Rome and Nubia | The Forgotten War (350 AD)

As the Roman Republic transitioned into the Empire and as the Roman Civil War broke out after the awaited failure of the Second Triumvirate, Egypt became a battlefield that quickly fell to who would be eventually known as Augustus Caesar (Octavian.) 

Once the Civil War ended Rome looked South to a Kingdom that no longer had a buffer state to separate them and a brief war would ensue over land and material gain in a conflict known to many as the Meroitic War in which a warrior Queen known as Amanirenas would fight to ensure the independence of her people at all costs even if the cost included those she held most dear.

According to Procopius, Roman rule in Lower Nubia ended in 298 AD when Diocletian redeployed the Roman garrisons in the region to Philae. Recent scholarship, however, increasingly maintains that effective Roman audiority in the Dodecaschoenus ended in the third quarter of the third century AD and that Diocletian was only officially recognizing this reality.

CIL 3.141483 indicates that Procopius’ account is correct.

This work was made possible by Mansa Myrie who is truly one of the most knowledgeable people I will ever know when it comes to the history of Africa as we know it today and the variety of peoples whose stories are etched across its domain.

To show thanks to Mansa Myrie and the wonderful organization he represents known as HAMAA: Historical African Martial Arts Association check out the links below and take advantage of the wonderful community and knowledge that they provide!

https://hamaassociation.wordpress.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2AdDHTxTH9hzchUqxVeI1A