1.
Rock art of south Oran (Algeria)
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Comparable engravings have been described, even further east, around Djelfa and in the region of Constantine. Although in the past some archaeologists affirmed that these engravings derived from European Upper Paleolithic art, less famous than the rock art at the Tassili nAjjer site, the South Oran engravings have however been the subject of study since 1863. The most important works are notably those of A. Pomel, Stéphane Gsell, G. B. M. Flamand, Leo Frobenius and Hugo Obermaier, lAbbé Henri Breuil, L. Joleaud, and Raymond Vaufrey. A notable part of the work was devoted to the engravings of the El-Bayadh region. For Henri Lhote the South Oran region constitutes one of the three centres of art of the antelope age with Tassili and Fezzan. The oldest of these engravings, on the hand, show many affinities with those of Tassili which he proposes the minimum date of around 5000. There is therefore room, according to him, to adopt it also for the South-Oranian material until better information may be forthcoming, the region of El-Bayadh on WikiMapia. The classification proposed by G. B. M. Flamand based on a study of techniques and patinas distinguished a first group of naturalistic engravings, a second, libyco-berber group and two late groups. For Hugo Obermaier there exist two sub-groups in the engravings, the older being of naturalistic style, the more recent of sub-naturalistic style. The cult of the ram with the sphere was, according to him, Henri Breuil for his part distinguished three stages. In Stage I, contemporary with the end of the Capsian, he places the large hartebeest with ringed horns, the elephants, and the very style-accomplished as well as large human figures. Stage II, which he attributes to the Lower Neolithic, brings together the large ram of Bou Alem, the ram, for him, had not yet been domesticated but only tamed, and its cult is rather the origin than the reflex to the Egyptian belief. Stage III includes the figures in decadent style. C, the ram, which he considers domesticated, is only a transposition of the Egyptian cult of Ammon and the representations of it cannot be older than 2200 B. C. For Henri Lhote however, there is no any archaeological argument which should cause one to separate the rams, supposed to be later, from the giant hartebeest, Henri Lhote distinguished seven series in the mural art of the South Oranian. Large engravings of monumental naturalistic style, or Large-scale Hartebeest style, beside the great hartebeest, elephants and rhinoceros, Lhote placed the numerous ostriches and antelopes, boars, lions and panthers. The animals are represented absolutely in profile apart from the hartebeest, Lhote placed in this ensemble the human images which accompany them. No human figure with animal head having been found, he observed that the hartebeest ensembles of the Saharan Atlas differ from those of Tassili-n-Ajjer and of Fezzan where these figures are running. The author also thinks that the domestication of the dog was achieved in this period and this first stage also includes the mythic animals
2.
Rock art of the Djelfa region
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The rock art of the Djelfa region in the Ouled Naïl Range consists of prehistoric engravings of Neolithic age which have been recognized since 1914. Following the Saharan Atlas Mountains they follow on from those, to the west, of south Oran, comparable engravings have also been described further to the east, in the Constantine region. Some of the engravings of the Djelfa region seem to have known since the 1850s. Among the best-known, those of Zaccar were discovered in 1907, in total more than 1,162 engravings have been discovered in the region. It may therefore be possible to them making use of the hypotheses. Some belong to the earliest stage of the large-scale Hartebeest school, like The Apollo of Ouled Naïl, the region of Djelfa on Wikimapia. Around the road from Djelfa to Laghouat twenty-three stations are shown, three stations are in addition mentioned to the east of Djelfa, no 1,2,3. Three other sites are found to the west, n°37,36,35. Around the road from Djelfa to Messaad twelve stations follow roughly from north to south, to the east of Messad two final stations are named, no 43 and 15. They are by-and-large arranged in separate groups, the monumental friezes or very richly decorated murals like those of Oued el Hesbaïa or Aïn Naga being exceptions. Recognizing that the engravings of the Djelfa region are similar to those of south Oran by subject and technique, P. Huard and L. What is more The bovidian stage, which would only in the fourth place in the sequence of the south-Oranian. Deducing that these show that in the two sectors, its origin must certainly be more ancient, Huard and Allard prefer to speak of a pastoral stage of long duration, with cows. In the stage of Hunters the authors gather the depictions of the wild fauna, ancient buffalo, elephants, rhinoceros, lions, ostriches. Of the seventeen buffalo recorded in the region, twelve belong to the large and they are found at Oued el Hesbaïa, Aïn Naga, at Station de lAutruche, Djebel Doum, Safiet el Baroud, Hadjra Mokhotma north, Kheneg Hilal and Ben Hallouane. Large, medium or small, the twenty-two elephants seem to belong to various ages. The largest, naturalistic in style, are found at Aïn Naga, Theniet bou Mediouna I, Oued Remeilia, Aïn Mouilha, Oued el Hesbaïa, Safiet Bou Khenan, Zaccar, Feidjet Elleben and Bou Sekkin. Seven rhinoceros, of quality and often decadent in style, are recorded at five stations, at Oued Remeila, Feidjet Elleben, Bou Sekkin, Aïn Naga
3.
Tassili n'Ajjer
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It features over 300 rock arches, dense clusters of eroded sandstone rock pillars and steep cliffs and gorges where water pools permanently at the surface. Tassili nAjjer covers an area of over 72,000 km2, although sources vary considerably, the earliest pieces of art are assumed to be 12,000 years old. The vast majority date to the 9th and 10th millennia BP or younger, among the 15,000 engravings so far identified depicted are large wild animals including antelopes and crocodiles, cattle herds and humans that engage in activities such as hunting and dancing. According to UNESCO, The exceptional density of paintings and engravings. have made Tassili world famous, the Tassili nAjjer ranges from 26°20′N 5°00′E east-south-east to 24°00′N 10°00′E. Its highest point is the Adrar Afao that peaks at 2,158 m, the nearest town is Djanet, situated around 10 km southwest of Tassili nAjjer. The archaeological site has been designated a park, a Biosphere Reserve and was induced into UNESCOs World Heritage Site list as Tassili nAjjer National Park. The plateau is also of geological and aesthetic interest, as the panorama of geological formations of rock forests of eroded sandstone resembles a strange lunar landscape. The range is composed largely of sandstone, erosion in the area has resulted in nearly 300 natural rock arches being formed, along with many other spectacular landforms. The ecology of the Tassili nAjjer is more fully described in the article West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, the literal English translation of Tassili nAjjer is Plateau of the rivers referring to a time when the climate was repeatedly far wetter than it is today. Relict populations of the West African crocodile persisted in the Tassili nAjjer until the 20th century, Tassili is the recording location and the title of a 2011 album by the Tuareg-Berber band Tinariwen. Tassili Plain is a track on the 1994 album Natural Wonders of the World in Dub by dub group Zion Train. Rock-Art, Saharan Cypress and Landscapes of the Tassili List of Stone Age art Rock art of Figuig Rock art of south Oran Rock art of the Djelfa region Saharan rock art Bahn, the Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Bradley, R An archaeology of natural places London, Routledge, coulson, D and Campbell, Alec African Rock Art, Paintings and Engravings on Stone New York, Harry N Abrams. Lajoux, Jean-Dominique, Merveilles du Tassili nAjjer, Le Chêne, Le Quellec, J-L Art Rupestre et Prehistoire du Sahara. Le Messak Libyen Paris, Editions Payot et Rivages, Bibliothèque Scientifique Payot, lhote, Henri The Search for the Tassili Frescoes, The story of the prehistoric rock-paintings of the Sahara London. Lhote, Henri À la découverte des fresques du Tassili, Arthaud, mattingly, D The archaeology of the Fezzan. Muzzolini, A Saharan Rock Art, in Vogel, J O Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa Walnut Creek, Van Albada, A. and Van Albada, A. -M. La Montagne des Hommes-Chiens, Art Rupestre du Messak Lybien Paris, whitley, D S Handbook of Rock Art Research New York, Altamira Press
4.
Numidia
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Numidia was an ancient kingdom of the Numidians, located in what is now Algeria and a smaller part of Tunisia and Libya in the Maghreb. The polity was divided between Massylii in the east and Masaesyli in the west. During the Second Punic War, Massinissa, king of the Massylii, the kingdom began as a sovereign state and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state. It was bordered by the kingdom of Mauretania to the west, Africa Proconsularis to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and it is considered to be the first major state in the history of Algeria and the Berber territories. The Greek historians referred to these peoples as Νομάδες, which by Latin interpretation became Numidae, the name appears first in Polybius to indicate the peoples and territory west of Carthage including the entire north of Algeria as far as the river Mulucha, about 160 kilometres west of Oran. The Numidians were conceived of two tribal groups, the Massylii in eastern Numidia, and the Masaesyli in the west. During the first part of the Second Punic War, the eastern Massylii, under their king Gala, were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under king Syphax, were allied with Rome. However, in 206 BC, the new king of the eastern Massylii, Masinissa, allied himself with Rome, at the end of the war, the victorious Romans gave all of Numidia to Masinissa of the Massylii. After the death of the long-lived Masinissa around 148 BC, he was succeeded by his son Micipsa, Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to war with Adherbal. By 112, Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal and he incurred the wrath of Rome in the process by killing some Roman businessmen who were aiding Adherbal. After a brief war with Rome, Jugurtha surrendered and received a favourable peace treaty. The local Roman commander was summoned to Rome to face charges brought by his political rival Gaius Memmius. War broke out between Numidia and the Roman Republic and several legions were dispatched to North Africa under the command of the Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, the war dragged out into a long and seemingly endless campaign as the Romans tried to defeat Jugurtha decisively. Frustrated at the apparent lack of action, Metellus lieutenant Gaius Marius returned to Rome to seek election as Consul, Marius was elected, and then returned to Numidia to take control of the war. He sent his Quaestor Lucius Cornelius Sulla to neighbouring Mauretania in order to eliminate their support for Jugurtha, with the help of Bocchus I of Mauretania, Sulla captured Jugurtha and brought the war to a conclusive end. Jugurtha was brought to Rome in chains and was placed in the Tullianum, Jugurtha was executed by the Romans in 104 BC, after being paraded through the streets in Gaius Marius Triumph. After the death of Jugurtha, the far west of Numidia was added to the lands of Bocchus I, a rump kingdom continued to be governed by native princes
5.
Punic Wars
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The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had taken place. The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus, meaning Carthaginian, the main cause of the Punic Wars was the conflicts of interest between the existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman Republic. The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily, part of which lay under Carthaginian control, at the start of the first Punic War, Carthage was the dominant power of the Western Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire. Rome was a rapidly ascending power in Italy, but it lacked the power of Carthage. The Roman victories over Carthage in these wars gave Rome a preeminent status it would retain until the 5th century AD, during the mid-3rd century BC, Carthage was a large city located on the coast of modern Tunisia. Founded by the Phoenicians in the mid-9th century BC, it was a powerful thalassocratic city-state with a vast commercial network, of the great city-states in the western Mediterranean, only Rome rivaled it in power, wealth, and population. While Carthages navy was the largest in the ancient world at the time, it did not maintain a large, permanent, instead, Carthage relied mostly on mercenaries, especially the indigenous Numidians, to fight its wars. However, most of the officers who commanded the armies were Carthaginian citizens, in 200 BC, the Roman Republic had gained control of the Italian peninsula south of the Po river. Unlike Carthage, Rome had large disciplined armed forces, on the other hand, at the start of the First Punic War, the Romans had no navy, and were thus at a disadvantage until they began to construct their own large fleets during the war. The First Punic War was fought partly on land in Sicily and Africa and it began as a local conflict in Sicily between Hiero II of Syracuse and the Mamertines of Messina. The Mamertines enlisted the aid of the Carthaginian navy, and then subsequently betrayed them by entreating the Roman Senate for aid against Carthage, the Romans sent a garrison to secure Messina, so the outraged Carthaginians then lent aid to Syracuse. With the two powers now embroiled in the conflict, tensions escalated into a full-scale war between Carthage and Rome for the control of Sicily. In 260 BC, they defeated the fledgling Roman navy at the Battle of the Lipari Islands, Rome responded by drastically expanding its navy in a very short time. Within two months, the Romans had a fleet of one hundred warships. Because they knew that they could not defeat the Carthaginians in the tactics of ramming and sinking enemy ships, the Romans added the corvus. The hinged bridge would swing onto enemy vessels with a sharp spike, Roman legionaries could then board and capture Carthaginian ships. This innovative Roman tactic reduced the Carthaginian navys advantage in ship-to-ship engagements, however, the corvus was also cumbersome and dangerous, and was eventually phased out as the Roman navy became more experienced and tactically proficient
6.
Africa (Roman province)
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The Roman province of Africa Proconsularis was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of modern-day Algeria, and it was one of the wealthiest provinces in the western part of the empire, second only to Italia. The Arabs later named roughly the same region as the original province Ifriqiya, the land acquired for the province of Africa was the site of the ancient city of Carthage. Other large cities in the region included Hadrumetum, capital of Byzacena, the province was established by the Roman Republic in 146 BC, following the Third Punic War. Rome established its first African colony, Africa Proconsularis or Africa Vetus, governed by a proconsul, utica was formed as the administrative capital. The remaining territory was left in the domain of the Numidian client king Massinissa, at this time, the Roman policy in Africa was simply to prevent another great power from rising on the far side of Sicily. In 118 BC, the Numidian prince Jugurtha attempted to reunify the smaller kingdoms, however, upon his death, much of Jugurthas territory was placed in the control of the Mauretanian client king Bocchus, and, by that time, the romanization of Africa was firmly rooted. In 27 BC, when the Republic had transformed into an Empire, several political and provincial reforms were implemented by Augustus and later by Caligula, but Claudius finalized the territorial divisions into official Roman provinces. After Diocletians administrative reforms, it was split into Africa Zeugitana in the north, the region remained a part of the Roman Empire until the Germanic migrations of the 5th century. The Vandals crossed into North Africa from Spain in 429 and overran the area by 439 and founded their own kingdom, including Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, the Vandals controlled the country as a warrior-elite. They also persecuted Catholicism, as the Vandals were adherents of Arianism, towards the end of the 5th century, the Vandal state fell into decline, abandoning most of the interior territories to the Mauri and other Berber tribes of the desert. In AD533, Emperor Justinian, using a Vandal dynastic dispute as pretext, in a short campaign, Belisarius defeated the Vandals, entered Carthage in triumph and re-established Roman rule over the province. The North African provinces, together with the Roman possessions in Spain, were grouped into the Exarchate of Africa by Emperor Maurice, the exarchate prospered, and from it resulted the overthrow of the emperor Phocas by Heraclius in 610. Heraclius briefly considered moving the capital from Constantinople to Carthage. After 640, the managed to stave off the Muslim Conquest, but in 698. Historian Theodore Mommsen estimated that under Hadrian nearly 1/3 of the eastern Numidia population was descended from Roman veterans, even so, the Roman military presence of North Africa was relatively small, consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in Numidia and the two Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the 2nd century AD, these garrisons were manned mostly by local inhabitants, a sizable Latin speaking population developed that was multinational in background, sharing the north African region with those speaking Punic and Berber languages. Imperial security forces began to be drawn from the local population, however, the Roman territory in Africa was unevenly penetrated by Roman culture
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