North Africa during the Classical Period
Phoenician traders arrived on the North African coast around
900 BC and established
Carthage (in present-day
Tunisia) around
800 BC. By the
sixth century BC, a Phoenician 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 impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically.
Berber civilization was already at a stage in which
agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. By the early fourth century BC, Berbers formed one of the largest element, with Gauls, of the Carthaginian army. In the
Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers participated from 241 to 238 BC 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 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the second century BC, 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
Almohads and
Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of
Masinissa in the second century BC. After Masinissa's death in
148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until AD
24, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the
Roman Empire.
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Roman ruins at Djemila, west of Constantine |
Increases in urbanization and in the area under cultivation during Roman rule caused wholesale dislocations of Berber society. Nomadic tribes were forced to settle or move from traditional rangelands. Sedentary tribes lost their autonomy and connection with the land. Berber opposition to the Roman presence was nearly constant. The Roman emperor
Trajan established a frontier in the south by encircling the Aurès and
Nemencha mountains and building a line of forts from Vescera (modern
Biskra) to Ad Majores (
Hennchir Besseriani, southeast of Biskra). The defensive line extended at least as far as Castellum Dimmidi (modern
Messaad, southwest of Biskra), Roman Algeria's southernmost fort. Romans settled and developed the area around Sitifis (modern
Sétif) in the second century, but farther west the influence of Rome did not extend beyond the coast and principal military roads until much later.
The Roman military presence in North Africa was relatively small, consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in
Numidia and the two
Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the second century AD, these garrisons were manned mostly by local inhabitants.
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 Algeria such settlements included
Tipasa, Cuicul or Curculum (modern
Djemila, northeast of Sétif), Thamugadi (modern
Timgad, southeast of Sétif), and Sitifis (modern
Setif). The prosperity of most towns depended on agriculture. Called the "granary of the empire," North Africa was one of the largest exporters of grain in the empire, with was exported to the provinces with did not produce cereals, like Italy and Greece. Other crops included fruit, figs, grapes, and beans. By the
second century AD, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item.
The beginnings of the decline of the
Roman Empire were less serious in North Africa than elsewhere. There were uprisings, however. In AD
238, 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
Judea or
Palestine in the first and second centuries AD for rebelling against Roman rule; others had come earlier with
Punic settlers. In addition, a number of Berber tribes had converted to Judaism.
Christianity arrived in the second century and soon gained converts in the towns and among slaves. More than eighty bishops, some from distant frontier regions of Numidia, attended the Council of
Carthage in
256. By the end of the fourth century, the settled areas had become
Christianized, and some Berber tribes had converted en masse.
A division in the church that came to be known as the
Donatist controversy began in
313 among Christians in North Africa. The Donatists stressed the holiness of the church and refused to accept the authority to administer the sacraments of those who had surrendered the scriptures when they were forbidden under the Emperor
Diocletian. The Donatists also opposed the involvement of
Emperor Constantine in church affairs in contrast to the majority of Christians who welcomed official imperial recognition.
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 truths, 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 sixth century.
Led by their king,
Gaiseric, some 80,000
Vandals, a Germanic tribe, crossed into
Africa from
Spain in
429. In the following year, the invaders advanced without much opposition to Hippo Regius, which they took after a siege in which Augustine died. After further advances, the Vandals in
435 made an agreement with Rome to limit their control to Numidia and Mauretania. But in
439 Gaiseric conquered and pillaged Carthage and the rest of the province of Africa.
The resulting decline in trade weakened Roman control. Independent kingdoms emerged in mountainous and desert areas, towns were overrun, and Berbers, who had previously been pushed to the edges of the Roman Empire, returned.
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. Local opposition delayed full Byzantine control of the region for twelve years, however, and when imperial control came, it was but a shadow of the control exercised by Rome. Although an impressive series of fortifications were built, Byzantine rule was compromised by official corruption, incompetence, military weakness, and lack of concern in Constantinople for African affairs. As a result, many rural areas reverted to Berber rule.
*
Exarchate of Africa*
Early African Church*Original text:
Library of Congress Country Study of Algeria
