Masuna or Massonas () was a Berber from what is now western Algeria who was said to have been a Christian, he ruled the

Mauro-Roman Kingdom The Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Latin: ''Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum'') was an independent Christian Berber kingdom centred in the capital city of Altava (present-day Algeria) which controlled much of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesarien ...

with its capital based in Altava which is now in present-day Algeria around the Tlemcen area. He was able to maintain the independence of his kingdom by resisting occupation from the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

. King Masuna allied with the Eastern Roman Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

and assisted him in a war against the Vandals in 533 and also against other invading Berber tribal confederations. During his reign he was obeyed by the tribes of Mauretania.Oudjda et l'Amalat (Maroc)
Louis Voinot. L. Fouque.

Reign

Masuna was the earliest recorded ruler of the

, a Berber kingdom that sprung up in the former province of Mauretania Caesariensis following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This kingdom, unlike many other Barbarian kingdoms, extended beyond the borders of the former Roman Empire, encompassing Berber territories that had never been under Roman control. Masuna is known only from an inscription on a fortification in Altava (modern Ouled Mimoun, in the region of Oran), dated 508 AD, where he styles himself as the ''Rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum'', the "King of the Roman and Moorish peoples". He is known to have possessed Altava, assumed to have been the capital due to its prominence under subsequent kings, and at least two other cities, '' Castra Severiana'' and '' Safar'', as mention is made of officials he appointed there. As the seat of an ecclesiarchal

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

(the diocese of Castra Severiana, an ancient bishophoric which flourished during Late Antiquity), the control of ''Castra Severiana'' may have been particularly important.

Relations with the Eastern Roman Empire

The Eastern Roman historian Procopius mentions a Berber king called "''Massonas''", often assumed to be the same person as Masuna, as having allied with the forces of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

in the 530s against the Vandal Kingdom in the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empire. The Vandal ...

. Masuna is assumed to have been among the Berber rulers that willingly submitted to

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

and the Eastern Roman forces, demanding in return the symbols of their offices; a silver crown, a staff of silver gilt, a tunic and gilded boots. After the Vandals were defeated and the Eastern Roman Empire restored Roman rule over Northern Africa, the local Byzantine governors would begin to experience problems with some of the local Berber tribes and kingdoms. The province of

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, t ...

was particularly affected, seeing repeated invasions and the destruction of the local garrison and death of its commanders. The

Praetorian prefect of Africa The praetorian prefecture of Africa ( la, praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the ...

, Solomon, waged several wars against these Berbers and defeated them twice. Surviving Berber soldiers retreated into Numidia, joining forces with

Iaudas Iaudas or Iabdas was a Berber leader of the sixth century and king of the Kingdom of the Aurès who held the Byzantines in check for a long time in the Aurès, and played an important role in the Berber revolts following the Byzantine reconquest. ...

, King of the Aurès. Masuna and another Berber king allied with the Eastern Empire, Ortaias (who ruled a kingdom in the former province of

Mauretania Sitifensis Mauretania Sitifensis was a Roman province in Northwest Africa. The capital was Setifis. History In the later division of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Diocletian, the eastern part of Mauretania Caesariensis, from Saldae to the river Ampsag ...

), suggested that Solomon pursue the enemy Berbers into Numidia, which he did. Solomon did not engage Iaudas in battle however as he distrusted the loyalty of his allies, and instead constructed a series of fortified posts along the roads linking Byzacena with Numidia.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{s-end Mauretania Caesariensis Berber rulers Berber Christians Christianity in Algeria 6th-century Berber people 6th-century monarchs in Africa Mauro-Roman Kingdom Monarchs of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom