Background African Romance

map showing in black coast of maghreb there existed now-extinct neo-latin language

the roman province of africa organized in 146 bce following defeat of carthage in third punic war. carthage, destroyed following war, rebuilt in dictatorship of julius caesar roman colony. in time of roman empire, province had become populous , prosperous, , carthage second-largest latin-speaking city in empire. latin was, however, largely urban , coastal speech; carthaginian punic continued spoken in inland , rural areas late mid-5th century. probable berber languages spoken in areas well.

africa occupied germanic vandal tribe on century, between 429 , 534, when province reconquered byzantine emperor justinian i. changes occurred in spoken latin during time unknown; literary latin, however, maintained @ high standard, seen in latin poetry of african writer corippus.