By the 11th century much of former Roman North Africa had declined to the point where the African Romantic language was in massive decline, as the various episcopal sees in the region had been reduced under the last three centuries of Arab hegemony. Pope Leo IX wrote two letters to the archbishopric of Carthage in 1053 determining their status, and offering his congratulations regarding a synod that been held a few years prior. These two letters represent the last contact noted with any Latin church in North Africa before it permanently disappeared in the 12th century.