Everything about Africa Roman Province totally explained
Africa was a
province of the
Roman Empire. 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. The Roman administrative province is shown, although in
Carthaginian times the province was larger. The continent of
Africa is named after the Roman province. The
Arabs later named roughly the same region as the original province
Ifriqiya, a rendering of
Africa.
History
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 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. 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. The remaining territory was left in the domain of the
Numidian
client king Massinissa. At this time, the Roman policy in Africa was simply to prevent another great power to rise on the far side of
Sicily. In 118 BC the Numidian prince
Jugurtha attempted the reunification of the smaller kingdoms under his rule. 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. The
civil war between
Julius Caesar and
Pompey briefly brought North Africa into the Roman spotlight once again.
Several political and provincial reforms were implemented by
Augustus and later by
Caligula, but
Claudius finalized the territorial divisions into official Roman provinces. 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. 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. 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). 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. In a short campaign, Belisarius defeated the Vandals, entered
Carthage in triumph and succeeded in reestablishing Roman rule over the province. 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 prospered, and from it resulted the overthrow of the tyrannical emperor
Phocas by
Heraclius in 610. 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. 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.
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
Augustus
Lucius Aelius Lamia
Tiberius
Lucius Nonius Asprenas
Marcus Furius Camillus (17–19)
Lucius Apronius (19–21)
Quintus Junius Blaesus (21–23)
Publius Cornelius Dolabella (23–24)
Claudius
Curtius RufusFurther Information
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