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Roman grain (with Egypt) made it a vital link in the imperial chain. Africa's value as a territory began
with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C., when the Republic laid claim to all of Carthage's holdings.
Most of Africa in the Tunisian region was given back to the original kingdoms from which it had been
carved. But the fertile, northeast area of Tunis was converted into the province of Africa Vetus, with a
frontier called the fossa regia. After the battle of THAPSUS in 46 B.C., Caesar created Africa Nova,
sliced out of NUMIDIA.
The Empire changed the African borders again. Augustus combined Africa Vetus and Nova into Africa
Proconsularis, which stretched from the Cyrenaican frontier westward to the Numidian Kingdom. This
arrangement did not last because during Augustus' reign the Roman colonization of the region began in
earnest. From then on there was a growing and eventually rich Roman presence in Africa, which the
writers APULEIUS, PRONTO and Tertullian describe. Thirteen colonies were founded in
MAURETANIA. The provincial capital was moved from Utica to the larger, reconstructed CARTHAGE.
The proconsul there ruled principally through a bureaucracy, for there was never any organized
resistance to Roman domination. Only one legion, the III Augusta, was ever stationed there. Gaius
Caligula ended the tradition by which the governor controlled the legion and placed the unit under the
sole authority of his legate. Further, the troops were subsequently stationed on the frontier near Numidia,
which became a separate province by decree of Septimius Severus. Finally, Claudius added two more
colonies in Mauretania.
The legion in Africa faced only a few wars and was consequently used almost exclusively in the vital
work of construction and engineering. Through centuriation - the organization of the territories into
segmented, regular plots and estates - the province came to possess nearly 500 villages or communities,
of which 200 were cities. The result of these efforts was total pacification and intense Romanization.
Agriculture was preeminent, with corn serving for centuries as the staple crop. Carthage alone exported
annually over half a million tons to Rome. In Tunisia, Numidia and Mauretania, olives grew readily, and
farmers were encouraged to diversify. By the 2nd century, the olive harvest was nearly that of corn, and
soon both were joined by cereal, fruits and textiles.
Africa became one of the leading centers for intellectuals, including Pronto, Apuleius and others, who
found the environment rich. A number of senators came from Africa and eventually an emperor
(Septimius SEVERUS). Christianity spread quickly through the province, overcoming the GraecoRoman
gods, who themselves had defeated the Punic deities of old.
Africa was, however, swept into the troubles of the Empire after the 3rd century. When Emperor