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Algeria NORTH AFRICA DURING THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
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Figure 2. Roman North Africa, Fourth Century B.C. to
Third Century A.D.
Carthage and the Berbers
Phoenician traders arrived on the North African coast around 900
B.C. and established Carthage (in present-day Tunisia) around 800
B.C. By the sixth century B.C., a Phoenician presence existed at
Tipasa (east of Cherchell in Algeria). From their principal
center of power at Carthage, 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
(modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda) 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 civilization was
already at a stage in which agriculture, 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 B.C., Berbers
formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In
the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241
to 238 B.C. after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage
in the First Punic War. They 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; in 146 B.C.
the city of Carthage was destroyed.
As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in
the hinterland grew. By the second century B.C., several large
but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them
were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled
by Carthage
(see
fig. 2). West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which
extended across the Moulouya River in Morocco to the Atlantic
Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the
coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium
later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the second
century B.C. After Masinissa's death in 148 B.C., the Berber
kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's
line survived until A.D. 24, when the remaining Berber territory
was annexed to the Roman Empire.
Data as of December 1993
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