In the early history of Christianity Carthage played an auspicious part, in virtue of the number of its disciples, the energy and learning of their leaders, the courage and eloquence of its teachers, the persecutions of which it was the scene, the number of its councils and the heresies of which it witnessed the birth, propagation or extinction (see [Carthage, Synods of]). The labours of Delattre have filled the St Louis museum at Carthage with memorials of the early Church. From the end of the 2nd century there was a bishop of Carthage; the first was Agrippinus, the second Optatus. At the head of the apologists, whom the persecutions inspired, stands Tertullian. In 202 or 203, in the amphitheatre, where Cardinal Lavigerie erected a cross in commemoration, occurred the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. Tertullian was succeeded (248) by a no less famous bishop Cyprian. About this time the proconsul Gordian had himself proclaimed (239) emperor at Thysdrus (El Jem). Shortly afterwards Sabinianus, aspiring to the same dignity, was besieged by the procurator of Mauretania; the inhabitants gave him up and thus obtained a disgraceful pardon (R. Cagnat, L’armée romaine d’Afrique p. 52; Audollent, op. cit. p. 73). Peace being restored, the persecution of the Christians was renewed by an edict of the emperor Decius (250). Cyprian escaped by hiding, and subsequently caused the heresy of Novatian to be condemned in the council of 251. In 257, in a new persecution under Valerian, Cyprian was beheaded by the proconsul Galerius Maximus.
About 264 or 265 a certain Celsus proclaimed himself emperor at Carthage, but was quickly slain. Probus, like Hadrian and Severus, visited the city, and Maximian had new baths constructed. Under Constantius Chlorus, Maxentius proclaimed himself emperor in Africa; this caused great excitement in Carthage, and the garrison, which was hostile to the pretender, compelled L. Domitius Alexander to assume the purple. Domitius was, however, captured by Maxentius and strangled at Carthage. About 311 there arose the famous Donatist heresy, supported by 270 African bishops (see [Donatists] and [Constantine I].). At the synod of Carthage in 411 this heresy was condemned owing to the eloquence of Augustine. Two years later the Carthaginian sectaries even ventured upon a political rebellion under the leadership of Heraclianus, who proclaimed himself emperor and actually dared to make a descent on Italy itself, leaving his son-in-law Sabinus in command at Carthage. Being defeated he fled precipitately to Carthage, where he was put to death (413). Donatism was followed by Pelagianism (see [Pelagius]), also of Carthaginian origin, and these religious troubles were not settled when in May 429 the Vandals, on the appeal of Count Boniface, governor of Africa, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and invaded Mauretania. Genseric, who was hailed with one accord by all the different sectaries as the champion of their several views, appeared in 439 before the walls of Carthage, which had been hastily rebuilt after five hundred years by the order of Theodosius II. The priest Salvianus has left a splendid picture of Carthage at this moment (de Gubern. vii. 16). It had 500,000 inhabitants, and 22 basilicas (several of which have been discovered by Delattre). Genseric entered almost without a blow (October 19, 439), and gave over the city to plunder before departing for his attack on Italy. From this time Carthage became, in the hands of the Vandals, a mere pirate stronghold, such as Tunis and Algiers were subsequently to become. Once, in 470, the fleet of the Eastern empire under the orders of Basiliscus appeared in the Bay of Carthage, but Genseric succeeded in setting fire to the attacking ships and from Byrsa watched their entire annihilation.
Byzantine Rule.—Under Genseric’s successors (see [Vandals]), Carthage was still the scene of many displays of savage brutality, though Thrasamund built new baths and a basilica. Ultimately Gelimer, the last Vandal king, was defeated at Ad Decimum by the Byzantine army under Belisarius, who entered Carthage unopposed (September 14, 533). The restored city now received the name of Colonia Justiniana Carthago; Belisarius rebuilt the walls and entrusted the government to Solomon. New basilicas and other monuments were erected, and Byzantine Carthage recovered for a century the prosperity of the Roman city.
At length the Arabs, having conquered Cyrenaica and Tripolitana (647), and founded Kairawan (670), arrived before Carthage. In 697 Hasan ibn en-Noman, the Gassanid governor of Egypt, captured the city almost without resistance. But the garrison left by the Arabs was quite unable to defend itself against the patrician Joannes, who retook the city and hastily put it in a state of defence. Hasan returned furious with anger, defeated the Byzantines again, and decreed the entire destruction of the city. His orders were fulfilled; and in 698 Carthage finally disappears from history. Once again only does the name appear in the middle ages, when the French king, Louis IX., at the head of the eighth crusade, disembarked there on the 17th of July 1270. He died, however, of the plague on the 25th of August without having recovered northern Africa for civilization.
Bibliography.—I. Ancient.—(a) Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, Livy, Appian, Justin, Strabo; (b) for the Christian period, Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine; (c) for the Byzantine and Vandal, Procopius and Victor de Vita. All the references to the topography of Roman and Byzantine Carthage are collected in Audollent, Carthage romaine (1901), pp. 775-825, which also contains a full list of modern works (pp. 13-32. and p. 835).
II. Modern.—The most important are: Falbe, Recherches sur l’emplacement de Carthage (Paris, 1833); Dureau de la Malle, Topographie de Carthage (Paris, 1835); Nathan Davis, Carthage and her Remains (London, 1861); Beulé, Fouilles à Carthage (Paris, 1861); Victor Guérin, Voyage archéologique dans la régence de Tunis (Paris, 1862); E. de Sainte Marie, Mission à Carthage (Paris, 1884); C. Tissot, Géographie comparée de la province romaine d’Afrique (Paris, 1884-1888, 2 vols.); E. Babelon, Carthage (Paris, 1896); Otto Meltzer, Geschichte der Karthager (Berlin, 1879-1896, 2 vols.); Paul Monceaux, Les Africains, étude sur la littérature latine de l’Afrique; Les Paiens (Paris, 1898); Histoire littéraire de l’Afrique chrétienne (Paris, 1901-1909, 3 vols.); Pallu de Lessert, Vicaires et comtes d’Afrique (Paris, 1892); Fastes des provinces africaines sous la domination romaine (Paris, 1896-1901, 2 vols.); R. Cagnat, L’Armée romaine d’Afrique (Paris, 1892); C. Diehl, L’Afrique byzantine, histoire de la domination byzantine en Afrique (Paris, 1896); Aug. Audollent, Carthage romaine (Paris, 1901); A.J. Church and A. Gilman, Carthage in “Story of the Nations” series (1886). For the numerous publications of Père Delattre scattered in various periodicals see Etude sur les diverses publications du R.P. Delattre, by Marquis d’Anselme de Puisaye (Paris, 1895); Miss Mabel Moore’s Carthage of the Phoenicians (London, 1905) contains a useful summary of Delattre’s excavations. See further for the discussion of particular points: “Chronique archéologique africaine,” published by Stéph. Gsell, in the Revue africaine of Algiers, 1893, and following years; and in the Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de l’École française de Rome, vol. xv. (1895 and following years); Dr Carton, “Chronique archéologique nord-africaine,” in the Revue tunisienne.
(E. B.*)
[1] The whole question of these harbours has been fully discussed by Cecil Torr, Otto Meltzer, R. Öhler, S. Gsell, M. de Roquefeuil; see Aug. Audollent, Carthage romaine, pp. 198 seq.; Revue archéol. 3rd series, xxiv.; Jahrbüch f. class. Philologie, vols. cxlvii., cxlix.; also Classical Review, vols. v., vii., viii.