Roman Regional Subdivision of North West Africa

[iberomaurusian]

[iberomaurusian]

@mel and Grimson,
You can see the ancient roman toponomy as well.

[Crimson Guard]

Nice Berter!

[Melnorme]

I wonder what's the story of that 'Castellum Dimmidi' in the middle of the grey.

[Crimson Guard]

I think thats the Roman Capital for Gaetulia..Which was mostly desert ,while it was subjected to the Roman Empire,it was never officially added..but always was inhabited by Berbers and not with Blacks.

[iberomaurusian]

melnorme said:

I wonder what's the story of that 'Castellum Dimmidi' in the middle of the grey.

www.stratisc.org/partenaires/cfhm/rihm/76/rihm_76_Richardotwps.html

" Par la suite, sous les empereurs Flaviens et Antonins la colonisation militaire progresse. Deux raisons expliquent cette tendance expansionniste. Tout d'abord, l'annexion de toute la Maurétanie par Caligula et Claude modifie considérablement les perspectives stratégiques. Rome doit assumer les conséquences d'un tel acte en protégeant la frontière méridionale de la Numidie. En second lieu, la mise en valeur de nouvelles terres agricoles n'est pas à négliger. A partir du Ier siècle le blé africain joue un rôle de plus en plus important dans le ravitaillement de Rome, supplantant celui de Campanie ou de Sicile dont l'économie latifundiaire s’essouffle. La flotte annonaire protégée par la Préfecture navale de Misène assure le transit des céréales. Pour répondre à cette double nécessité, les Romains montrent une attitude plus agressive vers le sud-ouest de l'Afrique proconsulaire. La poussée vers l'Aurès et le Hodna dans les années 70-120 relève d'une politique concertée sur le long terme dont la Ille légion Auguste est le fer de lance. L'empereur Septime Sévère (193-211), natif de Leptis Magna en Tripolitaine, semble avoir à coeur de poursuivre cette conquête de l'ouest. Préalablement à cette extension, Septime Sévère crée la province autonome de Numidie sous l'autorité du chef de la IIIe légion Auguste dont le quartier général ou prétoire est à Lambèse. La progression en Maurétanie sous Septime Sévère suit deux axes : un au sud et un au nord. A 300 km au sud-ouest de Lambèse, la construction de Castellum Dimmidi (Messad) vers 197-201 atteste cette progression en Maurétanie. Un détachement de la IIIe Auguste y est renforcé par un de la Ille Gallica stationnée en Syrie : il s'agit d'une garnison de conquête utilisant des renforts exceptionnels. L'Aurès néanmoins forme un centre de résistance à l'avancée romaine... Plus au nord, longeant le Tell, est construite une rocade bordée de fortins qui portent les noms des unités auxiliaires qui les ont édifiés vers 201-203 : Cohors Breucorum, Ala Miliaria. Le point le plus occidental de cette avance est atteint au lieu-dit de Numerum Syvorum , " la Troupe des Syriens ", aujourd'hui Marnia ou Maghnia."

--->
Castellum Dimmidi, constructed towards 197-201, served as a garrison of conquest during Septime Severe's progression in Southern Mauretania.

[Mike the Jedi]

Who are the Ethiopians supposed to be on that map? Were blacks or Tuareg-like people really found that far north during Roman times?

[Ponto Hardbottle]

The Romans usage of Ethiopian follows that of the Greeks. It is just a generic name for Negroid like people and did not necessarily have anything to do with modern Ethiopia or Ethiopians. I love reading old newspapers and I found one in Australia that described Jack Johnson in his fight against some Canadian man named Burns, as an Ethiopian. So the generic usage lasted into the early 20th century. It may explain the attachment of modern Ethiopians to Americans today. The every dark skinned person is negroid belief.
I am not sure what Melnorme meant in his query but I can't help noticing the coincidental similarity of Dimmidi to Dhimmi or Dhimma in Arabic.

[iberomaurusian]

holyjesus said:

I am not sure what Melnorme meant in his query but I can't help noticing the coincidental similarity of Dimmidi to Dhimmi or Dhimma in Arabic.

I guess its the original name given by the Romans to that castle; In those times, Northern Africa was totally free from Arabs:
Time the castle was built --- 197-201
Arabs Invasion of NA --- >622 (7th century).

I guess: the castle's appelation is just a derivation of Castle di Numidi (Castle of Numidia), or Castle di Midi (Castle of the Middle Lands).

[amksa]

xcalator1 said:

Who are the Ethiopians supposed to be on that map? Were blacks or Tuareg-like people really found that far north during Roman times?

there are even more strange designations when it comes to ancient north africans : according to Henri Lhote, there were a population mentioned by Pliny called the leuco-aethiopians (free translation of mine from the french "leuco-éthiopiens"), the "white ethiopians", henri lhote said that they could be the peuls/fulanis, but, at that time, the leuco-ethiopians should be the bafours, first inhabitants of mauritania before the arrival of the maures (i mean current mauritania, not the one on the above map, maurEtania.)
there was also the pyri-aethiopians, the "burnt ethiopians", which could be more logical for the bafours.

nobody can say what people exactely it referred to, because nobody will never know which difference exactely ancient classical authors made between "white" and "burnt" ethiopians.