 Altava was located between Rusadir (actual Melilla) and Oran | |
  Altava Shown within Algeria | |
| Location | Algeria |
|---|---|
| Region | Tlemcen Province |
| Coordinates | 34°53′11″N1°01′29″W / 34.886389°N 1.024722°W /34.886389; -1.024722 |
Altava was an ancientRomano-Berber city in present-dayAlgeria. It served as the capital of the ancient BerberKingdom of Altava. During the French presence, the town was calledLamoriciere. It was situated in the modernOuled Mimoun nearTlemcen.
Altava was located in westernMauretania Caesariensis on the Roman road from strategicTheveste to Numerus Syrorum (currentMaghnia). Altava was a city populated mainly by Berbers underSeptimius Severus, with a small Roman garrison. The garrison—according to historian M. Ruiu—was theCohors II Sardorum and protected the new lines of the Roman empire moved south from the Mediterranean shores to a military road calledNova Praetentura. This road went fromRapidum inNumidia to Altava and Numerus Syrorum at the border ofMauretania Tingitana.[1]
Altava, according to historian Lawless, was avicus that achieved independent status from the castrum-fort of the garrison and had a huge Forum and an important pagan temple, later converted into a Christian church (showing the growing presence ofChristianity in Roman Africa). The Roman settlement had an area of nearly 13 hectares and was surrounded by farms.[2]
EmperorDiocletian reorganized the Roman Empire in 298 AD and later withdrew from the area ofVolubilis, theRif Mountains in northern Morocco and the western AlgerianAtlas Mountains after theCrisis of the 3rd Century. Berber rulers created a small independent kingdom there, centered on the capital Altava and the fully Romanised city ofVolubilis. From the 7th centuryByzantine historians usually called it theKingdom of Altava.
After theVandal invasion in 429 AD, Altava became the capital of an independent Berber state. ThisMauro-Roman kingdom was situated near Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana, at some distance from the Vandal nucleus. Although a Berber polity, it borrowed the sociocultural, military and religious structure of the Roman Empire.[3]
Between 550 and 578 AD, Altava served as the capital of the independent Christian Berber kingdom ofGarmul.
The last time the kingdom of Altava was cited historically was in connection with a campaign ofGennadius, amagister militum sent by theEastern Roman Empire. He defeated the Berbers and the ruler of Altava in 578 AD and his small kingdom was probably incorporated to the Byzantine Empire.[4]
There are no historical records about Altava in the seventh century, but it is also conceivable that the kingdom of Altava (or at least a small section of it) lasted until its conquest by the Arabs around 700 AD.[5]
34°53′11″N1°01′29″W / 34.88639°N 1.02472°W /34.88639; -1.02472
Romano-Berber cities in Roman North Africa | ||
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Sorted by contemporary national borders | ||
| Morocco | %2c_Algeria_04966r.jpg) | |
| Algeria |
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| Tunisia | ||
| Egypt | ||
| Spain | ||
| Kingdoms and provinces | ||
| Related articles | ||
1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites2 Proposed | ||
