The Cyrenian Chronicles-The Voyages of the Iyanda Volume Two of the Cyrenian Chronicles

This historic novel, the second in this series "The Cyrenian Chronicles", examines the reasons why, at the time of the Roman Empire, the three of the most prominent enclaves around the Mediterranean Sea were on the shores of Africa. They were Alexandria, Cyrenaica and Carthage, overshadowed only by Ostia, the port that served Rome. The close cooperation between the Africans and the Greeks of Cyrenaica is overlooked by many historians, who depend on Greek accounts and so ignore reality, underplaying the role of Africa in the trade around the Great Sea. The cooperation between Taruga, the trans-Saharan trader, and Alexandros, the shipping merchant, symbolises the relationship that drove the Africans and the Greeks, in spite of their diverse cultures, to raise Cyrene and Apollonia, to the status of being the Mediteranean’s third most prosperous trade centre.Simon of Cyrene investigates the influence that Africa had on the trade between the nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea or, as it was then known, the Great Sea. This is the name by which it is known in several Syrian, Phoenician and Judaean texts, including the Torah. We will refer to the continent along its southern shores as Africa, although, in Roman times, only a part of present-day Algeria was so named. There are many speculations on the origin of the name. I prefer the Greek version: “A-frica” meaning “without cold” because that is what is most appreciated about the continent.To establish the historical context, the names of towns and countries are specific to that time. On the other hand, the geographical context is set by using the modern names of all rivers, such as the Rhone, the Gambia, the Niger, etc. The word “tribes” is avoided, in preference to the word “nations”. With such constraints, it is hoped that these books would be of educational worth and not just works of historic fiction. City states such as Cyrene and Carthage were not colonies, they were settlements allowed and accommodated by the native Africans, in both cases showing compassion for their plight. Cyrene was the name given by the Greek refugees who arrived there, fleeing from a devastating famine on the island of Thera. Carthage was the name given to a portion of land annexed by Queen Elissa of Phoenicia, now Lebanon, fleeing from the vengeance of her brother, Pygmalion. The Greeks arrived as economic refugees, the Phoenicians as political refugees. The Greek accounts of the foundation of these settlements were written at least 400 years later and would have been biased with nationalistic hind-sight. These refugees co-existed with Africans who were in the majority, merging with them through marriage, religious conversion and cultural and political assimilation.The universal hospitality of Africans has been a factor in the ease with which Europeans have been able to “settle” and then “colonise”. The term “colonist” enhances the status of the settlers, the term “refugee” does not.At that time, the true colonisers were the Romans. A study is made of life in Rome, before and after the era of colonialism. Colonisation is armed theft, often benefiting only the gentry. This was as true for the Roman Empire as it was for the British Empire. Criminals and the poor are sent to the colonies to occupy it, to subdue the inhabitants, and to exploit their labour and resources. Cecil Rhodes was sickly, the fifth son of a clergyman. Robert Clive was a bully and troublesome delinquent. The wealth of his family kept him out of prison. His father exiled him to India. These men are now glorified in history as empire builders. The British South Africa Company, the English East India Company, were traders, adventurers protected by the flag. The suffering and cruelty they inflicted on the indigenous population is masked over in school history books.More information on the series, The Cyrenian Chronicles, may be obtained from the website www.cyrenianchronicles.com.