Mauretania (; Classical Latin: [mau̯reːˈtaːni.a]) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Mediterranean Maghreb. Originally established in the northwest of Morocco, it encompassed at its height northern-central Morocco and western-central Algeria. Its Indigenous inhabitants (of Imazighen and Phoenician ancestry) were known to the peninsular Romans as the Mauri, and the Masaesyli. The population was also called Libyan or Libu, a label used to indicate all the populations of Berber origin who lived west of Egypt.
In 25 BC, Mauretania became a Roman client kingdom. Around 44 AD, the region was annexed to Rome and divided into two provinces: Mauretania Tingitana (named for Tangier) and Mauretania Caesariensis (named for Caesariana). From the 3rd century onward, Christianity spread. After Muslim Arabs subdued the region in the 7th century, Islam became the Maghreb’s dominant religion.
Etymology
The Phoenicians originally referred to the region as Mauharim/Mahurin, meaning "Western Land," Its modern name, Mauretania, is a Latinized adaptation combining Mauri with the territorial suffix -tania. Together, the name translates to "Land of the Moors."
Mythology
In Greek mythology the Titan Atlas was the first legendary king of Mauretania credited with inventing the celestial globe and many scholars tend to place the garden of the Hesperides in the region of Mauretania, especially in the city of Lixus.The city of Tingis derived its name from the goddess Tinjis, wife of the mythical giant Antaeus. Local Berber tradition held that the tomb of Antaeus was located nearby. According to ancient sources, when the Roman general Quintus Sertorius excavated the site, he uncovered massive bones, measuring roughly 60 cubits (27 meters) in length, which were celebrated as proof of the giant's existence. Modern scholars, however, believe Sertorius unearthed the skeletal remains of a prehistoric whale or megafauna, misidentified by ancients as a legendary giant. According to regional mythology, widespread during the era of Roman client kings, particularly under Juba II, several Berber royal dynasties claimed descent from Hercules. After the death of Antaeus, Hercules had some relationships with Tinjis, who bore Sufax, the legendary founder of the city of Tingis. Sufax was later succeeded by his son Diodorus, who undertook military campaigns that subdued numerous North African tribes. Diodorus's descendants later divided these territories, giving rise to several indigenous Berber kingdoms, such as the Numidian, Gaetulian, Mauretanian, and Garamantian kingdoms. According to Sallust, the Mauri and the Numidians descended in part from Iranian populations: After the death of Hercules in the Iberian Peninsula, his army of Medes and Persians landed in North Africa: the Mauri arose from the union between the Medes and the Libyans, while the Numidians descended from the union between the Persians and the Getulians.
History
First King
Bagas was the first historically documented king of Mauretania. His reign liberated the region from the centuries-old Carthaginian sphere of influence around 225 BC. The kingdom of Baga extended from the Atlantic coast of northern Morocco to the Moulouya River and had as its capital the city of Voluibilis. During the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome, unlike the neighboring kingdoms of Masaesyli and Massylii, Mauretania maintained formal neutrality. However, in 206 BC, when the Massylian prince Massinissa was defeated by his rivals and sought refuge in Mauretania, Bagas chose to offer him protection. The king provided him with an escort of 4,000 Moorish cavalry to escort him and open a passage for him through the hostile territories controlled by the king Syphax. Upon reaching the borders of the Massylii kingdom, the escort troop immediately returned to Mauretania without taking part in the subsequent clashes. After Baga there is a historical gap in the history of Mauretania and its kings up to Bocchus I.
Jugurthine War
Bocchus I reigned over Mauretania from 110 BC to 80 BC but his reign probably began earlier. Departing from the strict neutrality of his predecessors, he took an active role in regional conflicts. He initially aligned himself with the Numidian king Jugurtha, sealing their alliance by giving him his daughter in marriage. During the Jugurthine War, Bocchus fought alongside Jugurtha; however, diplomatic negotiations with the Roman aristocrat Lucius Cornelius Sulla persuaded him to betray his ally. In exchange for the western part of Numidian territory, Bocchus lured Jugurtha into a diplomatic meeting, captured him, and handed him over to Rome. Following this territorial expansion, the Massaesyli, the Berbers inhabiting western Numidia became citizens of Mauretania. This betrayal forged strong ties between Mauretania and the Roman Republic, leading Mauretania to become Rome's primary supplier of wild animals, such as Atlas bears, Barbary lions, and Barbary leopards for the Colosseums.
Separatist Revolt
Following the death of Bocchus I in 80 BC, his eldest son, Mastanesosus, ascended the throne. His succession, however, met immediate resistance: a faction of the Mauretanian nobility rejected his rule and instead acclaimed Iephtas, an elderly nobleman likely hailing from a cadet branch of the royal family. Iephtas took control of northern Morocco and founded a kingdom called the kingdom of Tingis of which in fact the capital of the kingdom was Tingis. His breakaway reign was short-lived; after just one year, he was succeeded by his son, Ascalis. However, Ascalis was soon defeated by the rebel Roman general Quintus Sertorius, leading to the reunification of the secessionist kingdom with Mastanesosus’s domain. Apart from separatist revolt, nothing else is known during the reign of Mastanesosus.
Diarchic period
Following the death of Mastanesosus in 49 BC, Mauretania remained a single sovereign kingdom, though its administration was divided between his two sons. The younger, Bogud, ruled the western region from its capital at Volubilis, while the elder, Bocchus II, governed the eastern portion from Iol. During Caesar’s Civil War, both brothers aligned with Julius Caesar. Bocchus II, joined by the Roman mercenary commander Publius Sittius, invaded the kingdom of Massinisa II and annexed part of Juba I's territory, extending Mauretania's eastern border to the Ampsaga River. Meanwhile, Bogud provided key military support to Caesar during the campaigns in Hispania, playing a vital role at the Battle of Munda. However, the subsequent rivalry between Mark Antony and Octavian shattered the brothers' unity: Bocchus II declared for Octavian, whereas Bogud backed Antony. In 38 BC, while Bogud was conducting a military campaign in Hispania, Bocchus II with Octavian's backing, seized control of western Mauretania, reunifying the kingdom into what historians often call "Greater Mauretania". Bogud fled to Mark Antony's camp and ultimately fell during the War of Actium in 31 BC. Upon his own death in 33 BC, Bocchus II bequeathed his entire kingdom to Octavian. Reluctant to annex such a vast territory immediately after his recent conquests, Octavian placed Mauretania under temporary Roman administration for eight years.
Roman Cliental Period
In 25 BC, Augustus transformed Mauretania into a client kingdom, appointing Juba II, son of King Juba I, as his ruler. That same year, Juba II married Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Juba II retained Iol, previously chosen by Bocchus II, as his capital, but renamed it Caesarea in honor of Augustus's adoptive father, Caesar; Volubilis served as the kingdom's secondary capital. Ruling alongside Cleopatra Selene, Juba II drew on the royal treasury amassed by his predecessors moorish kings to rebuild Mauretania's major cities with a Greco-Roman style. He also developed a lucrative purple dye industry on the Atlantic coast, centered in Mogador, based on the harvesting of Bolinus brandaris snails to supply the Roman elite, which brought immense wealth to the kingdom. However, having grown up in Rome, Juba II vigorously promoted Romanization among his subjects, a policy that alienated the local Moorish nobility and sparked frequent popular revolts. In AD 21, Juba II appointed his son Ptolemy of Mauretania as co-ruler, paving the way for his ascension as sole king upon Juba's death in AD 23–24. Ptolemy continued his father's economic legacy, investing heavily in the lucrative purple dye trade and the export of cedar wood. He also provided vital military support to Rome in suppressing the Tacfarinas rebellion. In recognition of his loyalty, the Roman Emperor Caligula invited Ptolemy to Rome or Lugdunum. However, during his stay, Caligula ordered his execution in 40 AD, an act traditionally attributed to envy, though many modern historians suspect Caligula viewed the wealthy client king as a political threat. Ptolemy's assassination plunged Mauretania into chaos, triggering a wave of uprisings led by local rebel commanders/kings unrecognized by Rome.
Rebel Kings Period
Following Ptolemy’s assassination, his Moorish loyal freedman Aedemon rallied support and launched a rebellion against Rome. However, the revolt faltered as most of the Moorish nobility refused to back him. During this conflict, Rome carved out the kingdom's eastern territory, establishing the province of Mauretania Caesariensis with its capital at Caesarea. After Aedemon's mysterious death in 42 AD, a Moorish general named Sabalus assumed command. Securing broader local support, Sabalus held the Romans at bay for two years until Emperor Claudius dispatched generals Gaius Suetonius Paulinus and Gnaeus Hosidius Geta to crush the insurgency. Recognizing Rome's military superiority, Sabalus retreated into the Sahara with vast supplies, aiming to exhaust the legions through dehydration. His strategy collapsed when unexpected rainstorms struck the desert, allowing the Romans to replenish their water supply. Following this setback, Sabalus surrendered in 44 AD, leading to the annexation of western Mauretania as Mauretania Tingitana, with Tingis as its capital.
Roman province(s)
In the 1st century AD, Emperor Claudius divided the Roman province of Mauretania into Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana along the line of the Mulucha (Muluya) River, about 60 km west of modern Oran:
- Mauretania Tingitana was named after its capital Tingis (now Tangier); it corresponded to northern Morocco (including the current Spanish enclaves).
- Mauretania Caesariensis was named after its capital Caesarea (now Cherchell); and comprised western and central Algeria.
Mauretania gave the empire one emperor, the equestrian Macrinus. He seized power after the assassination of Caracalla in 217 but was himself defeated and executed by Elagabalus the next year.
Emperor Diocletian's Tetrarchy reform (293) further divided the area into three provinces, as the small, easternmost region of Sitifensis was split off from Mauretania Caesariensis.
The Notitia Dignitatum (c. 400) mentions them as still existing, two being under the authority of the Vicarius of the diocese of Africa:
- A Dux et praeses provinciae Mauritaniae et Caesariensis, i.e. a Roman governor of the rank of Vir spectabilis, who also held the high military command of dux, as the superior of eight border garrison commanders, each styled Praepositus limitis ..., followed by (genitive forms) Columnatensis, Vidensis, inferioris (i.e. lower border), Fortensis, Muticitani, Audiensis, Caputcellensis and Augustensis.
- A (civilian) Praeses in the province of Mauretania Sitifensis.
And, under the authority of the Vicarius of the diocese of Hispaniae:
- A Comes rei militaris of Mauretania Tingitana, also ranking as vir spectabilis, in charge of the following border garrison (Limitanei) commanders:
- Praefectus alae Herculeae at Tamuco
- Tribunus cohortis secundae Hispanorum at Duga
- Tribunus cohortis primae Herculeae at Aulucos
- Tribunus cohortis primae Ityraeorum at Castrabarensis
- Another Tribunus cohortis at Sala
- Tribunus cohortis Pacatianensis at Pacatiana
- Tribunus cohortis tertiae Asturum at Tabernas
- Tribunus cohortis Friglensis at the Fortress of Friglas or Frigias, near Lixus
and to whom three extraordinary cavalry units were assigned: - Equites scutarii seniores
- Equites sagittarii seniores
- Equites Cordueni
- A Praeses (civilian governor) of the same province of Tingitana
Late Antiquity
Mauro-Roman Kingdom
During the crisis of the 3rd century, parts of Mauretania were reconquered by Berber tribes. Direct Roman rule became confined to a few coastal cities (such as Septem in Mauretania Tingitana and Cherchell in Mauretania Caesariensis) by the late 3rd century.