The Roman Empire ca. 117 with the province of Africa highlighted

The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, as well as the Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab The Syrtis Minor is the Latin name used in Ancient Rome for the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of North Africa The Arabs later named roughly the same region as the original province Ifriqiya, a rendering of Africa. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah (إفريقية was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia

History

Further information: History of Tunisia, History of Africa, Numidia, and Mauretania

It was the site of the ancient city of Carthage as well as other large cities in that era, such as Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, Tunisia), capital of Byzacena, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba, Algeria). The history of Africa begins with the first emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into its modern present as a patchwork of Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia ( North Africa) that later alternated In Antiquity Mauretania was originally an independent Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa (named after the Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Hadrume(ntum (sometimes called Adrametum or Adrametus) was a Phoenician colony that pre-dated Carthage and stood on the site of modern-day Sousse ( Arabic سوسة Sousa) is a city of Tunisia. Located 140 km south of Tunis, the city has 173 047 inhabitants (2004 Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Byzacena was a Roman province in what is now Tunisia. At the end of the third century A Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba (formerly Bône Algeria. Annaba (عنابة formerly Bône, historically Hippo) is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse and Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's The province was established in 146 BC following the Third Punic War, by annexing the remaining Carthaginian territory not confiscated after previous defeats by the Romans. The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage Rome established its first African colony, Africa Proconsularis or Africa Vetus (Old Africa), governed by a proconsul, in the most fertile part of what was formerly Carthaginian territory, and established Utica as the administrative capital. Ancient Rome In the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a Promagistrate (like a Propraetor) who after serving as Consul, spent a year The remaining territory was left in the domain of the Numidian client king Massinissa. Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia ( North Africa) that later alternated Client state is one of several terms used to describe the subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs Masinissa or Massinissa (c 240 or 238 BC - c 148 BC was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of Ancient Libyan tribes At this time, the Roman policy in Africa was simply to prevent another great power to rise on the far side of Sicily. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. In 118 BC the Numidian prince Jugurtha attempted the reunification of the smaller kingdoms under his rule. Jugurtha (ca 160 &ndash 104 BC was a Libyan King of Numidia, born in Cirta. However upon his death much of Jugurtha's territory was placed in the control of the Mauretanian client king Bocchus and the romanization of Africa was now firmly rooted. Client state is one of several terms used to describe the subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs Bocchus ( Greek: Βοκχος Bochos) was a King of Mauretania about 110 BC and designated by Historians as Bocchus I. The civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey briefly brought North Africa into the Roman spotlight once again. The Roman civil war of 49 BC sometimes called Caesar's Civil War, is one of the last conflicts within the Roman Republic. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'pɑmpi/ Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir ( Classical Latin abbreviation

Roman coin celebrating the province of Africa, struck in A. The main Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the Aureus (gold the D. 136 under the Emperor Hadrian. Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after The personification of Africa is shown wearing an elephant headdress.

Several political and provincial reforms were implemented by Augustus and later by Caligula, but Claudius finalized the territorial divisions into official Roman provinces. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31 AD 12 &ndash January 24 AD 41 more commonly known by his nickname Caligula (kəˈlɪɡjʊlə was a Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Africa was a senatorial province. After Diocletian's administrative reforms, it was split into Africa Zeugitana (which retained the name Africa Proconsularis, as it was governed by a proconsul) in the north and Africa Byzacena in the south, both of which were part of the Dioecesis Africae. Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate Ancient Rome In the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a Promagistrate (like a Propraetor) who after serving as Consul, spent a year Byzacena was a Roman province in what is now Tunisia. At the end of the third century A The Diocese of Africa ( Dioecesis Africae) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of North Africa The region remained a part of the Roman Empire until the great Germanic migrations of the 5th century. The Vandals crossed into North Africa from Spain in 429 and overran the area by 439 and founded their own kingdom, including Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily Sardinia (sɑrˈdɪnɪə Sardegna Sardigna or Sardinnya is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean The Vandals controlled the country as a warrior-elite, enforcing a policy of strict separation and suppressing the local Romano-African population, They also persecuted the Catholic faithful, as the Vandals were adherents of the Arian heresy (the semi-trinitarian doctrines of Arius, a priest of Egypt). As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described The Arian controversy describes several controversies which divided the Christian church from before the Council of Nicaea in 325 to after the Towards the end of the 5th century, the Vandal state fell into decline, abandoning most of the interior territories to the Mauri and other Berber tribes of the desert.

In AD 533, emperor Justinian, using a Vandal dynastic dispute as pretext, sent an army under the great general Belisarius to recover Africa. Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or Flavius Belisarius (Βελισάριος (505(? – 565 was one of the greatest Generals of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most acclaimed generals in history In a short campaign, Belisarius defeated the Vandals, entered Carthage in triumph and succeeded in reestablishing Roman rule over the province. The Vandalic War was a war fought in North Africa in the areas of modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria, in 533 - 534, between the forces of Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers The restored Roman administration was successful in fending off the attacks of the Amazigh desert tribes, and by means of an extensive fortification network managed to extend its rule once again to the interior. The North African provinces, together with the Roman possessions in Spain, were grouped into the Exarchate of Africa by emperor Maurice. The Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αύγουστος Մավրիկ Mavrig; 539 &ndash November 27 The exarchate prospered, and from it resulted the overthrow of the tyrannical emperor Phocas by Heraclius in 610. Flavius Phocas Augustus, (el Φωκάς Phokas; reigned 602–610 called the Tyrant, usurped the Byzantine throne from the Emperor Maurice Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East Its stability and strength in the beginning of the 7th century can be seen from the fact that Heraclius briefly considered moving the imperial capital from Constantinople to Carthage. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Faced with the onslaught of the Muslim Conquest after 640, and despite occasional setbacks, the exarchate managed to stave off the threat, but in 698, a Muslim army from Egypt sacked Carthage and conquered the exarchate, ending Roman and Christian rule in North Africa. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

Economics

The prosperity of most towns depended on agriculture. Called the "granary of the empire", North Africa, according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one-quarter of which was exported. Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits. By the second century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivation of slaves, and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals, the principal production and exports included the textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery and wool.

Known governors of Roman Africa

Republican Era

• C. Hadrianus Fabius (87—84 BC)

Augustus

• Lucius Aelius Lamia

Tiberius

• Lucius Nonius Asprenas^[1]
• Marcus Furius Camillus^[2] (17–19)
• Lucius Apronius^[3] (19–21)
• Quintus Junius Blaesus^[4] (21–23)
• Publius Cornelius Dolabella^[5] (23–24)

Claudius

• Curtius Rufus^[6]

Notes

References

• Lennox Manton, Roman North Africa, 1988

External links

• Roman Africa at www.unrv.com