Cinithians were an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

Berber tribe of

Roman North Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

, who occupied the area of modern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

. Several inscriptions bear testimony of their presence. From near the Roman town of Githis, in southern

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, there is a second-century dedication to The Empire and Memmius Pacatus, who 'stood out among his people'. Here he is called a 'Cinithius'. It is believed that he was a leader of the tribe and his family went on to achieve

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

ial rank. At the veteran colony of

Sitifis Sétifis (Arabic: سطيف; Berber: Sṭif), was a Romano town located in northeastern Algeria. It was the capital of the Roman province called ''Mauretania Sitifensis'', and it is today Setif in the Sétif Province (Algeria). History Sitifis wa ...

there is another inscription that mentions the tribe of the Cinithians. They are also cited by

Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

as "...a nation by no means contemptible".

, The Annals and History of Tacitus (Talboys, 1839) p113.

References

{{Berber Berber peoples and tribes Ancient Algeria Berber history Countries in ancient Africa