Education in ancient Madauros

Abstract

One of the most important and prestigious fields in antiquity was undoubtedly education; this field was practiced in the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, such as Greece, Egypt, and Rome.

In pre-Roman North Africa, with the exception of Carthage recognized for its excellence in education, little is known about the schooling of children in the kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, except a few sources suggesting that some members of the Numidian royal family were educated in Carthage. After the Roman settlement, the region adopted the Roman educational system, which consisted of an academic curriculum made up of three essential stages, allowing children to learn various subjects at each stage.

The present study focuses on the teaching practiced in Madauros, which was considered one of the most renowned centers of intellectual activity in North Africa. This reputation has been further amplified by speculation regarding the existence of a university in the city, notably among early social media pioneers in Algeria.

This ambiguity led us to define the main objectives of this research, which are to determine the educational status of ancient Madauros, to clarify the nature of educational institutions as well as to define the academic curriculum practiced within the Roman educational system in North Africa.

The connection between Madauros and some prominent intellectuals of antiquity such as Saint Augustine and Apuleius of Madauros has fueled doubt about the presence of a university in this ancient city, especially since some authors mentioned it in their works starting from the 19th century with no reference to ancient historical sources or archaeological remains. This situation has triggered intense rumors about the university and obscured the truth about the type of education that existed in Madauros during antiquity.

Based on these elements, we formulated a main research question to reveal the true educational status of Madauros during the Antiquity.

To answer this question, we adopted a methodology based on two approaches: the first consisted of analyzing documents and information that mentioned this educational life of Madauros as well as the supposed university, while the second was a descriptive study of archaeological discoveries related to education in Madauros.

To carry out this study successfully, we consulted a wide range of bibliographical sources, including ancient, recent, and electronic sources.

Finally, we found that the city of Madauros did not contain an institution of higher education in the sense we know today. However, it possessed two types of schools: an elementary school, where pupils between the ages of 7 and 11 learned reading, writing, and arithmetic; and a grammar school, in which schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 learned Greek and Latin languages, grammar, and other subjects, while higher education took place at the rhetorical school of Carthage.

Keywords: Madauros, Education, University, School.