Chaps. 2-4.

Chap. 2. (3.)—Numidia.

At the river Ampsaga Numidia begins, a country rendered illustrious by the fame of Masinissa. By the Greeks this region was called Metagonitis [It was not only Numidia that bore this name, but all the northern coast of Africa from the frontiers of the kingdom of Carthage near Hippo Regius to the Columns of Hercules. It was thus called from the Greek metagonos, a “descendant” or “successor;” as the Carthaginians established a number of small towns and villages on the coast, which were thus posterior in their origin to the large cities already founded there.]; and the Numidians received the name of “Nomades” from their frequent changes of pasturage; upon which occasions they were accustomed to carry [Hardouin says that the Moors in the interior still follow the same usage, carrying their houses from pasture to pasture on waggons.] their mapalia, or in other words, their houses, upon waggons. The towns of this country are Cullu [Now Chollum or Collo.] and Rusicade [The modern Sgigada or Stora, according to Mannert, D’Anville, and Shaw.]; and at a distance of forty-eight miles from the latter, in the interior, is the colony of Cirta [The modern Constantina occupies its site. Numerous remains of the ancient town are still discovered. Sitius was an officer who served under Cæsar, and obtained a grant of this place after the defeat of Juba.], surnamed “of the Sitiani;” still more inland is another colony called Sicca [Called Urbs, or Kaff, according to D’Anville and Shaw; the latter of whom found an inscription there with the words Ordo Siccensium.], with the free town of Bulla Regia [Or ‘Royal Bulla’; which epithet shows that it was either a residence or a foundation of the kings of Numidia, and distinguishes it from a small place called Bulla Mensa, south of Carthage. Bulla Regia was four days’ journey south-west of Carthage, on a tributary of the river Bagrada, the valley of which is still called Wad-el-Boul. This place was one of the points of Ptolemy’s recorded astronomical observations, having its longest day fourteen hours and one-eighth, and being distant from Alexandria two hours to the west.]. On the coast are Tacatua [The modern Tamseh, according to Shaw and Mannert, and Tagodet, according to D’Anville.], Hippo Regius [Its ruins are south of the modern Bona. It received the name of Regius or ‘Royal’ from being the residence of the Numidian kings. It was also famed as being the see of St. Augustine. It was a colony of Tyre, and stood on the bay now forming the Gulf of Bona. It was one of the most flourishing cities of Africa till it was destroyed by the Vandals A.D. 430.], the river Armua [Now the Mafragg, according to Mannert.], and the town of Tabraca [Still called Tabarca, according to Hardouin.], with the rights of Roman citizens. The river Tusca [Now the Zaina, according to Marcus.] forms the boundary of Numidia. This country produces nothing remarkable except its marble [For the character of the Numidian marble, see Pliny, B. xxxvi. c. 7.] and wild beasts.

Chap. 3. (4.)—Africa.

Beyond the river Tusca begins the region of Zeugitana [Extending from the river Tusca, or Zaina, to the northern frontiers of Byzacium. It corresponds with the Turkish province or beylik of Tunis.], and that part which properly bears the name of Africa [He says this not only to distinguish it from Africa, considered as one-third of the globe, but also in contradistinction to the proconsular province of the Roman empire of the same name, which contained not only the province of Zeugitana, but also those of Numidia, Byzacium, and Tripolis.]. We here find three promontories; the White Promontory [Candidum: now Ras-el-Abiad.], the Promontory of Apollo [The references to this headland identify it with Cape Farina, or Ras Sidi Ali-al-Mekhi, and not, as some have thought, the more westerly Cape Zibeeb or Ras Sidi Bou-Shoushe. Shaw however applies the name of Zibeeb to the former.], facing Sardinia, and that of Mercury [Now Cape Bon, or Ras-Addar.], opposite to Sicily. Projecting into the sea these headlands form two gulfs, the first of which bears the name of “Hipponensis” from its proximity to the city called Hippo Dirutus [More properly called Hippo Diarrhytus or Zaritus, a Tyrian colony, situate on a large lake which communicated with the sea, and received the waters of another lake. Its situation exposed it to frequent inundations, whence, as the Greeks used to state, the epithet διάῤῥυτος. It seems more probable however that this is the remnant of some Phœnician title, as the ancients were not agreed on the true form of the name, and of this uncertainty we have a further proof in the Hippo Dirutus of our author.], a corruption of the Greek name Diarrhytus, which it has received from the channels made for irrigation. Adjacent to this place, but at a greater distance from the sea-shore, is Theudalis [This is placed by Ptolemy to the south-east of Hippo, and near the southern extremity of Lake Sisar.], a town exempt from tribute. We then come to the Promontory of Apollo, and upon the second gulf, we find Utica [This important city stood on the north part of the Carthaginian Gulf, west of the mouth of the Bagrada, and twenty-seven Roman miles N.W. of Carthage; but the site of its ruins at the modern Bou-Shater is now inland, in consequence of the changes made by the Bagrada in the coast-line. In the Third Punic war Utica took part with the Romans against Carthage, and was rewarded with the greater part of the Carthaginian territory.], a place enjoying the rights of Roman citizens, and famous for the death of Cato; the river Bagrada [Now called the Mejerdah, and though of very inconsiderable size, the chief river of the Carthaginian territory. The main stream is formed by the union of two branches, the southern of which, the ancient Bagrada, is now called the Mellig, and in its upper course the Meskianah. The other branch is called the Hamiz.], the place called Castra Cornelia [Or the “Cornelian Camp.” The spot where Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder first encamped, on landing in Africa, B.C. 204. Cæsar describes this spot, in his description of Curio’s operations against Utica, B. C. b. ii. c. 24, 25. This spot is now called Ghellah.], the colony [This colony was first established by Caius Gracchus, who sent 6000 settlers to found on the site of Carthage the new city of Junonia. The Roman senate afterwards annulled this with the other acts of Gracchus. Under Augustus however the new city of Carthage was founded, which, when Strabo wrote, was as prosperous as any city in Africa. It was made, in place of Utica, which had favoured the Pompeian party, the seat of the proconsul of Old Africa. It stood on the peninsula terminated by Ras-Sidi-Bou-Said, Cape Carthage or Carthagena. As Gibbon has remarked, “The place might be unknown if some broken arches of an aqueduct did not guide the footsteps of the inquisitive traveller.”] of Carthage, founded upon the remains of Great Carthage [The original city of Carthage was called ‘Carthago Magna’ to distinguish it from New Carthage and Old Carthage, colonies in Spain.], the colony of Maxula [Now Rhades, according to Marcus.], the towns of Carpi [Marcus identifies it with the modern Gurtos.], Misua, and Clypea [By the Greeks called ‘Aspis.’ It derived its Greek and Roman names from its site on a hill of a shield-like shape. It was built by Agathocles, the Sicilian, B.C. 310. In the first Punic war it was the landing-place of Manlius and Regulus, whose first action was to take it, B.C. 256. Its site is still known as Kalebiah, and its ruins are peculiarly interesting. The site of Misua is occupied by Sidi-Doud, according to Shaw and D’Anville.], the last a free town, on the Promontory of Mercury; also Curubis, a free town [Shaw informs us that an inscription found on the spot designates this place as a colony, not a free city or town. Its present name is Kurbah.], and Neapolis [The present Nabal, according to D’Anville.].

Here commences the second division [Zeugitana extended from the river Tusca to Horrea-Cælia, and Byzacium from this last place to Thenæ.] of Africa properly so called. Those who inhabit Byzacium have the name of Libyphœnices [As sprung partly from the Phœnician immigrants, and partly from the native Libyans or Africans.]. Byzacium is the name of a district which is 250 miles in circumference, and is remarkable for its extreme fertility, as the ground returns the seed sown by the husbandman with interest a hundred-fold [Pliny says, B. xvii. c. 3, “A hundred and fifty fold.” From Shaw we learn that this fertility no longer exists, the fields producing not more than eight- or at most twelve-fold.]. Here are the free towns of Leptis [The modern Lempta occupies its site.], Adrumetum [Originally a Phœnician colony, older than Carthage. It was the capital of Byzacium, and stood within the southern extremity of the Sinus Neapolitanus or Gulf of Hammamet. Trajan made it a colony, under the high-sounding name, as we gather from inscriptions, of Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetana, or, as set forth on coins, Colonia Concordia Julia Hadrumetana Pia. The epithet Frugifera refers to the fact that it was one of the chief sea-ports for the corn-producing country of Byzacium. It was destroyed by the Vandals, but restored by the Emperor Justinian under the name of Justiniana or Justinianopolis. The modern Sousa stands on its site; and but slight traces of the ancient city are to be found.], Ruspina [Situate in the vicinity of the modern Monastir.], and Thapsus [Shaw discovered its ruins at the modern town of Demas.]; and then Thenæ [Now Taineh, according to D’Anville. This place formed the boundary between the proconsular province of Africa and the territory of the Numidian king Masinissa and his descendants.], Macomades [The present Mahometa, according to Marcus, El Mahres according to D’Anville.], Tacape [Now Cabès, according to D’Anville, giving name to the Gulf of Cabès. Marcus calls it Gaps.], and Sabrata [Now Tripoli Vecchio; also called Sabart according to D’Anville.] which touches on the Lesser Syrtis; to which spot, from the Ampsaga, the length of Numidia and Africa is 580 miles, and the breadth, so far as it has been ascertained, 200. That portion which we have called Africa is divided into two provinces, the Old and the New; these are separated by a dyke which was made by order of the second Scipio Africanus [Scipio Æmilianus, the son-in-law of Æmilius Paulus.] and the kings [Micipsa, the son of Masinissa, and his two legitimate brethren. Scipio having been left by Masinissa executor of his will, the sovereign power was divided by him between Micipsa and his two brethren Gulussa and Mastanabal. On this occasion also he separated Numidia from Zeugitana and Byzacium, by a long dyke drawn from Thenæ, due south, to the borders of the Great Desert, and thence in a north-westerly direction to the river Tusca.], and extended to Thenæ, which town is distant from Carthage 216 miles.

Chap. 4.—The Syrtes.

A third Gulf is divided into two smaller ones, those of the two Syrtes [The Syrtes or ‘Quicksands’ are now called, the Lesser Syrtes the Gulf of Cabès, and the Greater the Gulf of Sydra. The country situate between the two Syrtes is called Tripoli, formerly Tripolis, a name which, according to Solinus, it owed to its three cities, Sabrata, Leptis, and Œa.], which are rendered perilous by the shallows of their quicksands and the ebb and flow of the sea. Polybius states the distance from Carthage to the Lesser Syrtis, the one which is nearest to it, to be 300 miles. The inlet to it he also states to be 100 miles across, and its circumference 300. There is also a way [Marcus observes with reference to this passage, that both Hardouin and Poinsinet have mistaken its meaning. They evidently think that Pliny is speaking here of a route to the Syrtes leading from the interior of Africa, whereas it is pretty clear that he is speaking of the dangers which attend those who approach it by the line of the sea-coast, as Cato did, on his march to Utica, so beautifully described by Lucan in his Ninth Book. This is no doubt the same route which was taken by the caravans on their passage from Lebida, the ancient Leptis, to Berenice in Cyrenaica.] to it by land, to find which we must employ the guidance of the stars and cross deserts which present nothing but sand and serpents. After passing these we come to forests filled with vast multitudes of wild beasts and elephants, then desert wastes [Those which we find at the middle of the coast bordering upon the Greater Syrtis, and which separate the mountains of Fezzan and Atlas from Cyrenaica and Barca.], and beyond them the Garamantes [In its widest sense this name is applied to all the Libyan tribes inhabiting the Oases on the eastern part of the Great Desert, as the Gætulians inhabited its western part, the boundary between the two nations being drawn at the sources of the Bagrada and the mountain Usargala. In the stricter sense however, and in which the term must be here understood, the name ‘Garamantes’ denoted the people of Phazania, the modern Fezzan, which forms by far the largest oasis in the Grand Desert of Zahara.], distant twelve days’ journey from the Augylæ [Augylæ, now Aujelah, was an oasis in the desert of Barca, in the region of Cyrenaica, about 3 1 / 2 ° south of Cyrene. It has been remarked that Pliny, here and in the Eighth Chapter of the present Book, in abridging the account given by Herodotus of the tribes of Northern Africa, has transferred to the Augylæ what that author really says of the Nasamones. This oasis forms one of the chief stations on the caravan route from Cairo to Fezzan. It is placed by Rennell in 30° 3′ North Lat. and 22° 46′ East Long., 180 miles south-east of Barca, 180 west by north of Siwah, the ancient Ammonium, and 426 east by north of Mourzouk. Later authorities, however, place the village of Aujelah in 29° 15′ North Lat. and 21° 55′ East Long.]. Above the Garamantes was formerly the nation of the Psylli [For an account of the Psylli see B. vii. c. 2. They probably dwelt in the vicinity of the modern Cape Mesurata.], and above them again the Lake of Lycomedes [Now Lake Lynxama, according to Marcus.], surrounded with deserts. The Augylæ themselves are situate almost midway between Æthiopia which faces the west [Marcus observes that in order properly to understand this passage we must remember that the ancients considered Africa as terminating north of the Equator, and imagined that from the Straits of Hercules the western coast of Africa ran, not towards the south-west, but slanted in a south-easterly direction to the Straits of Babelmandel.], and the region which lies between [The modern Tripoli.] the two Syrtes, at an equal distance from both. The distance along the coast that lies between the two Syrtes is 250 miles. On it are found the city of Œa [A flourishing city with a mixed population of Libyans and Sicilians. It was at this place that Apuleius made his eloquent and ingenious defence against the charge of sorcery brought against him by his step-sons. According to some writers the modern Tripoli is built on its site, while other accounts make it to have been situate six leagues from that city.], the river Cinyps [Now called the Wady-el-Quaham.], and the country of that name, the towns of Neapolis [Mannert is of opinion that this was only another name for the city of Leptis Magna or the “Greater Leptis” here mentioned by Pliny. There is little doubt that his supposition is correct.], Graphara [The more common reading is Taphra or Taphara. D’Anville identifies it with the town of Sfakes.], and Abrotonum [Scylax identifies it with Neapolis or Leptis, and it is generally looked upon as being the same place as Sabrata or Old Tripoli.], and the second, surnamed the Greater, Leptis [Now called Lebida. It was the birth-place of the Emperor Septimius Severus. It was almost destroyed by an attack from a Libyan tribe A.D. 366, and its ruin was completed by the invasion of the Arabs. Its ruins are considerable.].

We next come to the Greater Syrtis, 625 miles in circumference, and at the entrance 312 miles in width; next after which dwells the nation of the Cisippades. At the bottom of this gulf was the coast of the Lotophagi, whom some writers have called the Alachroæ [“Men of sea complexion,” is the meaning of this Greek name. According to Marcus they dwelt between the Greater Leptis and the Lake Tritonis, at the present day called Schibkah-el-Loudeah. For a further account of the Lotophagi, see B. xiii. c. 32.], extending as far as the Altars of the Philæni [Two brothers, citizens of Carthage, who in a dispute as to their respective territories with the people of Cyrene, submitted to be buried alive in the sand, at the boundary-line between the two countries. Sallust (Jugurthine War) is the main authority for the story. It is also related by Pomponius Mela, B. i. c. 7, and Valerius Maximus, B. v. c. 6, but from the Greek name of the brothers, meaning “lovers of praise,” it is doubtful whether the story is not of spurious origin.]; these Altars are formed of heaps of sand. On passing these, not far from the shore there is a vast swamp [The Lake Tritonis mentioned in note, p. 393.] which receives the river Triton [Now called El Hammah, according to Shaw.] and from it takes its name: by Callimachus it is called Pallantias [According to some accounts the goddess Pallas or Minerva was born on the banks of Lake Tritonis.], and is said by him to be on the nearer side of the Lesser Syrtis; many other writers however place it between the two Syrtes. The promontory which bounds the Greater Syrtis has the name of Borion [The modern Cape of Tajuni.]; beyond it is the province of Cyrene.

Africa, from the river Ampsaga to this limit, includes 516 peoples, who are subject to the Roman sway, of which six are colonies; among them Uthina [Now called Udina, according to Marcus.] and Tuburbi [Now called Tabersole, according to Marcus.], besides those already mentioned. The towns enjoying the rights of Roman citizens are fifteen in number, of which I shall mention, as lying in the interior, those of Assuræ [In the north of Byzacium, near the Bagrada and the confines of Numidia. It was the station of a Roman garrison, and considerable remains of it are still visible near the modern Zanfour.], Abutucum, Aborium, Canopicum [Called Cannopissæ by Ptolemy, who places it to the east of Tabraca.], Cilma [There is great doubt as to the correct orthography of these places, most of which can be no longer identified.], Simithium, Thunusidium, Tuburnicum, Tynidrumum, Tibiga, the two towns called Ucita, the Greater and the Lesser, and Vaga. There is also one town with Latin rights, Uzalita by name, and one town of tributaries, Castra Cornelia [According to Marcus the present Porto Tarina.]. The free towns are thirty in number, among which we may mention, in the interior, those of Acholla [Also called Achilla and Achulla, the ruins of which are to be seen at the modern El Aliah. It stood on the sea-coast of Byzacium, a little above the northern extremity of the Lesser Syrtis. It was a colony from the island of Melita, now Malta.], Aggarita, Avina, Abzirita, Canopita, Melizita, Matera, Salaphita, Tusdrita [Now called El-Jemma, according to Marcus.], Tiphica, Tunica [From it modern Tunis takes its name.], Theuda, Tagasta [The birth-place of St. Augustin. It was to the north-west of Hippo Regius.], Tiga [In the vicinity of this place, if it is the same as the Tigisis mentioned by Procopius, there were two columns to be seen in his day, upon which was written in the Phœnician language, “We fled from before the robber, Joshua the son of Nun.”], Ulusubrita, a second Vaga, Visa, and Zama [There were two towns of this name in the proconsular province of Africa. The first was situate in the country of Zeugitana, five days’ journey west of Carthage, and it was here that Scipio defeated Hannibal. The other bore the surname of Regia or Royal, from being the frequent residence of the Numidian kings. It lay in the interior, and at the present day its site bears the name of ‘Zowarin’ or ‘Zewarin.’]. Of the remaining number, most of them should be called, in strictness, not only cities, but nations even; such for instance as the Natabudes, the Capsitani [The ruins of Capsa still bear the name of Cafsa or Ghafsah. It was an important city in the extreme south of Numidia, situate in an oasis, in the midst of an arid desert abounding in serpents. In the Jugurthine war it was the treasury of Jugurtha, and was taken and destroyed by Marius; but was afterwards rebuilt and made a colony.], the Musulami, the Sabarbares, the Massyli [They dwelt between the river Ampsaga or Wady-El-Kebir and the Tusca or Wady-Zain, the western boundary of the Carthaginian territory.], the Nisives, the Vamacures, the Cinithi, the Musuni, the Marchubii [Dwelling to the east of the mountain Zalycus, now known as the Wanashrise, according to Shaw.], and the whole of Gætulia [The ancients called by the name of ‘Gætulians’ all the people of Africa who dwelt south of the Mauritanias and Numidia, as far as the line which, according to their ideas, separated Africa from Æthiopia.], as far as the river Nigris [The Quorra most probably of modern geographers.], which separates Africa proper from Æthiopia.