Roman colonies in Berber Africa

The main Roman cities in Berber Africa

Roman colonies in North Africa are the cities—populated by Roman citizens—created in Berber North Africa by the Roman Empire, mainly in the period between the reigns of Augustus and Trajan. These colonies were created in the area—now called Tamazgha by the Berbers—located between Morocco and Libyan Tripolitania.

Characteristics

Since the second half of the first century BC and as a result of increasing communities of Roman citizens living in the North African centers, Rome started to create colonies in North Africa. The main reason was to control the area with Roman citizens, who had been legionaries in many cases. The second reason was to give land and urban properties to the Roman military troops who had fought for the Roman Empire and so decrease the demographic problem in the Italian peninsula. The third reason was to facilitate the Romanization of the area and so the integration of the local Berbers -through marriage and other relationships- in the Roman Empire's social and cultural world.[1]

It is indicative that two of the main characteristics of the Roman world, Latin language and Christianity, were increased to nearly full acceptance by the Berber autochthonous population (from nearly zero at the times of Augustus) after the four centuries of Roman dominance in what is now called "Maghreb": this was done even through the creation and development of the Roman colonies, according to historian Theodore Mommsen.[2]

Indeed under Theodosius the area east of the Fossa regia[3] was fully Romanized with one third of the population made of Italian colonists and their descendants, according to historian Theodore Mommsen. The other two thirds were Romanized Berbers, all Christians and nearly all Latin speaking.

The Fossa regia marked the border between the original Roman province of Africa and Numidia. East of Fossa Regia there was full Latinisation of the society

Furthermore in the same century in the area between Fossa Regia and the Fossatum Africae of the Roman limes, where was expanded -further west of the Fossa Regia- the process of Romanization after Augustus, the roman colonists and descendants were nearly 20% of the population. They were concentrated around Cirta with surrounding confederated cities and around Thamugadi in the Aures region, while the remaining 80% was made of Berbers of whom only 25% were not fully assimilated and still spoke autochthonous berber language. Nearly all of them worshipped Christianity (and a few even Judaism).

The prosperity of most towns depended on agriculture. Called the "Granary of the Empire",[4] Romano-berber North Africa 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 such as African Red Slip, and wool.

The incorporation of colonial cities into the Roman Empire brought an unparalleled degree of urbanization to vast areas of territory, particularly in North Africa. This level of rapid urbanization had a structural impact on the town economy, and artisan production in Roman cities became closely tied to the agrarian spheres of production. As Rome's population grew, so did her demand for North African produce. This flourishing trade allowed the North African provinces to increase artisan production in rapidly developing cities, making them highly organized urban centers. Many Roman cities shared both consumer and producer model city aspects, as artisanal activity was directly related to the economic role cities played in long-distance trade networks.[5]

The urban population became increasingly engaged in the craft and service sectors and less in agrarian employment even Byzantine times,[6] until a significant portion of the town’s vitality came from the sale or trade of products through middlemen to markets in areas both rural and abroad. The changes that occurred in the infrastructure for agricultural processing, like olive oil and wine production, as trade continued to develop both cities and commerce directly influenced the volume of artisan production. The scale, quality, and demand for these products reached its acme in Roman North Africa.[5]

Berber Africa -from northern Morocco to Tripolitania- had a population of more than 3 million inhabitants in the third century, according to historian Hilario Gomez,[7] and nearly 40% were living in more than 500 cities. But in the sixth century -after the Byzantine reconquest- the population was reduced to less than 2.5 millions and after the Arab conquest in the eighth to tenth centuries there remained only one million (nearly all living in the countryside, with the Arab newly founded capital Kairouan having just 30,000 inhabitants). Roman northwestern Africa with its cities and civilization had practically disappeared in just two centuries of Arab domination.

History

Julius Caesar undertook a vast program of new city developments. He started projecting the creation of the colony "Concordia Iulia Karthago", where 3,000 colonists settled on its vast territory (called 'pertica'), as a rebirth of the destroyed old Cathago. He also started to create other small colonies-villages of Roman veterans, all with a port: Clupea (actual Qelibia), Curubis (Korba), Carpi (Mraisa) and Neapolis (Nabeul), and probably also in Hippo Diarrhytus (Biserta). After his death and during triunmviral period, Lepidus gave the status of municipality to Thabraca (Tabarca), while with Octavius, Utica became a Roman municipality (36 AD).

The urban Policy of emperor Augustus was very intense and huge. In 29 AD he proceeded to colonize the coastal zone of berber north Africa, creating by law "Roman colonies". Augustus created the Roman colony Iulia Sittianorum Cirta (actual Constantine) and also founded in Numidia and Africa Proconsularis other eleven smaller colonies named: Thiburbo Minus, Hippo Diarrhytus, Maxula, Caspis, Clupea, Curubis, Neapolis, Thuburnica, Simitthu, Sicca and Assuras.

He even founded in what is now coastal Algeria nine colonies for veterans of his legions: Igilgili, Saldae, Rusucurru, Rusazu, Rusguniae, Aquae Calidae, Zuccabar, Gunugu and Cartenna. These 9 colonies were the areas of Mauretania Caesariensis where the romanization was more complete in the fifth century.

With the Flavian emperors the Roman Empire entered a new phase of urban developments. In 75 AD taking advantage of the legio III Augusta move to Theveste from Ammaedara, 40 miles west, the old legionary camp became the colony "Flavia Augusta Emerita Ammaedara". To enhance communication with Theveste was founded, on the route between this city and Hippo Regius, a colony of veterans in "Madauros", called colony "Flavia Augusta veteranorum Madauriensium" . It was probably then that Hippo Regius, a municipality under Augustus, became a colony. The presence of these military troops -more than 10,000 legionaries- was a supplementary stimulus to economic activities in the area and should not be neglected.

In the second century, mainly under Trajan, was done a new westward advance in the colonization process. The basis of these efforts was located with the transfer of a legionary camp from Theveste to Lambaesis (actual Lambesa), 70 km further to the west. To reinforce the areas abandoned by the army, Trajan erected near Trajan Ammaedara a new colony, "Thelepte", and further south, in the African limes, the town of Capsa (actual Gafsa).

Christian mosaic with Latin sentence, from Roman veterans' Colonia Madauros (near Tipasa)

Theveste surely become then a colony, as happened with "Hadrumetum" and "Leptis Minus". Along with the great legionary center of Lambaesis, the large Roman colony called Thamugadi was established. At the same time Trajan reinforced the coastal cities and granted the category of colonies to: Cuicul, Milev, Chullu and Rusicade, that formed a confederation near Cirta.

Indeed some cities in Africa Proconsularis enjoyed special privileges, such as the granting of the "Ius italicum", that was the exemption from the property tax levy. Septimius Severus (who was a romano-berber emperor) rewarded in this way around 210 AD the major cities of the land where he was born: Leptis Magna, Carthage and Utica.

Even in Roman Tripolitania was very important and huge the development of the urban policy done by the Roman Empire. Leptis Magna, originally a subsidiary of Carthago city, was declared a colony with Trajan. Other top area cities were Oea and Sabratha.

Before the annexation of Mauritania, there was even there some Roman colonization. Taking advantage of the "interregnum" Augustus founded in what is now northern Morocco some coastal colonies (Igilgili, Saldae, Tubusuctu, Rusuzus, Rusguniae, Icosium - attached to Ilici in the Citerior-Aquae, Zucchabar, Cartennae, Tingis, Zilil, Babba and Banasa). Later even the capital, Iol, became a colony. Its name was changed to Caesarea. Volubilis, Lixus, Siga, Sala, Tipasa and Rusucurium became colonies when Claudius was emperor.

Different kinds of colonies

Roman coloniae were of two kinds, Roman and Latin:[8] the first and most important were the Roman Coloniae that characterized by full rights of Roman citizenship. Then there were the "Municipia" and finally the "Civitates peregrinae" (meaning foreign cities or not roman populated cities). Romans called "municipia" their normal administrative entities in their empire.

The citizens of municipia of the first order held full Roman citizenship and their rights (civitas optimo iure) included the right to vote, which was the ultimate right in Rome, and a sure sign of full rights.In many case these cities had reduced or even no tax duties.The second order of municipia comprised important tribal centres which had come under Roman control. Residents of these did not become full Roman citizens (although their magistrates could become so after retirement). They were given the duties of full citizens in terms of liability to taxes and military service, but not all of the rights: most significantly, they had no right to vote.

Map showing the Augustus "roman coloniae" in north Africa

List of the main Roman Coloniae

There were 20 cities in the territory of actual Tunisia with the title and privileges of "Roman Coloniae" or similar, while in Algeria there was nearly the same amount and in Morocco and Libya only a few. The most important was the "capital" new Carthago, with more than 300,000 inhabitants during Septimius Severus times (who enhanced Leptis Magna -where he was born- to be the second city of Berber Africa with nearly 100,000 inhabitants).

According to historian De Ruggiero in his famous "Dizionario epigrafico di antichita' romane",[9] the "Roman Coloniae" in Berber Africa verified academically were:

Following is a list of 10 of the main and most important "Roman Coloniae":

Latin Name Modern name Image Comments
Caesarea[10] Chercell (Algeria) Caesarea was made capital of Mauretania Caesariensis, when promoted to "Colonia Claudia Caesarea" in 48 AD by Claudius
Carthago[11] Cartage (Tunisia) On the soil of destroyed Carthage, Roman Carthage was founded as "Colonia Junona" in 122 BC and refounded by Caesar in 45 BC. It was the "capital" of Roman Africa, with more than 300,000 inhabitants, and was fully destroyed by Arabs in 698 AD (who later founded nearby actual "Tunis")
Cirta[12] Constantine (Algeria) Cirta was renamed by Costantine I: "Civitas Constantina Cirtensium". It was surrounded by a "Confederation of free Roman cities" (Tiddis, Cuicul, etc.)
Hadrumetum[13] Sousa (Tunisia) Hadrumetum was made by Trajan "Colonia Concordia Ulpia Trajana Augusta Frugifera Hadrumetina" and was the second biggest city in Berber Africa. It was destroyed -after a two months siege- by Arabs and only one century later recreated as "Sousse".
Hippo Regius[14] Bone (Algeria) Hyppo Regius -called even Hippona- was the city of St' Augustine.It was very rich and fully Romanized.It was destroyed by Arabs who rebuilt nearby the actual city of "Bone" in the eighth century
Leptis Magna[15] Leptis Magna (Libya) Leptis magna was made Municipia by Trajan in 109 AD with the name "Ulpia Trajana" and Colonia by Septimius Severus in 200 AD
Sala Colonia[16] Chellah (Morocco) Sala Colonia was a Roman colony until the end of the third century. The city remained with a Roman garrison until the sixth century and now is part of metropolitan Rabat
Thamugadi[17] Timgad (Algeria) Timgad was founded by Trajan in 100 AD as "Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi"
Thysdrus[18] El Djem (Tunisia) Thysdrus was made "colonia" in 244 AD by Gordian III
Volubilis[19] Volubilis (Morocco) Volubilis was made Colonia ("Municipium") by Claudius around 50 AD.It was abandoned by Romans in 285 AD, but survived autonomously until the eighth century.

Leptis Magna: a special Roman colonia

Leptis Magna, which was located on a natural harbor protected by islands along the Roman Libya coast, began as a Phoenician trading post. In the sixth century BC Carthage became the dominant Phoenician colony and gradually took control of other Phoenician areas in North Africa, including Leptis Magna.

In 202 BC the Romans defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War and took possession of Leptis. Soon Italian merchants settled in the city and started a profitable commerce with the Libyan interior.[20] The republican Rome sent some colonists together with a small garrison in order to control the city. Since then the city started to grow and was even allowed to create its own money (coins). The Emperor Trajan in 109 AD made Leptis a "Colonia Municipia", a Roman colony, with full Roman citizenship rights for the city's population. Septimius Severus, born in the city, exempted his hometown from taxes as a "Colonia Romanorum".

Severan Basilica in Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna enjoyed an unusual degree of autonomy under imperial Roman rule. Unlike other African cities, it lost no land and was not forced to accept Roman settlers after Augustus times. These facts made Leptis a "special" colony, where only the local aristocracy and oligarchy was fully Romanized and spoke Latin, according to historian Theodore Mommsen.[21] Most of the Leptis inhabitants kept using the Phoenician dialect (mixed with autochthonous Libyan-berber words) until the fourth century. Indeed in the sixth century, when the city was ruled by the Byzantines, only a few were able to speak Latin and all the others spoke berber (while phoenician disappeared). And the Christian religion coexisted with the pagan religion of the Berber-Phoenicians until the end of the third century. Indeed Mommsen even wrote that Leptis was a special colonia where Christianity only in the fourth century was worshipped by all the citizens: it prospered mainly because Rome stopped bandits from plundering the countryside. But even because the Roman Empire -mainly under Trajan and Septimius Severus- curbed unrest among local tribal groups with the creation of the Limes Tripolitanus and with the creation and development of cities (like Gaerisa) ans forts (like Garbia) with Centenaria farms around the southern periphery of Leptis area.

During the Roman period, Leptis was the Mediterranean outlet of a trade route through the Sahara into the interior of Africa. Its economy was based on agriculture, and some of its products, particularly olives, became profitable trade items. Olive cultivation added so much to the town s prosperity that in 46 BC the Roman ruler Julius Caesar imposed an annual tax of three million pounds of oil on Leptis. Inscriptions and literary sources attest to the wealth of the Leptis Magna elite, who supported the continuing growth of the city.

Leptis achieved its greatest prominence beginning in 193 AD, when a Berber native son, Lucius Septimius Severus, became emperor. He favored his hometown above all other provincial cities, and the buildings and wealth he lavished on it made Leptis Magna the third-most important city in Africa, rivaling Carthage and Alexandria. In 205 AD, he and the imperial family visited the city and received great honors.

Among the changes that Severus introduced were to create a magnificent new forum and to rebuild the docks. The natural harbour had a tendency to silt up, but the Severan changes made this worse: actually the eastern wharves are extremely well preserved, since they were hardly used.

Leptis grew to nearly 100,000 inhabitants by 220 AD, according to historian Theodore Mommsen. But during the Crisis of the Third Century, when trade declined precipitously, Leptis Magna's importance also fell into a decline, and by the middle of the fourth century, large parts of the city had been abandoned. Vandals destroyed the city, but eastern roman emperor Iustinianus rebuilt the city (and the walls, even if with a smaller extension).[22] The progressive growth of arid land around Leptis damaged its importance and the port become full of sand. As a consequence, when Arabs arrived in 640 AD and conquered Leptis, they found only a little garrison and a small city of less than 1,000 inhabitants. Under Arab domination Leptis disappeared: by the tenth century the city was forgotten and fully covered by sand.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ History of Christianity in Roman Africa
  2. ↑ Mommsen, Theodore. "The Provinces of the Roman Empire". Chapter: Roman Africa
  3. ↑ Camps: "Fossa Regia" (in French)
  4. ↑ Detailed Map of the "Granary of the Roman Empire" with its Roman-berber cities and villages (actual eastern Algeria and northern Tunisia)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wilson, A. I., 2002. Papers of the British School at Rome. Vol 70, Urban Production in the Roman World: The View from North Africa. London: British School at Rome. 231-73.
  6. ↑ Gabriel Camps. "Rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum. Recherches sur les royaumes de Maurétanie des VIe et VIIe siècles"
  7. ↑ Hilario Gomez: Ciudades del Africa bizantina (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ Lendering, Jona. Coloniae. section: Roman Coloniae-Latin Coloniae
  9. ↑ De Ruggiero, Ettore. Dizionario epigrafico di antichita romane Vol. I section: "Colonie Romane"
  10. ↑ Detailed information on Caesarea
  11. ↑ UNESCO: Carthage
  12. ↑ Historical evolution of Cirta area (in French)
  13. ↑ Hadrumetum history
  14. ↑ Hippo Regius history (in Italian)
  15. ↑ UNESCO:Leptis Magna
  16. ↑ Sala Colonia history (in French)
  17. ↑ UNESCO: Timgad
  18. ↑ Princeton Enc: Thysdrus
  19. ↑ UNESCO: Volubilis
  20. ↑ Silvia Bullo: Provincia Africa. Leptis Magna. pg 167-171 (in Italian)
  21. ↑ Mommsen, Theodore. The Provinces of the Roman Empire Section: Roman Africa
  22. ↑ Sixth-century fortifications in Byzantine Africa by Reginald Denys Pringle

Bibliography