TheMusulamii were a confederation of theBerberGaetulian tribes,[1] who inhabited the desert regions of what is today known as Chotts Regions inTunisia andAlgeria, as well as the Roman province ofMauretania Caesariensis, which was annexed to the Roman empire in 44 AD. They were indeed meant to be recognized as a member of these tribes and not separate, asJunius Blaesus the younger describes a war againstTacfarinas as a war against theGaetulas Gentes ("Gaetulian Peoples").[2]
Originally noted to be located betweenSicca andTheveste.[3] It was felt that some control needed to be placed over the Musulamii due to the continuous and severe disturbances they created for Rome.[4] So, the Musulamii were confined to a set plot of land defined by military colonies established for soldiers ofAmmaedara,Mauduros andTheveste where they were forced to learn sedentary farming on land not suitable for that.[5] This area likely totaled around 80 kilometers.[6] This meant that the best of their lands had been taken by the Romans for colonies or estates.[7] Musulamii were nomads, so this greatly altered their lifestyle. However, there is some evidence that not all of the tribe of the Musulamii was there, but some remained nomads south of the Tebessa mountains.[8]
The Musulamii had their first major involvement with the Romans during theGaetuli War. The wars lasted from AD 3 to AD 6 and the Musulamii played a relatively small role.[9] In 17 AD the Musulamii tribe, led byTacfarinas,[10] rebelled against the Romans over the building of aroad across Musulamii territory by theThird Augustan Legion. The Musulamii were joined in the conflict against the Romans by theGaetuli and the neighboringGaramantes tribe. This was the largest war in theAlgeria region ofRoman North Africa in the history of Roman occupation.[11] After their defeat in AD 24, the Musulamii ceased to appear in Roman military record.