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| Dido and Aeneas, from a Roman fresco, Pompeian Third Style (10 BC – 45 AD), Pompeii, Italy |
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900 BC circa -- Beginning of the height of Phoenician trading empire.
The name Phoenicians, like Latin Poenī (adj. poenicus, later pūnicus), comes from Greek Φοίνικες (Phoínikes). The word φοῖνιξ phoînix meant variably "Phoenician person", "Tyrian purple, crimson" or "date palm" and is attested with all three meanings already by Homer.(The mythical bird phoenix also carries the same name, but this meaning is not attested until centuries later.) The word may be derived from φοινός phoinós "blood-red", itself possibly related to φόνος phónos "murder". It is difficult to ascertain which meaning came first, but it is understandable how Greeks may have associated the crimson or purple color of dates and dye with the merchants who traded both products. (WP)
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| Starging in the 9th century BC, Phoenicians established an extensive trading network throughout the Mediterranean based in their homeland at the eastern end of the Mediterranean in present day Lebanon. The trading post they established at Owl Island was at the later era of their expansion, in the far western Mediterranean, and was not a significant port at the time. |
815 BC circa -- The Phoenicians of Tyre establish a colonial trading outpost the coast of present-day Tunisia. In their Punic language they call the city Qart-ḥadašt, meaning "New City". It is Latinized as Carthāgō, and later in English as Carthage. Later legends ascribe the founding to Queen Dido, also known as Alyssa or Elyssa.
753 BC Apr 21 -- Founding of the city of Rome in the Latium region of Italy. Start of the continuous Roman calendar ab urbe condita (A.U.C,)
650 BC circa -- Carthage breaks free of Phoenician rule and begins its rise as a dominant power in the western Mediterranean, due in part to its position at the center land and sea routes, as well as nearby agricultural regions on the coast of North Africa, as well Mediterranean islands such as Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
330 BC circa -- Writings of a Greek geographer, probably living n Athens, mention a city in the far western Mediterranean probably at the site of present-day Algiers. The city is located on several islands in a small bay, and is protected by a natural acropolis (the islands have been accreted to the mainland since that era).
300 BC by -- The Phoenicians establish a small trading post on the islets and harbor mainland at present-day Algiers. The Punic name was ʿwyksm ("Owl Island"). The Romans will transcribe the Punic name phonetically as Icosium.
300 BC by around -- The Carthaginians take over the Phoenician trading post at Icosium (Owl Island) adding it to their extensive empire. The surrounding countryside remains under control of the Berber Kingdom of Mauretania.
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| The Empire of Carthage at its height, around 270 BC. At this time, Carthage controlled several large blocks of territory, including the Carthaginian homeland, as well as a large region of southern Spain. In between along the African coast, it acquired the old Phoenician trading posts, including the one at Icosium (Owl Island) at the site of present-day Algiers. The coast around Icosium remained under control of the local Berbers, in the form of the Kingdom of Mauretania. |
264-146 BC -- The Punic Wars. Series of three major wars over 118 years between powerful Carthage and upstart Rome for dominance of the western Mediterranean. At the start of the wars, Carthage is dominant on both land and sea, and Rome is not a significant naval power. By the end Rome has built a powerful navy capable of transporting its armies by sea, and Carthage has been totally destroyed.
264 BC-- Start of the the First Punic War, over control of Sicily, where the Romans desired trading rights but which the Carthaginians claimed as under their control.
241 BC -- End of the First Punic War after 23 years. Defeat of Carthage in Sicily. Rome annexes Sicily as a province. Carthage pays large reparations to Rome. The end of the war sparks an unsuccessful revolt within the Carthaginian Empire.
218 BC -- Start of the Second Punic War. Monumental Carthaginian invasion of Italy from southern Spain via the Alps under Hannibal, who campaigns in Italy for 14 years, largely successfully.
204 BC -- Unable to defeat the Romans completely, Hannibal withdraws his army from Italy back to Carthaginian territory.
202 BC -- Romans invade Carthaginian homeland by sea and meet Hannibal's army at the decisive Battle of Zama in present-day Tunisia. Result of the battle: Carthage is defeated and sues for peace.
Hannibal and the Carthaginians had relied on cavalry superiority in previous battles such as Cannae in Italy. But Scipio, the Roman commander, recognizing the importance of cavalry, held the cavalry advantage at Zama. The two commanders are said to have met face-to-face before the battle. Hannibal offered a treaty that would give up any claims to overseas territories to ensure the sovereignty of Carthage. Scipio refused, saying that it was either unconditional surrender or battle.201 BC -- Peace treaty ends the Second Punic War after 16 years. Carthage is stripped of all of its overseas possessions and some of its African ones. Icosium stays under Carthaginian control.
The treaty also provided for an indemnity of 10,000 silver talents to be paid by Carthage to Rome over 50 years. Hostages were taken. Carthage was forbidden to possess war elephants and its fleet was restricted to 10 warships. It was prohibited from waging war outside Africa, and in Africa only with Rome's express permission. Many senior Carthaginians wanted to reject it, but Hannibal spoke strongly in its favour and it was accepted in spring 201 BC. Henceforth it was clear that Carthage was politically subordinate to Rome.
201 to 151 BC -- Fifty year indemnity of silver talents is paid annually by Carthage to Rome. In the meantime Carthage suffers repeated incursions into their homeland territory from the Numidian general Masinissa, who is an ally of Rome.
151 BC -- Expiration of the fifty-year indemnity paid by Carthage to Rome. The campaign ends in disaster and the army is disbanded. The rebellion stirs deep anger in the Roman Senate, with a growing opinion that Carthage must be destroyed completely.
149 BC -- Start of the Third Punic War. Rome lays siege to the city of Carthage.
146 BC -- Romans break the siege of Carthage and sack the city mercilessly. The Senate orders Carthage to be completely destroyed and the site of Carthage is razed. The Roman Province of Africa, ruled by a Roman proconsul (governor), is established in the former Carthaginian homeland. It becomes an important grain source for the Roman Empire. Rome also takes over Carthaginian settlements in Mauretania, including Icosium (at site of present-day Algiers).
44 BC -- Julius Caesar orders the rebuilding of Carthage as a Roman city. The plan is carried out after his death.
19 BC -- Virgil finishes the Aeneid, an epic poem about the legendary founding of Rome by Trojan refugees led by Aeneas, a prince of Troy. It includes the most expansive classical treatment of the legend of Dido, the Queen of Carthage, who falls in love with Aeneas and commits suicide by fire when he leaves Carthage.
Dido can no longer bear to live. (Aeneid 4.474) She has her sister Anna build her a pyre under the pretence of burning all that reminded her of Aeneas, including weapons and clothes that Aeneas had left behind and (what she calls) their bridal bed (though, according to Aeneas, they were never officially married.) (4.584f) When Dido sees Aeneas' fleet leaving she curses him and his Trojans and proclaims endless hate between Carthage and the descendants of Troy, foreshadowing the Punic Wars.
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| The Roman Proconsolate of Africa. Icosium was located on the coast west of the province, and was surrounded by the Kingdom of the Mauretania (Berbers) who were outside Roman control at the time |
15-24 AD -- Revolt of Tacfarinas, a Berber deserter form the Roman Army, in the Roman Province of Africa. Icosium suffers damage during the revolt.
It is unlikely that the Romans were ever in danger of being driven out of the province altogether, although in at least two periods, Tacfarinas' forces greatly outnumbered the local Roman garrison. However, the incapacity of Tacfarinas' lightly armed forces to defeat the Romans in set-piece battles or to assault Roman fortifications prevented him from achieving a decisive victory.55 AD -- Rome annexes the Kingdom of Mauretania, establishing the Roman Province of Mauretania, which now includes Icosium on the coast.
79 AD by -- Roman Emperor Vespasian grants status of colonia Latina (Latin rights) on Isosium.
200 AD by -- An influx of Berbers from the countryside changes the demographics of Icosium so that Latin-speakers become a minority elite.
200 AD by -- Christianity practiced at Icosium.
311-314 AD -- Pontificate of Pope Miltiades, who was possibly a Romanized Berber.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, compiled from the 5th century onwards, he was of North African and a citizen of Rome where contemporary scholars believe he was born
It was during his pontificate that Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan (313), giving Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. The pope also received the palace of Empress Fausta where the Lateran Palace, the papal seat and residence of the papal administration, would be built.354 AD -- Birth of St.Augustine to a Romanized family, in the Roman Numidia in North Africa (in modern day Algeria).
His mother, Saint Monica, was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed. It is mostly believed that Augustine and his family were Punic, ancient Phoenician settlers of Africa.372-375 AD -- -- Revolt of Firmus, a Berber prince, against the Roman officer in charge of province of Roman Africa. Roman Emperor Valentinian sends his magister equitum Theodosius to North Africa to put down the revolt.
Firmus quickly obtains support from the Berber tribes and presents Theodosius with the prospect of a protracted guerilla war against the elusive barbarians of the Numidian desert.
Theodosius pursued the war with rapidity and success, however, advancing into the desert with a mobile column of light infantry, and forcing Firmus to flee from one tribe to another as all successively surrendered to the Romans.
400 AD by -- Christianity becomes the main religion of the Romanized Berber population of Icosium.
400 AD after -- Record of three Christian bishops at Iconium (Diocese of Iconium).
410-460 AD -- Collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. Widespread invasion of the empire by Germanic-speaking tribes that establish their own kingdoms in various part of the former Western Empire.
429 AD -- Invasion of Roman Africa by the Germanic-speaking Vandals, who establish a kingdom there. The arrival of the pagan Vandals is witnessed and described by St. Augustine from his seat as bishop of Hippo Regius, a coastal city west of Icosium (which is also taken). Augustine later describes treatment of the local Christian community by the Vandals in his work City of God.
In the year 429, the Vandals, estimated to number 80,000 people, had crossed by boat from Spain to North Africa. They advanced eastward conquering the coastal regions of what is now Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. In 435, the Roman Empire, then ruling in North Africa, allowed the Vandals to settle in the provinces of Numidia and Mauretania when it became clear that the Vandal army could not be defeated by Roman military forces. (WP)
Although primarily remembered for the sack of Rome in 455 and their persecution of Nicene Christians in favor of Arian Christianity, the Vandals were also patrons of learning. Grand building projects continued, schools flourished and North Africa fostered many of the most innovative writers and natural scientists of the late Latin Western Roman Empire.439 AD -- The Vandals renew their advance, capturing Roman Carthage (the most important Roman city in North Africa), as well as the islands of Mallorca, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
The conquest of North Africa by the Vandals was a blow to the beleaguered Western Roman Empire as North Africa was a major source of revenue and a supplier of grain (mostly wheat) to the city of Rome. (WP)442 AD -- Agreement between the Vandals and Rome allows for Roman control of Icosium.
455 AD -- The Vandals sack Rome.
Before approaching the city, the Vandals knocked down all of the city's aqueducts. At the sight of the approaching Vandals, Maximus and his soldiers tried to flee the city but he was spotted and killed by a Roman mob outside the city, possibly together with his son Palladius. Upon the Vandal arrival, according to the chronicler Prosper of Aquitaine, Pope Leo I requested that Genseric not destroy the ancient city nor murder its inhabitants. Genseric agreed and the gates of Rome were thrown open to him and his men.
492-496 AD --- Pontificate of Pope Gelasius I, the 3rd and final Pope of Berber origin.
Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. His predecessor Felix III employed him especially in drafting papal documents.500 AD circa -- Berber tribes take control of Icosium.
533-534 AD -- The Vandalic War. Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian pursues war to recapture lost Roman territories. Roman expeditionary forces from Constantinople are led by Belisarius. The war ends with the destruction of the Vandalic Kingdom and the restoration of Roman North Africa, including Icosium, to full Roman (Byzantine) rule.
680 AD circa -- Conquest of present-day Algeria and Morocco (including Icosium) by Arabs.
700 AD after -- apparent destruction of Icosium under Arab control.
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