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Nasamones

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TheNasamones(Ancient Greek:Νασαμῶνες)[1]were a nomadicBerbertribe inhabiting southeastLibya.They were believed to be aNumidianpeople, along with theGaramantes.[2]They had established their tribe with their important leaders as rulers and they had a sphere of influence fromSiwa Oasisto theGulf of Sitre.[3][4]

History

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There is also a story about a young Nasamonian who travelled through theSaharaandLibyaand discovered theRiver(possiblyNiger River) where they found aGreat City,gaining access togoldandTrans-Saharan trade[5][6][7][8][9]

They took their name from Nasamon (Νασάμων), the son of Amphithemis and the nymph Tritonis.[10]while also being ancestors ofZenaga peopleandLaguatan[11]from translation of an ancientNumidian languageinscription. They also practicedPolygamy[12]

The Nasamones were centred in the oases ofAwjilaandSiwain theLibyan Desert.They used war chariots with four horses, like the Garamantes. They were known to attack and be defeated and killed by theGreekcolonies inCyrenaica.During thePeloponnesian War,the citizens ofEuesperidesreceived aid from theSpartangeneralGylippus,who helped defend the town and defended it by defeating and killing the Nasomones from the Nasamone attack on his way toSicily.Later,Pliny the Elderrecounts that the Nasamones defeated thePsyllitribe in war, expelling them from the area and they lived with them in the same area later. They would been known to attack and burn ships although on a small scale[13].The Roman emperorAugustusworked to pacify the Cyrenaican tribes and sent proconsulPublius Sulpicius Quirinusto governCreta et Cyrenaicain 15 BCE and the Romans ruled the Nasamones. The Nasamones were ruled over by the Romans and remained autonomous in theRoman Empire.According toCassius Dio,they rose up a century later in 85 CE when the Romans tried to extort money from them. They began trying to raid the coastal settlements again until they were pushed back to the interior byGnaeus Suellius Flaccusand his forces when they defeated and killed them.

Later duringLate Antiquityand theEarly Middle Ages,the Nasamones became vassals of theEastern Roman Empire.Procopiuswrites that the Nasamones remained pagan even after the sixth century when the emperorJustinianbuilt a church for the Byzantines inAwjila.[14]

It is unknown what became of the Nasamones after that period.

Religion

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The Nasamones worshipped a handful ofDeity:

1-Anzar,godthe god ofRain,SkyandSpring.Who is sacrificed aBrideeach year while saying “O God Anzar Give us Water”

2-Siniferea god of war, who was also tribal god who helped inPeaceas well asWar

3-Triton (mythology)god ofLake Tritonis

4-Gurzilgod of theSun[15]

5-Amona mythical king and king of the gods, who is associated with divine protection

6-Dea coeltisa goddess ofCreationand “mother of the Gods”[16]

7-Auseana goddess or rain and sky often associated withVirginityandCows[17]

8-GaramaandNasamontwo heroes who are worshipped byGaramantesand Nasamones alike[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Strabo, Geography, §17.3.20
  2. ^"Saudi Aramco World: Libya's Forgotten Desert Kingdom".
  3. ^Donkin, Sir Rufane Shaw (1827).A Letter on the Government of the Cape of Good Hope: And on Certain Events which Have Occurred There of Late Years, Under the Administration of Lord Charles Somerset: Addressed Most Respectfully to Earl Bathurst.Carpenter.
  4. ^Anthon, Charles (1872).A Classical Dictionary.Harper & brothers.
  5. ^Lenormant, François (1871).The Student's Manual of Oriental History: Medes and Persians, Phœnicians, and Arabians.J. B. Lippincott & Company.
  6. ^LEMPRIERE (D.D.), John (1833).A Classical Dictionary... A new edition, revised and considerably enlarged, by the Rev. T. Smith.
  7. ^Herodotus (1824).The History of Herodotus, literally tr. by a graduate of the university.
  8. ^Quatrefages, Armand de; Bréau, Armand de Quatrefages de (1895).The Pygmies.Macmillian and Company.
  9. ^Lempriere, John (1842).Lempriere's Bibliotheca classica; or, Classical dictionary, re-ed. by E.H. Barker. ed. by C. Anthon.
  10. ^A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Nasamon
  11. ^Militrev, Alexander."Libyo-Berbers-Tuaregs-Canarians (Tamâhaq Tuaregs in the Canary Islands in the Context of Ethno-Linguistic Prehistory of Libyo-Berbers: Linguistic and Inscriptional Evidence)".Research gate.
  12. ^Haynes, Denys Eyre Lankester (1965).An archaeological and historical guide to the pre-Islamic antiquities of Tripolitania.Internet Archive. [Tripoli] Antiquities, Museums and Archives of Tripoli, Libya.
  13. ^Mattingly, David J. (2003-09-02).Tripolitania.Routledge.ISBN978-1-135-78283-2.
  14. ^"The Nasamones of Awjila".livius.org.Livius.Retrieved20 January2015.
  15. ^Syvanne, Ilkka (2015-09-09).Military History of Late Rome 284-361.Pen and Sword.ISBN978-1-84884-855-9.
  16. ^Bates, Oric (1914).The eastern Libyans.Princeton Theological Seminary Library. London, Macmillan and co., limited.
  17. ^Bates, Oric (1914).The eastern Libyans.Princeton Theological Seminary Library. London, Macmillan and co., limited.
  18. ^Bates, Oric (2013-11-05).The Eastern Libyans (1914).Routledge.ISBN978-1-136-24877-1.
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