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. 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. In an inscription from
Altava in western Algeria, one of these rulers,
Masuna, described himself as
rex gentium Maurorum et Romanorum (king of the Roman and Moorish peoples). Altava was later the capital of another ruler,
Garmul or Garmules, who resisted Byzantine rule in Africa but was finally defeated in 578. The Byzantine historian
Procopius also mentions another independent ruler,
Mastigas, who controlled most of
Mauretania Caesariensis in the 530s. In the 7th century there were eight Romano-Moorish kingdoms:
Altava,
Ouarsenis,
Hodna,
Aures,
Nemenchas,
Capsa,
Dorsale, and
Cabaon. The last resistance against the Arab invasion was sustained in the second half of the 7th century mainly by the Roman-Moorish kingdoms -with the last Byzantine troops in the region- under the leadership of the Christian king of Altava
Caecilius, but later ended in complete defeat in 703 AD (when the queen
Kahina died in battle).
Vandal kingdom , 5th century AD The
Vandals conquered the Roman province beginning in the 420s. The city of
Hippo Regius fell to the Vandals in 431 after a prolonged siege, and
Carthage also
fell in 439.
Theodosius II dispatched an expedition to deal with the Vandals in 441, which failed to progress farther than
Sicily. The Western Empire under
Valentinian III secured peace with the Vandals in 442, confirming their control of Proconsular Africa. For the next 90 years, Africa was firmly under the Vandal control. The Vandals were ousted from Africa in the
Vandalic War of 533–534, from which time Mauretania at least nominally became a Roman province once again. The old provinces of the Roman
Diocese of Africa were mostly preserved by the Vandals, but large parts, including almost all of
Mauretania Tingitana, much of
Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Sitifensis and large parts of the interior of
Numidia and
Byzacena, had been lost to the inroads of
Berber tribes, now collectively called the
Mauri (later
Moors) as a generic term for "the Berber tribes in the province of Mauretania".
Praetorian prefecture of Africa In 533, the Roman army under
Belisarius defeated the Vandals. In April 534,
Justinian published a law concerning the administrative organization of the newly acquired territories. Nevertheless, Justinian restored the old administrative division, but raised the overall governor at Carthage to the supreme administrative rank of
praetorian prefect, thereby ending the Diocese of Africa's traditional subordination to the
Prefecture of Italy (then still under
Ostrogoth rule).
Exarchate of Africa within the Byzantine Empire in 600 AD The emperor
Maurice sometime between 585 and 590 AD created the office of "Exarch", which combined the supreme civil authority of a
praetorian prefect and the military authority of a
magister militum, and enjoyed considerable autonomy from
Constantinople. Two exarchates were established, one in Italy, with seat at
Ravenna (hence known as the
Exarchate of Ravenna), and one in Africa, based at Carthage and including all imperial possessions in the Western Mediterranean. The first African exarch was the
patricius Gennadius. Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Sitifensis were merged to form the new province of
Mauretania Prima, while Mauretania Tingitana, effectively reduced to the city of
Septem, was combined with the citadels of the Spanish coast (
Spania) and the Balearic Islands to form
Mauretania Secunda. The African exarch was in possession of
Mauretania Secunda, which was little more than a tiny outpost in southern Spain, beleaguered by the
Visigoths. The last Spanish strongholds were conquered by the Visigoths in 624 AD, reducing "Mauretania Seconda" opposite Gibraltar to only the fort of Septem. == Religion ==