Africa Articles

Until 308 BC, Carthage was ruled, at least officially, by Monarchs. Find below a list of monarchs of Carthage between 814-308 BC. Didoian Dynasty Dido 814-c.760 BC -queen (unknown rulers)Hanno I c.580-c.556 BC Malchus c.556-c.550 BC Magonid DynastyMago I c.550-c.530 BCHasdrubal I c.530-c.510 BCHamilcar I c.510-480 BCHanno II 480-440 BCHimilco I (in Sicily... [continue reading]

When the Numidian king Massinissa (c.241-148) died, the people of Dougga (or: Thugga) decided to build a monument in his honour. A bilingual inscription (RIL 2, KAI 101) says the building was erected in the tenth reign year of his successor Micipsa (139/8 BC). One part of the inscription was written in Punic. The other part looks like a series of geometrical... [continue reading]

The Meroe Head, so-called because it was found beneath a temple in the ruins of Meroe, is the head of a larger-than life statue of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (better known as Augustus Caesar) the first Emperor of Rome (reigned 31 BCE-14 CE). On 2 September 31 BCE  Octavian Caesar (the future Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt... [continue reading]

Phoenician traders arrived on the North African coast around 900 B.C. and established Carthage (in present-day Tunisia) around 800 B.C. By the sixth century B.C., a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa (east of Cherchell in Algeria). From their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements (called emporia... [continue reading]

There are few places on earth where we can say that these stones, on which we are standing, are the same stones where feet rested centuries before. These places are important. We walk in the Roman Forum, we explore the ruins of the Flavian Amphitheatre, and we journey to the pyramids of Cairo. These places are known and as such preserved from... [continue reading]

Josephus clearly identifies the queen who visited Solomon as “the woman who ruled Egypt and Ethiopia,” and tells us that her name was Nikaulis. Yet the Bible calls her the Queen of Sheba (I Kg. 10; II Chr. 9). However, elsewhere in Josephus’ Antiquities, he identifies Saba (Sheba) as the Ethiopian capital. He writes “Saba, that... [continue reading]

This paper is concerned with stelai from North Africa dedicated to Baal / Saturn in fulfilment of a religious vow, and examines the development of their iconography as the region was incorporated into the Roman empire. The monuments in question range in date from the second century B. C. until the fourth century A.D., and are found throughout modern Tunisia... [continue reading]

This is a second attempt at a synthesis of the main problems for the forthcoming Cambridge History of Ancient Religions. The problems are complex and still threaten to overwhelm. This version remains a cri de coeur: any helpful comments and criticisms are encouraged.