All Topics  
North Africa during the Classical Period

 
North Africa During the Classical Period

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

North Africa during the Classical Period
 
 
  Topics North Africa during the Classical Period Topic Home

Carthage and the Berbers
Phoenicia
Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
n traders arrived on the North African coast around 900 BC and established Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
 (in present-day Tunisia
Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
) around 800 BC. By the sixth century BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa (east of Cherchell
Cherchell

Cherchell is a seaport town in the provinces of Algeria of Tipaza Province, Algeria, 55 miles West of Algiers. It is the districts of Algeria of Cherchell District....
 in Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
). From their principal center of power at Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements (called emporia in Greek) along the North African coast; these settlements eventually served as market towns as well as anchorages.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'North Africa during the Classical Period'
Start a new discussion about 'North Africa during the Classical Period'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts

The affect on the poiltical ideals of the natives durring the building of carthage








Encyclopedia


Carthage and the Berbers


Phoenicia
Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
n traders arrived on the North African coast around 900 BC and established Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
 (in present-day Tunisia
Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
) around 800 BC. By the sixth century BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa (east of Cherchell
Cherchell

Cherchell is a seaport town in the provinces of Algeria of Tipaza Province, Algeria, 55 miles West of Algiers. It is the districts of Algeria of Cherchell District....
 in Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
). From their principal center of power at Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements (called emporia in Greek) along the North African coast; these settlements eventually served as market towns as well as anchorages. Hippo Regius
Hippo Regius

Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba , Algeria. Under this name, it was a major city in Roman Empire Africa, hosting several early Christian councils, and was the home of the philosopher and theologian Augustine of Hippo....
 (modern Annaba
Annaba

Annaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the Seybouse river and the Tunisian border. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 258 058 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria....
) and Rusicade (modern Skikda
Skikda

Skikda is a city in north eastern Algeria and a port on the Gulf of Stora, the ancient Sinus Numidicus. It was known as Philippeville until the end of the Algerian War of Independence in 1962....
) are among the towns of Carthaginian origin on the coast of present-day Algeria.

As Carthaginian power grew; its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. By the early fourth century BC, Berbers formed one of the largest element, with Gauls, of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers participated from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War
First Punic War

The First Punic War was the first of Punic Wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea....
. Berbers succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars
Punic Wars

The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Ancient Rome and Carthage from 264 to 146 BC. They were probably the largest wars yet of the ancient world....
; in 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the second century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia
Numidia

Numidia was an ancient Berber people kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia that later alternated between being a Roman province and being a Roman client state, and is no longer in existence today....
, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River
Moulouya River

Moulouya River is a 520 km long river in Morocco. Its sources are located in Middle Atlas. It empties to the Mediterranean Sea west of Algeria at about . Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river is being used for irrigation....
 in Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the Almohad
Almohad

The Almohad Dynasty , was a Berber people, Muslim dynasty that was founded in the 12th century, and conquered all northern Africa as far as Libya, together with Al-Andalus ....
s and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa
Masinissa

Masinissa or Massinissa was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of Berber tribes, which he united, and is most famous for his role as a Roman Republic ally in the Battle of Zama....
 in the second century BC. After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until AD 24, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.

Roman North Africa