will serve to indicate the tone of national feeling which prevailed on such a memorable occasion. In this instance the immediate cause of rejoicing was the reconstruction of the waterworks at a remote place in Mauritania Sitifensis, now known as Kharbet Zembia, but the dedication is complete, even to the bestowal of invictus on the little boy Cæsar.1 D FELICISSIMIS TEMPORIBVS D INNOVATO OPERE IN FONTE EST PERDVCTA. Sometimes the dedication was to the Empress, shown in an interesting inscription found at Djemila, the ancient Cuiculum, where the designations of wife and mother are clearly expressed, and the full titles of Roman Empresses at this period are set forth.2 MARCIAE OTACILIAE SEVERAE RVM ET SENATVS ET PATRIAE The prominence given to her name leads one to suppose that Marcia played a conspicuous part in public affairs. Of 1 C.I.L. No. 8809. Some attempts at erasure are apparent; vide Ann. de Const. 1860-61, p. 226. 2 C.I.L. No. 20139. |