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The Portuguese in East Africa
The Portuguese first took an interest in East Africa from the beginning of the 16th century as their empire spread eastwards across the Indian Ocean. Trade in the region was already well-established and carried out by Africans, Indians, and...
Article
Treasures of Roman Tunisia - 10 Key Sites Explored
Set on the North African coast, Tunisia is home to some of the finest Roman ruins in the Mediterranean. After the fall of Carthage, Rome transformed the region into the prosperous province of Africa, enriched by its fertile plains and bustling...
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Map of Roman Africa
Nothern Africa under Roman rule. From H.Kiepert (1879), Historischer Schulatlas.
Definition
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (aka the North Africa landings) landed Allied troops in French Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942 with the aim of removing German and Italian forces from North Africa. The first jointly-planned Allied operation of the...
Definition
Caesarea (North Africa)
Caesarea was actually the name of three separate cities: one in Palestine, one in Cappadocia (Asia Minor), and one in Mauretania, present-day Algeria. The first city, Caesarea Maritima, was built by Herod around 25 BCE and, like the other...
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The Salt Trade of Ancient West Africa
Salt from the Sahara desert was one of the major trade goods of ancient West Africa where very little naturally occurring deposits of the mineral could be found. Transported via camel caravans and by boat along such rivers as the Niger and...
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The Splendours of Roman Algeria
Algeria, Africa's largest country, stretches from the Mediterranean coastline to the Saharan desert interior. The country has some of the finest and most diverse Roman sites, including Timgad and Djémila, both well-preserved and UNESCO-listed...
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Early Human Migration
Disregarding the extremely inhospitable spots even the most stubborn of us have enough common sense to avoid, humans have managed to cover an extraordinary amount of territory on this earth. Go back 200,000 years, however, and Homo sapiens...
Definition
Gaiseric
Gaiseric (r. 428-478 CE, also known as Genseric and Geiseric) was the greatest king of the Vandals who remained undefeated from the time he took the throne until his death. He was probably born in 389 CE near Lake Balaton (present-day Hungary...
Definition
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who are first mentioned in Roman history in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (77 CE). The Roman historian Tacitus also mentions them in his Germania (c. 98 CE), though he also refers to them as the...