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| Provincia Mauretania Caesariensis | |||||||||||||
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| Province of theRoman Empire | |||||||||||||
| 42 AD–Late 7th Century | |||||||||||||
.svg) The province of Mauretania Caesariensis within the Roman Empire, c. AD 125 | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Caesarea | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Classical antiquity,Late Antiquity | ||||||||||||
• Incorporated into the Roman Empire as a full province | 42 AD | ||||||||||||
• Vandal Conquest | 430s AD | ||||||||||||
• Byzantine partial reconquest byVandalic War | 534 AD | ||||||||||||
| Late 7th Century | |||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Algeria | ||||||||||||
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| History ofAlgeria |
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Modern times |
Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarean Mauretania") was aRoman province located in present-dayAlgeria.[1] The full name refers to its capitalCaesarea Mauretaniae (modernCherchell).
The province had been part of the Kingdom ofMauretania and named for theMauri people who lived there. Formerly an independent kingdom, and later aclient state of Rome, it was annexed into the Empire formally during the reign ofClaudius and divided into two provinces about 42 AD. A third province, namedMauretania Sitifensis, was later split off from the eastern portion during the reign ofDiocletian in 293 AD. During and after thefall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, most of thehinterland area was lost, first to theVandal Kingdom and later to theMauro-Roman Kingdom, with Roman administration limited to the capital of Caesarea. The land was reconquered by Rome during the reign ofJustinian. This province was a part ofPraetorian prefecture of Africa, laterExarchate of Africa. TheMuslim conquest of the Maghreb brought an end to Roman rule in Mauretania, permanently this time, which became ruled by theUmayyad Caliphate as part ofMedieval Muslim Algeria.
In the middle of the1st century,Roman emperorClaudius divided the westernmostRoman province inAfrica, namedMauretania ('land of theMauri', hence the wordMoors), into Mauretania Caesariensis (named after its capital,Caesarea in Mauretania, one of many cities named Caesarea after the imperial cognomen that had become a title) andMauretania Tingitana.
Mauretania Caesariensis included eight colonies founded by the EmperorAugustus:Cartennae,Gunugus,Igilgili,Rusguniae,Rusazus,Saldae,Zuccabar,Tubusuctu; two by the EmperorClaudius: Caesarea in Mauretania, formerly the capital ofJuba II, who gave it this name in honour of his patron Augustus, andOppidum Novum; one by the EmperorNerva:Setifis; and in later times,Arsenaria,Bida,Siga,Aquae Calidae,Quiza Xenitana,Rusucurru,Auzia,Gilva,Icosium andTipasa in all 21 well-known colonies, besides severalmunicipia andoppida Latina.
UnderDiocletian'sTetrarchy reform, the easternmost part was broken off from Mauretania Caesariensis as a separate small province,Mauretania Sitifensis, called after its inland capitalSetifis (nowSétif) with a significant port atSaldae (presentlyBéjaïa).[2]
At the time of Diocletian andConstantine the Great, both Sitifensis and Caesariensis were assigned to the administrativeDiocese of Africa, under thePraetorian prefecture of Italy. Tingitana belonged to theDiocese of Hispania under thePraetorian prefecture of Gaul, so it was an enclave separate from the European territory of the Diocese and Prefecture it belonged to.
After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, a GermanicVandal Kingdom was founded, but the remaining Eastern Empire (now known to historians as theByzantine Empire) recaptured the area around 533. Most of Mauretania Caesariensis remained under the control of local Moorish rulers such asMastigas, and it was not until the 560s and 570s that Byzantine control was established inland.
During the reign ofMaurice, the empire was reorganized, and a number ofExarchates were founded, among them theExarchate of Africa, which included Mauretania, among other territories. Mauretania Sitifensis was re-merged back into this province and granted the name "Mauretania Prima."
TheMuslim conquest of the Maghreb for thecaliphate under theUmayyad dynasty meant the end of the ByzantineExarchate of Africa and Late Antique Roman culture there, and Mauretania Caesariensis became part of the westernmost Islamic province calledMaghreb.[citation needed]
The principal exports from Caesariensis were purple dyes and valuable woods; and theAmazigh orMauri were highly regarded by the Romans as soldiers, especially light cavalry. They produced one ofTrajan's best generals,Lusius Quietus, and the emperorMacrinus.
Caesarea was a major center ofJudaism before 330, and Sitifis was one of the centres of the soldier cult ofMithraic mysteries.Christianity spread throughout in the 4th and 5th centuries.
Among the ruling class,Trinitarian Christianity was replaced byArianism under theGermanic kingdom of theVandals, which was established in 430, when the Vandals crossed theStrait of Gibraltar.
Ancient episcopal sees ofMauretania Caesariensis listed in theAnnuario Pontificio astitular sees:[3]
Romano-Berber cities in Roman North Africa | ||
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Sorted by contemporary national borders | ||
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| Algeria |
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