Wikipedia

Mauretania Caesariensis

Mauretania Caesariensis(Latinfor "CaesareanMauretania ") was aRoman provincelocated in present-dayAlgeria.[1]The full name refers to its capitalCaesarea Mauretaniae(modernCherchell).

Provincia Mauretania Caesariensis
Provinceof theRoman Empire
42 AD–Late 7th Century

The province of Mauretania Caesariensis within the Roman Empire, c. AD 125
CapitalCaesarea
Historical eraClassical antiquity,Late Antiquity
• Incorporated into the Roman Empire as a full province
42 AD
• Vandal Conquest
430s AD
• Byzantine partial reconquest byVandalic War
534 AD
Late 7th Century
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Mauretania
Vandal Kingdom
Vandal Kingdom
Umayyad Caliphate
Today part ofAlgeria

The province had been part of the Kingdom ofMauretaniaand named for theMauri peoplewho lived there. Formerly an independent kingdom, and later aclient stateof Rome, it was annexed into the Empire formally during the reign ofClaudiusand divided into two provinces about 42 AD. A third province, namedMauretania Sitifensis,was later split off from the eastern portion during the reign ofDiocletianin 293 AD. During and after thefall of the Western Roman Empirein the 5th century, most of thehinterlandarea was lost, first to theVandal Kingdomand later to theMauro-Roman Kingdom,with Roman administration limited to the capital of Caesarea. The land was reconquered by Rome during the reign ofJustinian.This province was a part ofPraetorian prefecture of Africa,laterExarchate of Africa.TheMuslim conquest of the Maghrebbrought an end to Roman rule in Mauretania, permanently this time, which became ruled by theUmayyad Caliphateas part ofMedieval Muslim Algeria.

History

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TheRoman Empirein the time ofHadrian(ruled 117–138), showing theimperial provinceof Mauretania Caesariensis (roughly modernAlgeria,in theMaghreb)

In the middle of 1st century AD,Roman emperorClaudiusdivided the westernmostRoman provinceinAfrica,namedMauretania(land of theMauri people,hence the wordMoors), into Mauretania Caesariensis (named after its capital, one of many cities simply namedCaesareaafter the imperial cognomen that had become a title) andMauretania Tingitana.

Mauretania Caesariensis included eight colonies founded by the EmperorAugustus:Cartennas,Gunugu,Igilgili,Rusguniae,Rusazu,Saldae,Zuccabar,Tubusuctu;two by the EmperorClaudius:Caesareaformerly the capital of Juba, who gave it this name in honour of his patron Augustus, andOppidum Novum;one by the EmperorNerva:Setifis;and in later times,Arsenaria,Bida,Siga,Aquae Calidae,Quiza Xenitana,Rusucurru,Auzia,Gilva,IcosiumandTipasain all 21 well-known colonies, besides severalmunicipiaandoppida Latina.

UnderDiocletian'sTetrarchyreform, the easternmost part was broken off from Mauretania Caesariensis as a separate small province,Mauretania Sitifensis,called after its inland capitalSitifis(nowSétif) with a significant port atSaldae(presentlyBéjaïa).[2]

At the time of Diocletian andConstantine the Great,both Sitifensis and Caesariensis were assigned to the administrativeDiocese of Africa,under thePraetorian prefecture of Italy,while Tingitana belonged to theDiocese of Hispaniaunder thePraetorian prefecture of Gaul,so it was an enclave separate from the European territory of Diocese and Prefecture it belonged to.

After thefall of the Western Roman Empire,a GermanicVandal Kingdomwas founded, but the remaining Eastern Empire (now known to historians as theByzantine Empire) recaptured the area around 533, but most of Mauretania Caesariensis remained under the control of local Moorish rulers such asMastigas,and it was not until the 560s and 570s that Byzantine control was established inland.

During the reign ofMaurice,the empire was reorganized and a number ofExarchateswere founded, among them theExarchate of Africawhich included Mauretania, among other territories. Mauretania Sitifensis was re-merged back into this province, and was granted the name "Mauretania Prima".

TheMuslim conquest of the Maghrebfor thecaliphateunder theUmayyad dynastymeant the end of the ByzantineExarchate of Africaand Late Antique Roman culture there and Mauretania Caesariensis became part of the westernmost Islamic province calledMaghreb.[citation needed]

Economy

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Mosaic of vineyard workers fromCaesarea

The principal exports from Caesariensis were purple dyes and valuable woods; and theAmazighorMauriwere highly regarded by the Romans as soldiers, especially light cavalry. They produced one ofTrajan's best generals,Lusius Quietus,and the emperorMacrinus.

Ruins of the Roman town of Cuicul inDjemila

Religion

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Caesarea was a major center ofJudaismbefore 330, and Sitifis was one of the centres of the soldier cult ofMithraic mysteries.Christianityspread throughout in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Among the ruling class,Trinitarian Christianitywas replaced byArianismunder theGermanic kingdomof theVandals,which was established in 430, when the Vandals crossed theStrait of Gibraltar.

Episcopal sees

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Ancient episcopal sees ofMauretania Caesariensislisted in theAnnuario Pontificioastitular sees:[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Michael Brett (2013).Approaching African History.Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 120.ISBN978-1-84701-063-6.
  2. ^"Map of Mauretania Sitifensis (in blue color) and Mauretania Caesariensis (in light brown color)".Archivedfrom the original on 2017-02-02.Retrieved2017-10-11.
  3. ^Annuario Pontificio 2013(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013,ISBN978-88-209-9070-1), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013

Sources

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  • Westermann,Großer Atlas zur Weltgschichte(in German)
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