Description
Book SynopsisExplore a one-of-a-kind and authoritative resource on Ancient North Africa A Companion to North Africa in Antiquity, edited by a recognized leader in the field, is the first reference work of its kind in English. It provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of North Africa's rich history from the Protohistoric period through Late Antiquity (1000 BCE to the 800 CE). Comprised of twenty-four thematic and topical essays by established and emerging scholars covering the area between ancient Tripolitania and the Atlantic Ocean, including the Sahara, the volume introduces readers to Ancient North Africa's environment, peoples, institutions, literature, art, economy and more, taking into account the significant body of new research and fieldwork that has been produced over the last fifty years. A Companion to North Africa in Antiquity is an essential resource for anyone interested in this important region of the Ancient World.
Trade Review"This Companion is a book of outstanding scientific quality and an important contribution to research on North Africa. It provides an overview of two millennia across a culturally diverse zone spanning 'from the ancient Syrtes in modern West Libya to the Atlantic in Morocco, as well as the Sahara Desert'. It will be indispensable to English-speaking students and scholars for future research on ancient North Africa." (
Journal of Roman Studies)
"With the presentation of the volume, the editor and the authors have succeeded in creating a standard work for North African antiquity (and beyond), which over the next few years will set a standard that has rarely been achieved in terms of its completeness and diachronic structure." (
PLEKOS)
"The book is a great addition to the study of North Africa in Antiquity and will undoubtedly help orient those interested in this field. In addition, it is recommended for university courses on subjects related to the book, as the bibliography and further reading sections of each chapter are very useful and up to date." (
Archivo Español de Arqueología)
Table of ContentsIllustrations ix
Preface xiii
R. Bruce Hitchner
North Africa Maps xv
List of Abbreviations xxiv
Notes on Contributors xxv
Part I Setting the Stage 1
1 The Historiography of North Africa in Antiquity: An Overview 3
R. Bruce Hitchner
2 Archaeology 9
David L. Stone
3 The Environment of North Africa 24
Philippe Leveau
Part II Africa in the First Millennium BCE 39
4 Libyan Culture and Society 41
Joan Sanmartí
5 Beyond Barbarians: The Garamantes of the Libyan Sahara 64
David J. Mattingly
6 Punic Carthage 81
Iván Fumadó Ortega
7 Africa under the Roman Republic 101
Matthew S. Hobson
Part III The Roman Period (146 BCE–439 CE) 117
8 African Rome. The City of Carthage from its Roman (Re-)foundation to the End of the Byzantine Period 119
Ralf Bockmann
9 Roman Imperial Administration 142
Jesper Carlsen
10 The Army 152
Patrice Faure
11 Roman North African Urbanism 173
J. Andrew Dufton and Elizabeth Fentress
12 Rural Settlement, Land Use, and Economy 202
Mariette de Vos Raaijmakers
13 The African Economy: The Ceramic Evidence 220
Michel Bonifay
14 Prose Literature 233
Stéphanie Guédon
15 Architecture and Art 247
Niccolò Mugnai
16 Transforming Religion under the Roman Empire: The Case of Africa 285
Matthew M. McCarty
17 Society and Culture in Late Roman Africa 299
Julio Cesar Magalhães de Oliveira
18 The Mauri in Late Antiquity 317
Andy Merrills
19 Imperial and Late Latin Poetry from North Africa 332
Helen Kaufmann
20 Christian North Africa in Antiquity 354
Anna Leone
Part IV From the Vandal Kingdom to the Arab Conquest (439–711 CE) 373
21 The Vandals 375
Jonathan P. Conant
22 The Byzantine Period 391
Andy Merrills
23 Late Roman, Vandal, and Byzantine Coinage in Africa 410
Cécile Morrisson
24 The Arab Conquests and the End of Ancient Africa? 424
Corisande Fenwick
Index 439
