Provincia Mauretania Tingitana | |||||
Province of the Roman Empire | |||||
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The province of Mauretania Tingitana within the Roman Empire, c. 125 AD | |||||
Capital | Tingis | ||||
Historical era | Classical Antiquity | ||||
• | Established | 42 | |||
• | Muslim conquest | 7th Century | |||
Today part of | Morocco |
Mauritania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauritania") was a Roman province located in the Maghreb, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chellah) and Volubilis to the south, and as far east as the Mulucha (or Malva) river. Its capital city was Tingis (Berber: Tingi), which is the modern Tangier. Other major cities of the province were Iulia Valentia Banasa, Septem, Rusadir and Lixus.
After the death of Ptolemy of Mauretania, the last king of Mauretania in 40 AD, Roman emperor Claudius partitioned the kingdom into two Roman provinces: Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis. The Mulucha (Moulouya River), located around 60 km west of modern Oran, Algeria, became the border separating them.
The Roman occupation did not extend very far into the continent. In the far west, the southern limit of imperial rule was Volubilis, which was ringed with military camps such as Tocolosida slightly to the south east and Ain Chkour to the north west, and a fossatum or defensive ditch. On the Atlantic coast Sala Colonia was protected by another ditch and a rampart and a line of watchtowers.