Roman Tunisia initially included the early ancient Roman province of Africa, later renamed Africa Vetus. As the Roman empire expanded, the present Tunisia also included part of the province of Africa Nova.
The Carthaginian (or Punic) empire was finally defeated by the Romans in the Third Punic War (149–146 BC) and there followed a period when nearby kingdoms of Berber kings were allied with Rome and eventually these neighbouring countries were annexed and reorganised. The city of Carthage was rebuilt, eventually becoming the capital of the province and the 3rd city of the Empire.
A long period of prosperity ensued based on rich agricultural exports, leading to a cosmopolitan culture.
Christianity became important in the province and provided Roman Catholicism with three Popes, as well as Augustine of Hippo.
The Vandals invaded Tunisia in 439 with the help of the Maurii (Libyans of Northwest Africa) and reigned over the province for nearly a century. Several Berber revolts occurred and some established self-rule at the periphery.
The Byzantine Empire eventually recaptured the area from the Vandals in 534, which endured until the Islamic conquest in 705.
Roman Province of Africa
Following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War (149–146), the Roman Republic destroyed the city and occupied the region with its rich and developed agricultural lands. At first the old city Utica, north of ruined Carthage, served as provincial capital.
The Roman Province of Africa was named after the Berbers for the Latins knew Afri as a local word for region's Berber people.Afri was a "classical Latin name for the Berbers". J. A. Ilevbare, Carthage, Rome and the Berbers (University of Ibadan 1981) at 177. The subsequent Arabic name for the region Ifriqiya evidently derives from the Roman province of Africa.
Adjacent lands to the west were allocated to their Berber allies, who continued to enjoy recognition as independent Berber kingdoms.See above, Rome and the Berber kings.
Roman Africa expanded to encompass modern Tunisia and all of northern modern Africa.Roman provincial boundaries were redrawn several times. E.g., Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge University 1971), map at 32.
City of Carthage
The rebuilding of the city of Carthage from the ashes began under Julius Caesar from 49 to 44 BC and continued under Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD). After Utica lost its privileged status in 54-46 BC,The Elder Pliny's African Geography Brent D. Shaw, Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 1981, p 452, Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag https://www.jstor.org/stable/4435778 it became the capital of the new province of Africa Proconsularis from 27 BC and was home to a Roman praetor or proconsul.
Carthage flourished during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries.Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990) at 167.Perkins, Tunisia (Westview 1986) at 19.
The province became known for fine mosaics with decorative and figurative designs by its resident artisans. Many large mosaics formed the floors of courtyards and rooms in villas within Carthage and the countryside,Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990), e.g., at 213, 215–216, 217–221, 223–224, 231 (mosaics). Beyond the city, many pre-existing Punic and Berber towns found fresh vigor and prosperity. Many new settlements were founded, especially in the rich and fertile Bagradas (modern Medjerda) river valley, north and northwest of Carthage.Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge Univ. 1971) at 35. An aqueduct about 120 km in length, built by the Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138), travels from a sanctuary high up Jbel Zaghouan overland about 70 km. to ancient Carthage. It was repaired and put into use during the 13th century, and again in modern times.Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990) at 191–192.Wheeler, Roman Art and Arquetecture (New York: Praeger 1964) at 149, photograph of Zaghouan to Carthage aqueduct at 150.
Carthage, and other cities in Roman Africa, contain the ruins or the remains of large structures dedicated to popular spectacles. The urban games performed there included the infamous blood sports, with gladiators who fought wild beasts or each other for the whim of the crowd. The Telegenii was one of the gladiator associations of the region. Although often of humble origins, a handsome, surviving gladiator might be "considered someone worthy of adulation by the young ladies of the audience."Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990), e.g., at 204–210 (games).
Another city entertainment was the theater. The renowned Greek tragedies and comedies were staged, as well as contemporary Roman plays. Burlesque performances by mimes were popular. Much more costly and less vulgar were productions featuring pantomimes.Cf., Michael Grant, Roman Literature (Cambridge Univ. 1954; Penguin 1958) at 20–22: brief view of ancient mime and pantomime. The African writer Apuleius (c. 125 – c. 185) describes attending such a performance which he found impressive and delightful. An ancient epitaph here celebrates Vincentius, a popular pantomime (quoted in part):
He lives forever in the thoughts of the people... just, good and in his every relationship with each person irreproachable and sure. There was never a day when, during his dancing of the famous pieces, the whole theater was not captivated enough to reach the stars."Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990), e.g., at 221–223 (theater).
Peace and prosperity came to Carthage and Africa Province. Eventually Roman security forces began to be drawn from the local population. Here the Romans governed well enough that the Province became integrated into the economy and culture of the Empire, attracting immigrants. Its cosmopolitan, Latinizing, and diverse population enjoyed a reputation for its high standard of living. Carthage emerged near the top of major Imperial cities, behind only Alexandria and Rome.Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (Simon and Schuster 1990) at 172–173, 187 ff.
Agriculture
Rome occupied the lands of Carthage after its fall (146 BC) not to develop the harvest and benefit themselves, than to keep others off.Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire (Leipzig 1885, 5th ed. 1904; London 1886, 1909; reprint 1996) at II: 306. Many Punic survivors of the defeated city, including owners of olive groves, vineyards, and farms, had "fled into the hinterland".Perkins, Tunisia (Westview 1986) at 18.
Public lands (ager publicus) passed to Rome by right of conquest, and many privately held lands also, those ruined or abandoned, or that had unpaid taxes. Some land good for agriculture, which had been used up to then only seasonally by Berber pastoralists, were also taken and distributed for planting. Accordingly many nomads (and small farmers, too) "were reduced to abject poverty or driven into the steppes and desert." Tacfarinas led a sustained Berber insurgency (17–24) against Rome; yet these rural tribal forces eventually met defeat. Thereafter the expansion of farming operations over the provincial lands did produce a higher yield. Yet Rome "never succeeded in keeping the nomads of the south and west permanently in check."A. Mahjoubi and P. Salama, "The Roman and post-Roman period in North Africa" 261–285, at 261–262, 270.See Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia: "Tacfarinas and the land".
Great estates were formed by investors or the politically favored, or by emperors out of confiscated lands. Called latifundia, their farming operations were leased out to coloni often from Italia, who settled around the owner's 'main house'--thus forming a small agrarian town. The land was divided into "squares measuring 710 meters across". Many small farms were thus held by incoming Roman citizens or army veterans (the pagi), as well as by the prior owners, Punic and Berber. The quality and extent of large villas with comfort amenities, and other farm housing, found throughout Africa Province dating to this era, evince the wealth generated by agriculture. Working the land for its fruits was very rewarding.Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire (Leipzig 1885, 5th ed. 1904; London 1886, 1909; reprint 1996) at II: 333–334, 339.A. Mahjoubi and P. Salama, "The Roman and post-Roman period in North Africa" 261–285, at 261, 269–272.
Rich agricultural lands led the province to great prosperity.Cf., Pliny (c. 23–79 CE), Naturalis Historia V, 24–25, translated as Natural History (London: Wm. Heinemann [Loeb Classical Library] 1942, 1969) vol. II (Books III-VII) at 237. New hydraulic works increased the extent and intensity of the irrigation. Olives and grapes had for long been popular products commonly praised; however, the vineyards and orchards had been devastated during the last Punic war; also they were intentionally left to ruin because their produce competed with that of Roman Italia. Instead Africa Province acquired fame as the source of large quantities of fine wheat, widely exported—though chiefly to Rome. The ancient writers Strabo (64 BC – c. 21 AD), Pliny (23 – c. 79 AD), and Josephus (37 – c. 95 AD) praised the quality of African wheat. The Baradas river valley was acclaimed as productive as the Nile. Later, when Egypt began to supplant Africa Province as the supplier of wheat to Rome, the grape and the olive began reappearing again in the fields of the province, toward the end of the 1st century. St. Augustine (354–430) wrote that in Africa lamps fueled by olive oil burned well throughout the night, throwing light over the neighborhoods.Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990) at 173–174.Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire (Leipzig 1885, 5th ed. 1904; London 1886, 1909; reprint 1996) at II: 336–338.A. Mahjoubi and P. Salama, "The Roman and post-Roman period in North Africa" 261–285, at 269–272.
Evidence, from artifacts and the often large mosaics of great villas, indicates that one favorite sport of the agrarian elite was the hunt. Depicted are well-dressed sportsmen (in embroidered riding tunics with striped sleeves). Mounted on horseback they go cross-country in pursuit of illustrated game—here perhaps a jackal. Various wild birds are also shown as desired prey, to be gotten with traps. On the floor of a patio, a greyhound appears to be chasing a hare across the surface of its mosaic.Soren, Khader, Slim, Carthage (1990), e.g., at 225–230 (hunting).
Commerce and trade