Sufet
The two sufets were the supreme magistrates in Phoenician cities like Tire and especially in North Africa on the territory of the commercial republic of Carthage .
term
The roots of the word "Sufet" are the three consonants Sin , Pe and Tet . The Punic term špṭ, spoken šophet or rather šuphet corresponds to the Hebrew shofet : "judge". The Latin equivalent is su (f) fes , pl. su (f) fetes ; Greek βασιλεύς.
In addition to the term βασιλεύς or rex , the ancient authors used the terms consul , praetor and meddix tuticus ( Oskian senior civil servant, Latin translation iudex publicus ), occasionally also the term praetor, which corresponds more to the original meaning of the office of suffe, to describe certain aspects of the Carthaginian sufetate to express.
history
The title has been in Tire since the 5th century BC. Proven.
In Carthage the Sufetat can be traced back to 410 in the time of Hannibal (440-406 BC, early ruler, not to be confused with Hannibal Barkas ), perhaps even of Hamilcar (510-480 BC). Possibly there was already in the 6th century BC Chr. Sufetes. It is likely that Carthage was originally under the supervision of a governor (skn) who acted on behalf of the King of Tire. When the city in the 8th / 7th Century BC Politically emancipated BC, a king (mlk) possibly replaced the governor. In the 6th century BC Then a judge (špṭ) or two judges (špṭm) seem to have taken power. In general, the appearance of two annually elected sufetes is said to have appeared at the end of the 4th century BC BC or in the 3rd century BC Adopted. The principle of collegiality and annuity applied . In the long battles of around 520 BC. Until 300 BC The character of the office seems to have hardly changed.
Like other Punic institutions , the Sufetat was used as an official title and honorary title until the Roman Empire .
Competencies
The sufets were elected annually by popular assemblies .
It is difficult to determine the number of sufetes in office each year. That the double sufet was at least temporarily in force can perhaps already be seen from the passages in which the sufets are placed on a par with the Spartan kings and the Roman consuls. This is clearly stated by Cornelius Nepos . This assumption is confirmed by Carthaginian documents in which two sufetes are dated. Yet the twofold does not seem to have been maintained from the beginning to the end of the Sufetate. At times there may have been four sufets.
That the Sufetat, at least in the historically tangible time, possessed the mark of annuity, is obvious on the basis of notes from Nepos and Zonaras . To be on the safe side, the assumption is made if one takes into account the relatively numerous epigraphic documents in which the št (= year) of sufetes is dated. We are only partially informed about the powers of the mostly two sufets. From the rendering of the official title Sufet with “King” (βασιλευς or rex ) only vague conclusions can be drawn about the powers of the incumbent.
They were the top state officials. As summus magistratus ( Livius , German “supreme authority”), they publicly represented state interests to the outside world. You seem to have had significant powers in interstate traffic, otherwise the use of the word βασιλευς or rex would be incomprehensible. The extent to which they were subject to government controls cannot be determined from these two designations.
They headed the Carthaginian Council, often referred to as the Senate , chaired and lectured in the Council, they had the right to convene it and to submit motions to the Council. They also played a crucial role in legislation. In all likelihood they also had the right to convene the people's assembly, and we know of no other officials who would have been eligible. The state finances also seem to have been supervised by them in the end, supported by an official comparable to the Roman quaestor .
They enforced state concerns through police forces , whose highest superiors they themselves seem to have been. As the name špṭ (judge) or meddix tuticus suggests, the judiciary was largely under their supervision. Not infrequently they were in command in war. The great importance of their position is evident from the fact that, like the “great ones ” ( rab ) in the republican Carthage, they held the office that seemed to have been reserved for the king in ancient East Phoenician times, the office of mqm'lm , that is, the awakening of the god Melkart ( mlqrt ).
swell
- Aristotle , politics
- Cornelius Nepos , Hannibal
- Festus
- Justin
- Livy
- Paul Deacon
- Polybios
- Seneca , dialogues
- Zonaras
- numerous Punic inscriptions in various publications
literature
- Werner Dahlheim : The Greco-Roman Antiquity. Volume 2: City and Empire. The history of Rome and its empire. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 1992, ISBN 3-8252-1647-0 (current reprints).
- Stéphane Gsell : Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord. Volume 2: L'état carthaginois. Hachette, Paris 1921.
- Werner Huss : History of the Carthaginians (= Handbook of Classical Studies . Department 3, Part 8). CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30654-3 .
- Werner Huss: The Carthaginians. 3rd, revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-37912-5 .
- Werner Huss: Carthage. 3rd, revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-39825-1 .
- Serge Lancel: Carthage. A history. Blackwell, Oxford et al. 1997, ISBN 1-57718-103-4 .
- Michael Palkovits: Treaties between Rome and Carthage. Graz 2004 (legal diploma thesis).
- Gilbert-Charles Picard , Colette Picard: Vie et mort de Carthage. Hachette, Paris 1970.
- Gerhard Schrot : Carthage. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, column 136.
- Maurice Sznycer: Carthage et la civilization punique. In: Claude Nicolet (ed.): Rome et la conquête du monde mediterranéen. 264-27 avant J.-C. Volume 2: Genèse d'un empire (= Nouvelle Clio. Volume 8). Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-13-035850-0 , pp. 545-593.
