Africa is an epic poem in Latin by the 14th century Italian poet Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca). Written between 1338 and 1343, and afterwards frequently revised, the text was not made public until 1397, three decades after the author's death. It was dedicated to king Robert of Naples, king of Sicily. It was first printed, as part of Petrarch's collected works, at Venice in 1501. The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... From the c. ... King Robert I of Naples a. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ... Venice, (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) is the capital of the region of Veneto and the province of the same name in Italy. ...

It tells the story of the Second Punic War, in which the Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy, but Roman forces were eventually victorious after an invasion of north Africa led by Scipio Africanus, the poem's hero. Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Tiberius Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa, Minucius+, Geminus+, Regulus+ Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco†, Maharbal... Ruins of Roman-era Carthage The term Carthage (Greek: , Arabic: قرطاج also قرطاجة, Latin: Carthago) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... Hannibal is one of the most common prenames in Punic and we know several military commanders (strategos) with this prename during the Punic Wars, while their family names or nicknames are often not recorded. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major (Latin: P·CORNELIVS·P·F·L·N·SCIPIO·AFRICANVS¹) (235–183 BC) was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic. ...

External links

• Outline of contents in the Latin Vicipaedia

Bibliography

• Petrarch's Africa tr. Thomas G. Bergin, Alice S. Wilson. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977.