Iulia Campestris Babba is a Mauretanian city created as Roman colony around 30 BC by emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. Its actual location is currently unknown, though its existence is confirmed by the literature.

Characteristics

Colonia Iulia Campestris Babba was one of the three colonias in

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chellah ...

(in northern

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

) founded by emperor

between 30 and 25 BC for veterans of the

battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...

. Nearly 10,000 legionaries settled in

Iulia Valentia Banasa Iulia Valentia Banasa, corresponding to modern day Sidi Ali Boujnoun () was a Roman-Berber city in northern Morocco. It was one of the three colonias in Mauretania Tingitana founded by emperor Augustus between 33 and 25 BC for veterans of the bat ...

Iulia Constantia Zilil Iulia Constantia Zilil (called later ''Arzeila'') was an ancient Roman-Berber city in Dchar Jdid, located 40 km southwest of Tangier and 13 km northeast of Asilah. It was one of the three colonias in Mauretania Tingitana (in northern Mo ...

and Babba, according to historian

Theodore Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a Germans, German classics, classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicis ...

. The city of Babba in Mauritania Tingitana was probably situated on or near the river Lixus (El Haratel); and was made a colony in honor of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, as its name Iulia indicated. It was also called Campestris because away from the sea The city was populated by Roman colonists and their descendants and by romanised

berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

. The exact location of Babba has been debated by many scholars,Plinius and Babba
/ref> but one of the most probable possibilities is that Babba was the "Oppidum Novum" (actual

Ksar el-Kebir Ksar el-Kebir (), also known as al-Qasr al-Kabir, is a city in northwestern Morocco, about north of Rabat, east of Larache and south of Tangier. It recorded a population of 126,617 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The name means "the big castle ...

) of the " Itineraries of Antonius Augustus". Indeed, historian Euzennat believe that "can not be excluded in these circumstances that it was the colonia Iulia, which might have disappeared in the troubles of the second century AD before being reborn as Oppidum novum".Euzennat M. ''Babba Iulia Campestris'' p.133 But some researchers argue that Babba can be the old Roman city of "Tremulae" (actual

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

) and even the city of

Thamusida Thamusida (Punic: ) was a Punic river port that was in the present-day towns of Kénitra and Mehdya in Morocco. Under the Roman Empire, it formed a part of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. Name The Punic form of the name was (). Because th ...

. The city was probably abandoned at the end of the third century, by orders of emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. Indeed, Rome's control over the city probably ended following the chaos of the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in History of Rome, Roman history during which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated Barbarian invasions ...

, when the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

nearly disintegrated as a series of generals seized and lost power through civil wars, palace coups and assassinations. Roman rule collapsed in much of Mauretania and was never re-established. Only a northern section of Mauretania Tingitana remained under Roman control. In 285 AD, Diocletian reorganised what was left of the province to retain only the coastal strip between Lixus,

Tingis Tingis (Latin; ''Tíngis'') or Tingi ( Ancient Berber:), was the ancient name of Tangier in Morocco and an important Carthaginian, Moor, and Roman port on the Atlantic Ocean. It was eventually granted the status of a Roman colony and made the ...

and Septem (modern

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

Notes

Bibliography

* Boube J. ''A propos de Babba Iulia Campestris'' Bull. Archéo. Maroc, t. 15, 1983-1984 (1986), p. 131-137. * Euzennat M. ''Babba Iulia Campestris'', in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, R. Stillwell éd., Princeton, 1976

Characteristics

Notes

Bibliography

See also