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CONCLUSION

No country ever occupied by the Romans possesses, at the commencement of this twentieth century, more remarkable monumental remains or a greater wealth of inscriptions than North Africa. They are there to tell their own tale of national progress of a civilising people, of Emperors good and bad, of munificent citizens, of scholars eminent in philosophy and skilled in rhetoric, of men and women in all ranks of life obedient to the laws, loyal to their rulers, and leaving behind them a pleasant memory to be faithfully recorded on imperishable stone. If the popularity of any one of the Emperors can be tested by the number of dedications in his honour, some two or three will head the list without fear of contradiction; while of others, who were raised to the throne at the will of the legions and passed rapidly across the stage as mere adventurers, it will be seen that inscriptions are but few, and in some cases their very names have been erased by an aggrieved or dissatisfied populace.

The difficulties which beset the Romans in their career of conquest, at the close of the second Punic war, arose in a great measure from the general configuration of the country, which seemed fatal also to the native races in their attempts to expel the invader. The three zones of country, separated by high mountains, never impassable, but presenting natural difficulties in the transport of large bodies of disciplined troops, may be said to represent three distinct regions. On the north was the broad stretch of sea-the mare sævum which, for so many generations, proved an insuperable barrier to Roman advancement, and on the south the sea of sand-the mysterious desert. stretching across the Equator, and unfit for habitation by

European races. To these peculiar features of North Africa may be attributed the partial success which attended the rising of frontier and desert tribes at all periods of the Roman occupation, fully sufficient to account for difficulties experienced by the Roman legions in suppressing a long series of tribal revolts. Till the time of Trajan, colonisation by the Latin race was confined mostly to the towns already peopled by Carthaginians or the descendants of old Phoenician traders. The accession of this princely ruler marks a starting-point in the history of Roman Africa. Under the twelve Cæsars progress had been checked by the almost insuperable difficulties attending the invasion of an unknown country, peopled by races whose habits of life and methods of warfare had nothing in common with the more advanced civilisation of the people of Italy, and the islands under Roman domination. Trajan seems to have been born at the right time. His noble bearing and distinguished generalship, coupled with administrative abilities of a high order, roused the enthusiasm of his subjects to a degree unknown since the days of Augustus. The African provinces reaped a full share of benefits from the career of such a ruler. Colonisation was attended with marked success. Cities and towns sprang up at the Emperor's bidding. Native tribesmen found themselves unmolested, their forms of religion and habits of life undisturbed, and encouragement given to a free interchange of commercial products. Under the Antonines the good work still progressed, was checked for a time under the rule of the worthless Commodus, and reached its climax in the strong hands of Septimius Severus. Inscriptions innumerable bear ample testimony to the condition of the African population at this period, and monumental remains, which still greet the traveller in some of the less trodden parts of this fair land, bear ample evidence of the presence of large communities

It is nearly twenty-five years since Captain Roudaire published his report on the Chotts or lakes forming a large portion of the southern boundary of North Africa. (Etude relative au Projet de Mer Intérieure, Paris, 1877.) His investigations seemed to show that the Palus Tritonitis of the ancients, into which Ulysses sailed, is the stretch of water separating Djerba from the mainland, rather than the inner lake behind the Oasis of Gabès, marked Palus Tritonitis on every map and chart, both ancient and modern, and that in prehistoric times all these chotts were united and formed of themselves an inland sea. (Vide G. Boissière, p. 25 et seq. Also Sir R. L. Playfair, Travels, p. 271.)

enjoying the full benefits of civilised life. Carthage, the metropolis of the East; Cæsarea, the enlightened capital of the West; Hadrumetum, the flourishing city of the Byzacene; Saldæ, the beautiful city on the hills; and Leptis, on the shores of the Great Syrtes, took high rank among the commercial ports on the borders of the Mediterranean. And in the interior, Cirta, the capital of old Numidia; Sitifis, the seat of commerce at the crossing of the great Roman highways; Lambæsis, with its vast military population, presenting scenes of activity in times of peace or frontier disturbances; Thamugas, the city of delight, where Roman citizens loved to congregate and to make their last resting-place when life's work was over; Calama, Uthina, Thugga, Sufes, and Sufetula-cach and all compared favourably with similar cities and towns in Italy, Spain, and Gaul, and have left equally enduring marks of a long career of wealth and prosperity..

If we turn to inscriptions relating to municipal life, we find that obedience to ruling authority and loyalty to the Emperor are seldom wanting. The discipline which was maintained in Rome till the fall of the Western Empire was equally potent in the provinces. We find the same degrees of magistracy, the same laws so adjusted as not to press too heavily on the old-world traditions of native races, the same gods and ranks of priesthood, and the same public-minded spirit which prompted Roman citizens in all parts of the Empire to ennoble the country of their adoption by works of munificence or general utility. And memorials of men and women in every walk of life are with us also, bearing unmistakable testimony to the existence of contented and well-ordered communities. The expressions may often seem to us exaggerated in these prosaic times, but any one who is accustomed to read the well-known lettering will not fail to note that the ties of family and friendship were rarely forgotten, and that the employment of superlative expressions of endearment and regret was but the utterance of the heart in the hour of grief or bereavement.

In this closing stage of our inquiry it may be desirable to ascertain, on the basis of monumental remains and inscriptions, whether the achievements of Roman citizens in these African provinces, either in literature or art in their various branches, may be classed as of African growth, and how far the sub