▶ foreigners and barbarians
introduction
In the ancient world travel for most people was diffi cult. 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 out-
side their communities.
Accord i ng ly, ea rly peoples tended to rega rd “ot hers” w it h
suspicion. People from other communities were potential en-
emies, bent on conquest or thievery. Furthermore, people
from other cultures were likely to have strange customs, hab-
its, languages, modes of dress, and gods. Th eir very strange-
ness 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. Th ese
myths probably originated in brief contact with other tribes.
Th is 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. Th e ancient Egyptians, too, absorbed foreign-
ers 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 diff erent nations and with diff erent religious beliefs had
routine contact with one another. As time went on and na-
tions 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 war-
fare, 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.
Th e development of trade relationships to some degree
broke down these barriers between people. Ancient China,
for example, developed trade relationships with people liv-
ing 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 through-
out the Mediterranean region. Th e 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
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 JUSTIN CORFIELD
Traders and merchants traveled throughout Africa in ancient
times. Little evidence suggests that they faced any real op-
position except during wars, though they were always at risk
of being attacked by bandits, pirates, or brigands. It might be
thought that language diff erences 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 Herodo-
tus, some Carthaginian traders devised a system of bartering
by which they would arrive at a place, spread their merchan-
dise on the shore, and then retire to their ships, where they
used smoke signals to attract attention. Th e locals then ex-
amined the goods and left gold. If the Carthaginians thought
it was enough, they left ; if not, they waited until enough was
off ered. As a point of honor, the locals did not take the goods
nor did the Carthaginians take the gold until both sides were
satisfi ed.
Initial contact with foreigners from outside Africa was
by boat. Indeed, the Carthaginians themselves were de-
scended 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 lo-
cal 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. Th e city of Carthage later emerged near
the site. Additionally, a large number of other cosmopolitan
ports developed along the north coast of Africa. Diff erences
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.
Th e attitude toward the Romans in North Africa changed
considerably aft er the Punic Wars. Th ey had been seen as en-
emies and invaders, but aft er 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. Septi-
mus 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 Con-
stitutio Antoniniana, or the Edict of Antoninus, was issued
by the Roman emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoni-
nus, 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 Sudanforeigners and barbarians: Africa 483