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Africa (Roman province)

Roman province on the northern African coast covering parts of present-day Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya

34 dated entries naming Africa (Roman province), drawn from 33 separate years between 42 BCE and 610 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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1st century BC

  • 42 BCEIn Sicily, Sextus Pompeius leads the naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea against the triumvirs. He blockades the grain routes from Spain and Africa.source

1st century

  • 17Tacfarinas, Numidian deserter from the Roman army, begins a guerrilla war against the Romans. He leads his own Musulamii tribe and a coalition of Berbers, attacking the Limes Tripolitanus, a fortified zone (limes) of the Roman Empire in Africa.source
  • 60Vitellius is (possibly) proconsul of the province of Africa.source
  • 63Vespasian becomes governor of Africa (estimated year).source
  • 70Panic strikes Rome as adverse winds delay grain shipments from Africa and Egypt, producing a bread shortage. Ships laden with wheat from North Africa sail 300 miles to Rome's port of Ostia in 3 days, and the 1,000 mile voyage from Alexandria averages 13 days. The vessels often carry 1,000 tons each to provide the city with the 8,000 tons per week it normally consumes.source
  • 84Emperor Domitian recalls Agricola back to Rome, where he is rewarded with a triumph and the governorship of the Roman province of Africa, but he declines it.source

2nd century

  • 188Publius Helvius Pertinax becomes pro-consul of Africa from 188 to 189.source

3rd century

  • 202Severus launches a campaign in Africa; Legio III Augusta under Quintus Anicius Faustus fights a guerrilla war against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus. They capture several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia and their capital Garama, 600 km south of Lepcis Magna. The province of Numidia is enlarged: the Romans annex Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae and Vescera.source
  • 203Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilds Byzantium, and expands the southern frontier of Africa, with the metropolis Carthage re-fortified.source
  • 204A trade recession in the Leptis Magna region (Africa) is alleviated by Emperor Septimius Severus, who buys up the country's olive oil for free distribution in Rome.source
  • 238c. March – Roman subjects in Africa revolt against Maximinus. The elderly Gordian yields to public demand that he succeed Maximinus and rules jointly with his 46-year-old son Gordian II.source
  • 240The Roman Empire is threatened on several fronts at the same time. Africa revolts and tribes in northwest Germania, under the name of the Franks, are raiding the Rhine frontier.source
  • 253Valerian reforms Legio III Augusta to fight the "five peoples", a dangerous coalition of Berber tribes in Africa.source
  • 256In Africa, the Berbers massacre Roman colonists.source

4th century

  • 306October 28 – Maxentius, son of former Western Emperor Maximian, leads a revolt by the Praetorian Guard and members of the Senate in Rome, and is proclaimed Emperor. Southern Italy supports Maxentius, as do Africa, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Maxentius recalls Maximian from retirement, who joins his son in Rome.source
  • 308The overthrow of Maximian prompts the soldiers of Roman Africa to prop up the vicarius of Africa, Domitius Alexander, as a usurper.source
  • 375Gratian, age 16, takes over the government at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), but ministers wishing to retain the loyalty of the Illyrian army fear a usurper. They proclaim Valentinian's 4-year-old son Valentinian II co-emperor with his mother, Justina, as regent. Gratian reserves for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, and hands over Italy, Illyrium, Hispania and Africa to his stepmother, who makes Mediolanum (Milan) her residence.source
  • 383August 25 – Emperor Gratian, age 24, is assassinated at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon), leaving a young widow Laeta. Pannonia and Africa maintain their allegiance to co-emperor Valentinian II, now 12, whose mother, Justina, rules in his name.source
  • 398Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.source
  • 398Gildo, Moorish prince and comes Africae (governor)source

5th century

  • 401Piracy is committed by slave-traders from Galatia (Anatolia), along the coasts of Africa.source
  • 405In the Roman province of Africa, Augustine of Hippo opposes Donatism as a heresy.source
  • 410Alaric I marches southwards into Calabria and makes plans to invade Africa. But a storm destroys his Gothic fleet and many of his soldiers drown. Alaric dies in Cosenza, probably of fever, and his body is buried along with his treasure under the riverbed of the Busento. He is succeeded by his brother-in-law Ataulf, who becomes king of the Visigoths.source
  • 432Bonifacius, Roman general and governor in Africa (born 354 BC).source
  • 434The Vandals in North Africa defeat the Roman general Aspar and force him to withdraw. He serves as consul at Constantinople.source
  • 435The Vandals use Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) as a port for their expeditions. Genseric establishes a merchant fleet to transport goods between Africa and the Italian mainland.source
  • 439Vandal War (439-442): King Genseric breaks his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and invades Africa Proconsularis.source
  • 440A Vandal fleet and their allies (Alans, Goths and Moors) set out from Carthage for Sicily, the principal supplier of oil and grain to Italy after the loss of North Africa. They loot all the coastal towns and besiege Palermo. Heavily laden ships return to the court of King Genseric.source
  • 442End of the Vandal War (439-442): Emperor Valentinian III signs a peace treaty with King Genseric, and recognises the Vandal Kingdom. He grants him sovereignty over most of Africa. Genseric gives back Sicily and Mauretania (Algeria and Morocco). This marks the end of the Vandal migrations; they settle in North Africa, with Carthage as their capital.source
  • 476Winter – Zeno recognizes the full extent of the Vandal Kingdom, including all of western Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. King Gaiseric gives Sicily, with the exception of the city of Lilybaeum, to Odoacer in return for tribute.source
  • 477January 25 – Genseric, ruler of the Vandal Kingdom, dies a natural death at Carthage, and is succeeded by his eldest son Huneric. He maintains control over the islands in the western Mediterranean Sea with his Vandal fleet, and rescinds his father's policy of persecuting the Roman Catholics in Africa.source

6th century

  • 533June 21 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails in 500 transports, escorted by 92 war vessels (dromons), manned by 20,000 seamen from Constantinople, to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. The fleet carries 10,000 infantry, about half Byzantine and half foederati, and 5,000 cavalry, consisting of 3,000 Byzantine horsemen, 1,000 foreign allies (Huns and Heruli) and 1,500 of Belisarius' retainers (bucellarii). On the flagship Belisarius is accompanied by his military secretary Procopius, and his wife Antonina.source
  • 536Spring – Emperor Justinian I appoints his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis in Africa. He sends a mobile force of comitatenses (mostly cavalry) and an elite guard. Solomon, the previous magister militum, returns to Constantinople.source

7th century

  • 610October 3 – Heraclian revolt: Heraclius arrives with a fleet from Africa at Constantinople. Assisted by an uprising in the capital, he overthrows and personally beheads Emperor Phocas. Heraclius gains the throne with help from his father Heraclius the Elder. His first major act is to change the official language of the Byzantine Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population).source

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