Slaves (Carthage)

• Rb Mhnt (slave mahanat) - commander of the army . The title already existed in the early epoch of Carthaginian history. It is this expression that was used in neopunic texts discovered in Tripolitania , in particular in Leptis Magne , to translate the Roman word “consul” . This suggests that the terms " strategist ", " dux " and " dictator ", used by Greek and Roman authors in relation to Carthage, corresponded specifically to the title Rb Mhnt, and not to the title of suffet. Little is known about the hierarchy in the Carthaginian army, since ancient sources contain only the most general information. The text found in Sidon mentions a certain Rb Šny (second rank commander?), And another inscription found in Carthage refers to Rb Šlš (third rank commander?). The other two inscriptions ( Tire , 3rd century BC and Dougg , 2nd century BC) contain the term Rb M'T, that is, “commander of a hundred”. Finally, a later inscription from Tripolitania (15-17 A.D.) contains a unique expression: Rb t'ht rb mhnt. Literally, it means: "commander under the command of the commander in chief." This, apparently, is not about the Carthaginian military or civilian position, but about the translation of the concept of “ proconsul ” into the Punic language ^[3] .

• Rb Khnm (slave cuhanim) is the high priest . In ancient societies , where religion and politics were closely intertwined, priests were assigned one of the leading roles. In Carthage, priests, mainly people from ancient families, many of whose members, being the first founders of the city, had a monopoly on the performance of priestly functions, were united by an unusually strong corporate spirit. The Carthaginian priesthood was hierarchically strictly organized. Celibacy was not supposedly a prerequisite for the exercise of their functions, at least in the case of slaves of the Kuhimim: in a certain number of inscriptions detailed pedigrees are given indicating the descendants of some of them. It is not known whether the period in which they performed their duties was limited in time. Women could also become priestesses (but not of every deity), and sometimes they reached the top of the hierarchical ladder ^[4] .

• Rb Sprm (slave Sofrim) - the head of the scribes . The profession of a scribe in Carthage was very respected. The existence of the title Slave Sofrim, which is mentioned in two inscriptions found in Carthage and Cyprus , suggests that within this corporation there was a certain hierarchy ^[5] .

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, during the excavations carried out by A. L. Delattrom , in the eastern part of historical Carthage, a burial place was found for representatives of the upper Carthaginian class, called the slave necropolis . About fifteen Greek-style marble sarcophagi with a gable cover dating from the 4th-3rd centuries BC were found. e., largely repeating the sarcophagi of Athens and southern Italy . Given the interest of the Carthaginians in Greek culture, it seems possible that a workshop was opened in Carthage, where Greek sculptors custom-made separate models for Punian clients. The lids of the four sarcophagi are decorated with statues made using the high relief technique. The priestess’s so-called sarcophagus, now stored in the National Museum of Carthage , is the brightest embodiment of Punic eclecticism: it depicts a woman in ancient Egyptian robes, consisting of a tunic with wings descending from the hips and a headdress in the form of a heading of the neck . The other two sarcophagi are almost identical to the Etruscan sarcophagus from Tarquinia , the lid of which is decorated with a statue of a man ^[6] .

• Dridi, Edie. Carthage and the Punic World = Carthage et Le Monde Punique. - M .: Veche, 2008 .-- 400 p. - (Guides of civilizations). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9533-3781-6 .