foreigners and barbarians: Africa ▶ foreigners and barbarians introduction In the ancient world travel for most people was difficult In early hunter-gatherer societies people moved about in search of food supplies, and the world’s relatively tiny population spread out over millennia, generally avoiding contact with one another But as early societies turned to agriculture for their food, they lived in settled communities, and it is likely that the average person never traveled more than a day or two’s distance from his or her place of birth People tended to live in societies that were organized by family, clan, and tribal relationships, so they had little contact with people from outside their communities Accordingly, early peoples tended to regard “others” with suspicion People from other communities were potential enemies, bent on conquest or thievery Furthermore, people from other cultures were likely to have strange customs, habits, languages, modes of dress, and gods Their very strangeness made them objects of suspicion and hostility Almost always, they were “barbarians.” Among Native Americans in North America, for example, legends and myths record contact with magical strangers who were held in fear These myths probably originated in brief contact with other tribes This suspicion and hostility were not universal, however In ancient Rome, for example, people from the outside were more or less welcome when Rome was just a small city, not an empire The ancient Egyptians, too, absorbed foreigners who were willing to adopt Egyptian ways In the ancient Near East people became accustomed to foreigners because this part of the world was a kind of crossroads, where people from different nations and with different religious beliefs had routine contact with one another As time went on and nations such as these gained power and empire, they came to view foreigners with suspicion Meanwhile, countries such as China remained closed to outsiders, who were seen as crude and barbaric One major form of cultural contact was warfare, but during war people from other cultures were seen as potential slaves Similarly, the development of empires, such as the Roman Empire, brought cultures into contact, but the nature of the contact was that of master and subject The development of trade relationships to some degree broke down these barriers between people Ancient China, for example, developed trade relationships with people living to the west, and archaeological evidence shows that the ancient Europeans had trade contacts with one another In Africa some similarities in the continent’s many languages, primarily in the form of loan words, suggest that African tribes had trade contact with one another And, of course, the ancient Romans maintained trade relationships throughout the Mediterranean region The presence of traders and merchants helped introduce one culture to the customs and manners of another culture, though relationships in general continued to be conducted at arm’s length, with little contact 483 between the merchants and ordinary citizens Religion, too, was a factor in cultural contact In such nations as India the devoutly religious were eager to spread their beliefs, leading to contact with foreigners AFRICA BY J USTIN CORFIELD Traders and merchants traveled throughout Africa in ancient times Little evidence suggests that they faced any real opposition except during wars, though they were always at risk of being attacked by bandits, pirates, or brigands It might be thought that language differences were a major obstacle, but this does not seem to have been as much of a problem as it might have been According to the Greek historian Herodotus, some Carthaginian traders devised a system of bartering by which they would arrive at a place, spread their merchandise on the shore, and then retire to their ships, where they used smoke signals to attract attention The locals then examined the goods and left gold If the Carthaginians thought it was enough, they left; if not, they waited until enough was offered As a point of honor, the locals did not take the goods nor did the Carthaginians take the gold until both sides were satisfied Initial contact with foreigners from outside Africa was by boat Indeed, the Carthaginians themselves were descended from Phoenician sea traders When she arrived on the coast of modern-day Tunisia, Queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, managed to purchase land from the local ruler, Iargas According to legend, he told Dido that she could have as much land as she could contain within a piece of leather She then cut leather into strips and with it marked out a promontory The city of Carthage later emerged near the site Additionally, a large number of other cosmopolitan ports developed along the north coast of Africa Differences in fashion seem to have been more remarkable than race in these centers Wealth was displayed in jewelry and dress, and the Carthaginians rarely wore belts, making Roman and Greek traders all the more noticeable in the city of Carthage and other parts of Africa they controlled The attitude toward the Romans in North Africa changed considerably after the Punic Wars They had been seen as enemies and invaders, but after the destruction of Carthage in 146 b.c.e they became colonial masters Gradually they came to be accepted throughout the ports of North Africa Septimus Severus, born in Lepcis Magna, was emperor from 193 to 211 c.e., the only African-born emperor to rule the Roman Empire In 212 c.e the Edict of Caracalla, known as the Constitutio Antoniniana, or the Edict of Antoninus, was issued by the Roman emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, r 211–217 c.e.) According to this edict, all freeborn men in the Roman Empire became Roman citizens, thus creating a degree of equality throughout Roman North Africa Herodotus wrote extensive descriptions of many of the peoples of northern Africa and parts of modern-day Sudan