North Africa during classical antiquity

The history of North Africa during the period of classical antiquity (c. 8th century BCE – 5th century CE) can be divided roughly into the history of Egypt in the east, the history of ancient Libya in the middle and the history of Numidia and Mauretania in the west.

Initially, in the east, Egypt was under

The

The Late Period of

Phoenician traders arrived on the North African coast around 900 BC and established Carthage (in present-day Tunisia) around 800 BCE. By the 6th century BCE, a Punic presence existed at Tipasa (east of Cherchell in Algeria). From their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements (called emporia in Greek) along the North African coast; these settlements eventually served as market towns as well as anchorages. Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda) are among the towns of Carthaginian origin on the coast of present-day Algeria.

As Carthaginian power grew, its involvement in the indigenous population increased dramatically.

Egypt was not considered part of Libya (Africa) in

In the Mercenary War, Berber soldiers participated from 241 to 238 BCE after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. Berbers succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars; in 146 BCE the city of Carthage was destroyed.

As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BCE, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River in Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the

Roman domination of the northern Mediterranean coasts of Africa began when Carthage was defeated.[2] The Roman Empire in the following century controlled all the coasts from the Nile valley to the Atlantic Ocean of modern Morocco.^[3]

The Roman military presence of North Africa was relatively small if related to other areas of the empire, consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in Numidia and the two Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the 2nd century CE, these garrisons were manned mostly by local inhabitants, because the area was considered fully pacified and nearly totally romanised.

Aside from Carthage, urbanization in North Africa came in part with the establishment of settlements of veterans under the Roman emperors Claudius, Nerva, and Trajan.

In what is now

The beginnings of the decline were less serious in North Africa than elsewhere. There were uprisings, however. In 238 AD, landowners rebelled unsuccessfully against the emperor's fiscal policies. Sporadic tribal revolts in the Mauretanian mountains followed from 253 to 288. The towns also suffered economic difficulties, and building activity almost ceased.

The towns of Roman North Africa had a substantial Jewish population. Some Jews had been deported from

The occasionally violent controversy has been characterized as a struggle between opponents and supporters of the Roman system. The most articulate North African critic of the Donatist position, which came to be called a heresy, was Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius. Augustine maintained that the unworthiness of a minister did not affect the validity of the sacraments because their true minister was Christ. In his sermons and books Augustine, who is considered a leading exponent of Christian dogma, evolved a theory of the right of orthodox Christian rulers to use force against schismatics and heretics. Although the dispute was resolved by a decision of an imperial commission in Carthage in 411, Donatist communities continued to exist as late as the 6th century.

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In the summer of 365 AD, a massive tsunami struck North Africa, causing massive damage and thousands of deaths.^[6] The cities were devastated and coastal farmlands ruined by seawater. Almost total crop failure precipitated a steep decline in trade. This decline in trade weakened Roman control. Independent kingdoms emerged in mountainous and desert areas, towns were reconquered by Berbers. Then the Vandals took over most of Africa Proconsularis in the early 5th century and stayed for a hundred years.

Belisarius, general of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I based in Constantinople, landed in North Africa in 533 with 16,000 men and within a year destroyed the Vandal kingdom. Many rural areas reverted to Berber rule and Byzantine North Africa as a whole was lost during the Muslim conquests.

• Classical antiquity
• History of North Africa