Mauretania (ancient world)
Mauretania, in the ancient world, was a North African region situated north of the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, bordered by the river Ampsaga (Wadi el-Kebir) to the east. The inhabitants, primarily semi-nomadic Berber herdsmen, were known to the Greeks as Maurusii and to the Romans as Mauri. Historically, Mauretania was a place of agricultural activity, with grain and olives cultivated in certain plains, and it became an important region for trade, especially with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians establishing trading posts along the coasts.
Throughout its history, Mauretania was influenced by various powers, including the Romans, who initially interacted with local kings and eventually annexed the region. It was divided into two provinces, Tingitana and Caesariensis, each governed by Roman colonial administrations. The region was known for its military contributions to Rome, providing skilled soldiers such as light cavalry and notable generals. Despite periods of unrest and rebellion, especially against Roman rule, Mauretania remained significant until its occupation by the Vandals in the 5th century AD. The complex interactions of local rulers and foreign powers characterize the rich history of Mauretania, reflecting its cultural and political significance in the ancient world.
Subject Terms
Mauretania (ancient world)
The north African territory north of the Atlas mountains and the Sahara, extending between the river Ampsaga (Wadi el-Kebir)—the border with Numidia and its Massyli—and the Atlantic
Its inhabitants, mostly semi-nomadic Berber herdsmen, were collectively known to the Greeks as Maurusii and to the Romans as Mauri (loosely though misleadingly translated as `Moors’), although in a more restrictive sense the Mauri dwelt west of the river Mulucha (Moulouya), while the regions to its east belonged to the Masaesyli.
Grain and olives were grown in a few plains, and from the sixth century BC Phoenicians (followed by Carthaginians) established trading stations along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and the language at the Mauretanian royal court at Siga (Tafna) was Punic. During the Second Punic War, however, the king of the Masaesyli, Syphax—who resided at Siga—initially fought against Carthage. But in 212 he was won over to its cause by his Carthaginian wife, Saphanbaal (Sophonisba), who committed suicide when her husband was over-thrown by Masinissa with Roman help (203). Between 108 and 105 King Bocchus I of Mauretania sided with the Romans against his son-in-law Jugurtha of Numidia, parts of whose territory he was allowed to annex.
During the Civil War between Julius Caesar and the Pompeians (49–46), the Mauretanian kings Bocchus II and Bogud (in the eastern and western parts of the country respectively) supported Caesar, and the former was rewarded with additional territory. After Caesar's death, at the suggestion of Antony's brother Lucius Antonius, Bogud attacked the representatives of Octavian (the future Augustus) in Spain but lost his kingdom to Bocchus II (c 38), dying as an exile in Antony's service in 31. Meanwhile, after Bocchus, too, had died in 33, Octavian annexed the whole of Mauretania and established half a dozen military colonies on its territory.
In 25, however, it reverted to the status of client kingdom under the learned and artistic Juba II (married to Cleopatra Selene the daughter of Cleopatra VII of Egypt), who established his capital at Iol Caesarea (Cherchel). But his son Ptolemaeus, who succeeded him in AD 23, was executed by Gaius (Caligula) at Rome (40), and, after a subsequent revolt of the Mauri, led by Aedemon, had been put down, Mauretania was converted by Claudius into two Roman provinces, Tingitana in the west and Caesariensis in the east, with their capitals at Tingi (Tangier) and Iol Caesarea respectively. The principal exports from these territories were purple dyes and valuable woods; and the Mauretanians were highly regarded by the Romans as soldiers, especially light cavalry. They produced one of Trajan's best generals, Lusius Quietus, and the emperors Macrinus (217–18) and Aemilian (253).
The number of citizen colonies rose to eighteen—seven in Tingitana and eleven in Caesariensis—and there were also citizen communities of municipal rank. Unrest occurred in a number of reigns, and Antoninus Pius had to deal with a general tribal revolt (c 145–50). Further serious difficulties with Atlas tribesmen known as Quinquegentanei (in the south of Caesariensis), requiring the presence of the emperor Maximian (c 297), resulted in a retraction of the frontier in both provinces; and in the subsequent reorganization, a new province, Mauretania Sitifensis, was carved out of the eastern part of Caesariensis, whereas Tingitana or Tingitania, as it was now called, was attached to the administrative diocese of Spain. A Quinquegentanian prince Firmus, with the help of dissident Christians (Donatists), led a dangerous revolt in the 370s, and his brother Gildo repeated the process in 397.
When Gaiseric and his Vandals arrived in Africa in 429 they occupied the Mauretanias, agreeing in 435 to pay an annual tribute to Rome. In 442, however, it was decided that they should be allowed to occupy the province of Africa, while the Mauretanian territories were to revert to Roman control; but little more than a dozen years later Gaiseric overran these territories again without encountering resistance, and the emperor Majorian (457–61) had to acquiesce to their loss.