The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1911-11-03

IL S>SAoA VI hOi -
RIGA, where the legions of i'm
perial Rome once held sway
W and where various c and
civilizations have contended
for supremacy, Italy. the mod
ern successor to the Rome of the
Caesars, is seeking to establish her
sovereignty.
Only yesterday, as history measures
the life of nations, Italy sprang into
nat1onhood and now this puny u
cessor to the world-conquering Rome
of the consuls and the Caesars is
reaching out for part of that terri
tory over which imperial Rome exer-
cised her authority from the Red sea
to the Pillars of Hercules.
But of all that vast region there is
little TO- that Is not pre-empted.
Egypt is securely anchored t 0 British
authOrity-securely. at least for the
present generation. Far to the e
lies Morocco. where French dominance
Is assured. East of it lies Algeria, and
further east. Tunis. both as securely
French as Egypt is British. And then
lying in between Tunts Inc Egypt and
extending so~uthernward into the sands
Of the desert lies Tripoli. with it's de-
tendencies Of Barca and FeZzan, the
particular region which modern Italy
covets and over which the Turkish
crescent floats in impotent protection.
When Carthage Was Supreme.
Tripoli formed a portion Of tie an
cient empire OF Carthage, which had
Its beginning, according t. legend. al
the city founded by Cue IN DIDO. Ut T.
the modern city Of Tunis. The CIR
thasinians, Ike the 70 rans, were
empire builders and gradually came
into possession of the rich cities and
colonies founded by the adventurous
Phoenicians on the African coast,
ultimately controlling the whole ter
ritory extending from the Pillars OF
Hercules to the Great Syrtis-a dis
lance of 1000 miles. At the height of
her power Carthage was the greatest
maritime nation In the world, as Their
constituted, and her enterprises on
the sea led her on almost inevitably
to engage in foreign c%onquests. In
her colonization schemes in Sicily she
first came into contact with Roman
power and the first Punic war. In
which the Carthaginians suffered de-
feat, was the result. This war began
In 264 and ended In PAL B.. G. and
Carthage was compelled to cede Sicily
and Sardinia to the Romans. The
second Punic war, provoked by Car
thaginian ~ccnquests in Spain, broke
out in 218, when the great Hannibal
led his soldiers across the Alps and
by vigorous campaigns and several
bloody battles brought Rome almost
to the brink OF ruin. But Rome tri-
umphed in the end. breaking the
power f Carthage in Spain and de-
featirg Hannibal in the decisive battle
OF Zama. In Africa. The third Punic
war. begun in $50 3. c. by Rome,
ended in the destruction Of Carthage
and the Roman absorption of the rich
African territories, including Tripoli.
which for centuries had been under
Carthaginian sway.
Northern Africa remained in
! Roman, or Byzantine. possession until
the 1erce lnrOadS OF the an0alS
early in the fifth century of the Chris
tan era. These savage warriers had
swept a short time before across the
Pyrenees into Spain and had estab-
lished an Independent kingdom
Vandalatia, the modern Andalusia.
The hordes which crossed with their
great general, Genseric. into Africa.
soon overran the country and occu-
pied it until 533. when their power
IVES broken by Belisarius, the famous
commander of Justinian the Great,
the emperor of Constantinople.
But d~isintegration had well begun
in the provinces Of northern Africa
and soon the power of Rome as we'll
as Of the Byzantine empire. founded
by Constantine, was restricted to the
neighborhood Of Carthage and other
points on the coast. The Barbary
states thus became an easy prey for
tine fierce and fanatical Arabs. who
swept from Egypt into the region In
the middle Of the seventh century and
who soon established their supremacy.