The Kingdom of Altava was an independent ChristianBerber kingdom centered on the city of Altava in present-day northern Algeria.[1] The Kingdom of Altava was a successor state of the previous Mauro-Roman Kingdom which had controlled much of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. During the reign of Kusaila, it extended from Volubilis in the west to the Aurès and later Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east. [2][3][4][5] This Kingdom collapsed following Eastern Roman military campaigns to decrease its influence and power after Garmul invaded the Exarchate of Africa.[6]
Kingdom of Altava
578–708
The Kingdom of Altava (1) and other romanized berber kingdoms of the early sixth century.
The collapse of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom lead to the rise of several petty berber kingdoms in the region, including the Kingdom of Altava, which was centered on the capital of the older kingdom.[7] The kingdom continued to exist in the Maghreb until the conquest of the region by the Umayyad Caliphate in the seventh and eighth centuries.
The Mauro-Roman Kingdom was established in the early fifth century after following partial Berber conquests of Roman Mauretania. Direct Roman rule had already become confined to a few coastal cities (such as Septem in Mauretania Tingitana and Caesarea in Mauretania Caesariensis) by the late 3rd century.[8] Historical sources about inland areas are sparse, but these were apparently controlled by local Berber rulers who, however, maintained a degree of Roman culture, including the local cities, and usually nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of the Roman Emperors.[9]
After the Vandal conquest of Northern Africa and the establishment of the Vandal Kingdom, these cities became completely isolated and eventually fell into the control of the romanized berber people of the region. The berbers would form an independent barbarian kingdom, dubbed the Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum, the "Kingdom of the Moors and Romans". This kingdom would be a local power, often finding itself at war with the neighboring Vandal Kingdom. When the Eastern Roman Empire invaded the Vandals in their successful attempt at reconquering Northern Africa, the Mauro-Roman Kingdom under Masuna allied with them against the Vandals. However, subsequent rulers would come into conflict with the Empire. After a failed military campaign under King Garmul against the Eastern Roman Empire, the Empire reincorporated some coastal territories and the Kingdom collapsed.[10]
Altavan rump-stateedit
Though the domain of the Mauro-Roman Kingdom had collapsed and other Kingdoms had risen from its ruins, such as the Kingdom of Ouarsenis and the Kingdom of the Hodna, a romanized berber kingdom continued to be ruled from the city of Altava, though it was significantly smaller in size than the Kingdom ruled by Garmul had been.[6] During this period, Christianity became the predominant religion in the Altava kingdom, with syncretic influences from the traditional Berber religion. A new church was built in the capital Altava in this period.[11]
The last recorded ruler of the Kingdom of Altava was Caecilius, called Koceila or Kusaila ("leopard" in Tamazight). He died in the year 690 AD fighting against the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. He was also leader of the Awraba tribe of the Imazighen and possibly Christian head of the Sanhadja confederation. He is known for having led an effective Berber martial resistance against the Umayyad Caliphate's conquest of the Maghreb in the 680s.
Indeed, in 683 AD Uqba ibn Nafi was ambushed and killed in the Battle of Vescera near Biskra by Kusaila, who forced all Arabs to evacuate their just founded Kairouan and withdraw to Cyrenaica. But in 688 AD Arab reinforcements from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan arrived under Zuhair ibn Kays. Caecilius met them in 690 AD -with the support of Byzantine troops- at the Battle of Mamma. Vastly outnumbered, the Awraba and Byzantines were defeated and Caecilius was killed.
With the death of Caecilius, the torch of resistance passed to a tribe known as the Jerawa tribe, who had their home in the Aurès Mountains: his Christian berber troops after his death fought later under Kahina, the last Queen of the romanized Berbers.
Last King of Altava, led an effective Berber military resistance against the Muslim invasion of the Maghreb in the 680s. Also known as Aksil in Berber and Kusaila in Arabic.
^Map showing the reduced "Kingdom of Altava" with the other Romano-Moorish kingdoms
^Wickham, Chris (2005). Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400 - 800. Oxford University Press. p. 18. ISBN978-0-19-921296-5.
^Wickham, Chris (2005). Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400 - 800. Oxford University Press. p. 335. ISBN978-0-19-921296-5.
^Mauretania Caesariensis: an archaeological and geographical survey, by Lawless R.
^ abFrend, W. H. C. (1955/01). "North Africa and Europe in the Early Middle Ages". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 5: 61–80. doi:10.2307/3678898. ISSN 1474-0648.
^Noé Villaverde Vega: "El Reino mauretoromano de Altava, siglo VI" [The Mauro-Roman kingdom of Altava], Tingitana en la antigüedad tardía, siglos III–VII: autoctonía y romanidad en el extremo occidente mediterráneo (Madrid: 2001), p. 355
Bibliographyedit
Barnes, Timothy . The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN0-7837-2221-4
Camps, G. Rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum. Recherches sur les royaumes de Maurétanie des VIe et VIIe siècles
Hrbek, I., ed. General History of Africa III: Africa From the Seventh to the Eleventh Century.
Diehl, Charles (1896). L'Afrique Byzantine. Histoire de la Domination Byzantine en Afrique (533–709) (in French). Paris, France: Ernest Leroux.
Modéran, Y. Kusayla, l'Afrique et les Arabes. In "Identités et Cultures dans l'Algérie Antique", University of Rouen, 2005 (ISBN2-87775-391-3).
Conant, Jonathan (2012). Staying Roman : conquest and identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439-700. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 280–281. ISBN978-0521196970.
February 16, 2024
kingdom, altava, independent, christian, berber, kingdom, centered, city, altava, present, northern, algeria, successor, state, previous, mauro, roman, kingdom, which, controlled, much, ancient, roman, province, mauretania, caesariensis, during, reign, kusaila. The Kingdom of Altava was an independent Christian Berber kingdom centered on the city of Altava in present day northern Algeria 1 The Kingdom of Altava was a successor state of the previous Mauro Roman Kingdom which had controlled much of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis During the reign of Kusaila it extended from Volubilis in the west to the Aures and later Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east 2 3 4 5 This Kingdom collapsed following Eastern Roman military campaigns to decrease its influence and power after Garmul invaded the Exarchate of Africa 6 Kingdom of Altava578 708The Kingdom of Altava 1 and other romanized berber kingdoms of the early sixth century StatusRump state of the Mauro Roman KingdomCapitalAltavaCommon languagesBerber African Romance LatinReligionChristianityGovernmentMonarchyKing 578 670s Unknown 670sSekerdid 680 690CaeciliusHistorical eraMedieval Collapse of the Mauro Roman Kingdom578 Annexed by Umayyad Caliphate708Preceded by Succeeded byMauro Roman Kingdom Umayyad CaliphateToday part ofAlgeriaMoroccoThe collapse of the Mauro Roman Kingdom lead to the rise of several petty berber kingdoms in the region including the Kingdom of Altava which was centered on the capital of the older kingdom 7 The kingdom continued to exist in the Maghreb until the conquest of the region by the Umayyad Caliphate in the seventh and eighth centuries Contents 1 History 1 1 Background 1 2 Altavan rump state 2 List of Kings of Altava 3 See also 4 References 5 BibliographyHistory editBackground edit Main article Mauro Roman Kingdom nbsp Map of the Mauro Roman Kingdom prior to its collapse in the sixth century The Mauro Roman Kingdom was established in the early fifth century after following partial Berber conquests of Roman Mauretania Direct Roman rule had already become confined to a few coastal cities such as Septem in Mauretania Tingitana and Caesarea in Mauretania Caesariensis by the late 3rd century 8 Historical sources about inland areas are sparse but these were apparently controlled by local Berber rulers who however maintained a degree of Roman culture including the local cities and usually nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of the Roman Emperors 9 After the Vandal conquest of Northern Africa and the establishment of the Vandal Kingdom these cities became completely isolated and eventually fell into the control of the romanized berber people of the region The berbers would form an independent barbarian kingdom dubbed the Regnum Maurorum et Romanorum the Kingdom of the Moors and Romans This kingdom would be a local power often finding itself at war with the neighboring Vandal Kingdom When the Eastern Roman Empire invaded the Vandals in their successful attempt at reconquering Northern Africa the Mauro Roman Kingdom under Masuna allied with them against the Vandals However subsequent rulers would come into conflict with the Empire After a failed military campaign under King Garmul against the Eastern Roman Empire the Empire reincorporated some coastal territories and the Kingdom collapsed 10 Altavan rump state edit Though the domain of the Mauro Roman Kingdom had collapsed and other Kingdoms had risen from its ruins such as the Kingdom of Ouarsenis and the Kingdom of the Hodna a romanized berber kingdom continued to be ruled from the city of Altava though it was significantly smaller in size than the Kingdom ruled by Garmul had been 6 During this period Christianity became the predominant religion in the Altava kingdom with syncretic influences from the traditional Berber religion A new church was built in the capital Altava in this period 11 The last recorded ruler of the Kingdom of Altava was Caecilius called Koceila or Kusaila leopard in Tamazight He died in the year 690 AD fighting against the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb He was also leader of the Awraba tribe of the Imazighen and possibly Christian head of the Sanhadja confederation He is known for having led an effective Berber martial resistance against the Umayyad Caliphate s conquest of the Maghreb in the 680s Indeed in 683 AD Uqba ibn Nafi was ambushed and killed in the Battle of Vescera near Biskra by Kusaila who forced all Arabs to evacuate their just founded Kairouan and withdraw to Cyrenaica But in 688 AD Arab reinforcements from Abd al Malik ibn Marwan arrived under Zuhair ibn Kays Caecilius met them in 690 AD with the support of Byzantine troops at the Battle of Mamma Vastly outnumbered the Awraba and Byzantines were defeated and Caecilius was killed With the death of Caecilius the torch of resistance passed to a tribe known as the Jerawa tribe who had their home in the Aures Mountains his Christian berber troops after his death fought later under Kahina the last Queen of the romanized Berbers List of Kings of Altava edit nbsp King Caecilius of Altava Monarch Reign NotesUnknown ruler s No recorded rulers between 578 and the 670s Sekerdid the Roman 12 670s Apparently of Eastern Roman descent seemingly abdicated and later assisted Caecilius in battle 12 Caecilius 13 680 690 Last King of Altava led an effective Berber military resistance against the Muslim invasion of the Maghreb in the 680s Also known as Aksil in Berber and Kusaila in Arabic See also editMauro Roman Kingdom Exarchate of AfricaReferences edit Courtot P 1987 Altava In Gabriel Camps Encyclopedie Berbere 4 Editions Edisud pp 543 552 ISBN 978 2 85744 282 0 The Great Arab Conquests How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live InHugh Kennedy Hachette UK Middle East and Africa International Dictionary of Historic Places Trudy Ring Noelle Watson Paul Schellinger Routledge Historical Dictionary of Tunisia Kenneth J Perkins Rowman amp Littlefield Islam 01 AH 250 AH A Chronology of Events Abu Tariq Hijazi Message Publications a b Martindale 1980 pp 509 510 Map showing the reduced Kingdom of Altava with the other Romano Moorish kingdoms Wickham Chris 2005 Framing the Early Middle Ages Europe and the Mediterranean 400 800 Oxford University Press p 18 ISBN 978 0 19 921296 5 Wickham Chris 2005 Framing the Early Middle Ages Europe and the Mediterranean 400 800 Oxford University Press p 335 ISBN 978 0 19 921296 5 El Africa Bizantina pp 45 46 Mauretania Caesariensis an archaeological and geographical survey by Lawless R a b Frend W H C 1955 01 North Africa and Europe in the Early Middle Ages Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 5 61 80 doi 10 2307 3678898 ISSN 1474 0648 Noe Villaverde Vega El Reino mauretoromano de Altava siglo VI The Mauro Roman kingdom of Altava Tingitana en la antiguedad tardia siglos III VII autoctonia y romanidad en el extremo occidente mediterraneo Madrid 2001 p 355Bibliography editBarnes Timothy The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine Cambridge MA Harvard University Press 1982 ISBN 0 7837 2221 4 Camps G Rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum Recherches sur les royaumes de Mauretanie des VIe et VIIe siecles Hrbek I ed General History of Africa III Africa From the Seventh to the Eleventh Century Diehl Charles 1896 L Afrique Byzantine Histoire de la Domination Byzantine en Afrique 533 709 in French Paris France Ernest Leroux Moderan Y Kusayla l Afrique et les Arabes In Identites et Cultures dans l Algerie Antique University of Rouen 2005 ISBN 2 87775 391 3 Conant Jonathan 2012 Staying Roman conquest and identity in Africa and the Mediterranean 439 700 Cambridge New York Cambridge University Press pp 280 281 ISBN 978 0521196970 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kingdom of Altava amp oldid 1207701295, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
