Mauretania
Mauretania (/ˌmɒrɪˈteɪniə, ˌmɔːrɪ-/; Classical Latin: [mau̯.reːˈt̪aː.ni.a])[5][6] is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlas Mountains.[7] Its native inhabitants, of Berber ancestry, were known to the Romans as the Mauri and the Masaesyli.[1]
This article is about the ancient Maghreb territory. For the modern country, see Mauritania. For other uses, see Mauretania (disambiguation). For the passenger ships, see RMS Mauretania (1906) and RMS Mauretania (1938).
Mauretania
Tribal Berber kingdoms (3rd century BC – 40 AD)
Provinces of the Roman Empire (44 AD – 7th century AD)
Independent kingdoms (431 AD[1] – 8th century)
Berber, Latin
Roman paganism, local beliefs, Christianity[4]
Bocchus I
Juba II
Ptolemy of Mauretania.
200 BC
25 BC
44 AD
44 AD
In 25 BC, the kings of Mauretania became Roman vassals until about 44 AD, when the area was annexed to Rome and divided into two provinces: Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis. Christianity spread there from the 3rd century onwards.[8] After the Muslim Arabs subdued the region in the 7th century, Islam became the dominant religion.
In the 1st century AD, Emperor Claudius divided the Roman province of Mauretania into Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana along the line of the Mulucha (Muluya) River, about 60 km west of modern Oran:
Mauretania gave the empire one emperor, the equestrian Macrinus. He seized power after the assassination of Caracalla in 217 but was himself defeated and executed by Elagabalus the next year.
Emperor Diocletian's Tetrarchy reform (293) further divided the area into three provinces, as the small, easternmost region of Sitifensis was split off from Mauretania Caesariensis.
The Notitia Dignitatum (c. 400) mentions them as still existing, two being under the authority of the Vicarius of the diocese of Africa:
And, under the authority of the Vicarius of the diocese of Hispaniae:
Religion[edit]
Christianity is known to have existed in Mauretania as early as the 3rd century.[8] It spread rapidly in these areas despite its relatively late appearance in the region.[21] Although it was adopted in the urban areas of Mauretania Caesariensis, the hinterlands retained the Romano-Berber religion.[22]