The Musulamii were a confederation of the Berber

Gaetuli Gaetuli was the Romanised name of an ancient Berber tribe inhabiting ''Getulia''. The latter district covered the large desert region south of the Atlas Mountains, bordering the Sahara. Other documents place Gaetulia in pre-Roman times along the ...

an tribes, who inhabited the desert regions of what is today known as Chotts Regions in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, as well as the Roman province of

Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for " Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in what is now Algeria in the Maghreb. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had been part of the King ...

, which was annexed to the Roman empire in 44 AD. They were indeed meant to be recognized as a member of these tribes and not separate, as Junius Blaesus the younger describes a war against Tacfarinas as a war against the ' ("Gaetulian Peoples").

Region

Originally noted to be located between Sicca and

Theveste Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria. History In 146 BC, the Romans conquered the region, where existed an old city called " Tbessa". Theveste was founded by the Romans in 75 AD near an old Berber village located ...

. It was felt that some control needed to be placed over the Musulamii due to the continuous and severe disturbances they created for Rome. So, the Musulamii were confined to a set plot of land defined by military colonies established for soldiers of Ammaedara, Mauduros and

where they were forced to learn sedentary farming on land not suitable for that. This area likely totaled around 80 kilometers. This meant that the best of their lands had been taken by the Romans for colonies or estates. Musulamii were nomads, so this greatly altered their lifestyle. However, there is some evidence that not all of the tribe of the Musulamii was there, but some remained nomads south of the Tebessa mountains.

Military history

The Musulamii had their first major involvement with the Romans during the

Gaetuli War Tacfarinas ( Latinised form of Berber Tikfarin or Takfarin; died AD 24) was a Numidian Berber from Thagaste, located in the province of Proconsular Africa (now Souk Ahras, in Algeria), who was a deserter from the Roman army who led his own Musu ...

. The wars lasted from AD 3 to AD 6 and the Musulamii played a relatively small role. In 17 AD the Musulamii tribe, led by Tacfarinas, rebelled against the Romans over the building of a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

across Musulamii territory by the

Third Augustan Legion ("Third Augustan Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Its origin may have been the Republican 3rd Legion which served the general Pompey during his civil war against Gaius Julius Caesar (49–45 BC). It supported the general Octav ...

. The Musulamii were joined in the conflict against the Romans by the

and the neighboring Garamantes tribe. This was the largest war in the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

region of

Roman North Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeri ...

in the history of Roman occupation.Frontier and Society in Roman North Africa. Dr. David Cherry. Oxford University Press. 1998. pp. 39 After their defeat in AD 24, the Musulamii ceased to appear in Roman military record.

References

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Bibliography

* Garnsey, Peter (1976). "Peasants in ancient Roman society". ''Journal of Peasant Studies'' 3: 221–235. Africa (Roman province) Kingdom of Mauretania Berber peoples and tribes