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Byzantine Reconquest of Mauretania

Type Event Region North Africa Time 534–600

In the first half of the 6th century, after destroying the Vandal Kingdom, the Eastern Roman Empire gradually extended its power into the former Roma…

Timeline

  1. 534–536Province of Africa · North AfricaAfter the fall of the Vandal Kingdom, Byzantium advanced westward from Carthage, extending its administrative reach into the territory of the former Roman province of Mauretania Sitifensis. The empire appointed military commanders to oversee North African defenses and began restoring roads, fortresses, and tax networks.
  2. 535–548Aurès Mountains · AlgeriaBerber tribes (the Moors) launched large-scale revolts in the Mauretanian highlands, and Solomon led several campaigns against them. Byzantium combined military suppression with tribal alliances, gradually gaining control of the Aurès Mountains and the coastal passes, though control of the interior remained unstable.
  3. 550–600Caesarea (Mauretania) · AlgeriaByzantium restored provincial governors and episcopal institutions in Mauretania Sitifensis and elsewhere, rebuilding chains of fortresses and the frontier defense system. Imperial control over Tingitana (modern northern Morocco) was limited and often fluctuating, but eastern Algeria and the coastal zone were brought under stable rule, forming the Byzantine frontier pattern in Northwest Africa.

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