Numidian Roman army deserter who led Berber tribes in a war against the Romans
Map of the Roman empire under Hadrian (AD ruled 117–138), showing the rough location of ancient Berber tribes on the fringes of the empire: Mauri, Musulamii, and Garamantes. All three were engaged in bitter conflict with Rome during the rule of Augustus (30 BC – AD 14), and Tacfarinas was able to gain the support of substantial elements of all three tribes for his insurgency.
Tacfarinas (Latinised form of Berber Tikfarin or Takfarin; died AD 24) was a Numidian Berber from Thagaste, located in the province of Proconsular Africa (now Souk Ahras, in Algeria), who was a deserter from the Roman army who led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of other Berber tribes in a war against the Romans in North Africa during the rule of the emperor Tiberius (AD 14–37). Though Tacfarinas' personal motivation is unknown, it is likely that the Roman occupation under Augustus of the traditional grazing grounds of the Musulamii was the determining factor.
Nevertheless, Tacfarinas' large-scale raids caused severe disruption of the province's grain production, which in turn threatened civil disorder in Rome. The Romans were for a long time unable to eradicate their enemy because of the Numidians' extraordinary mobility and their support from the many desert tribes. Tacfarinas was finally captured and killed in AD 24 by a combination of determined pursuit and a lucky break in intelligence.
A direct consequence of the war was the registration of the entire Tunisian plateau for land taxation and its conversion to mainly wheat cultivation. The Musulamii and other nomadic tribes were likely permanently excluded from what had been their summer grazing grounds and subsequently forced to lead a more impoverished existence in the Aurès mountains and the arid zone. The conflict also probably sealed the long-term fate of the client kingdom of Mauretania, which was annexed in AD 44 by the emperor Claudius.
inability of Tacfarinas' forces to take Roman fortified positions or to stand up to Roman armies in pitched battle; against it are Tacfarinas' establishment...
Roman war against Numidia and Mauretania ends with their annexation. Tacfarinas' revolt in Africa is repressed. The Senate expels actors from Rome. King...
defeat Tacfarinas. The manner in which Tacfarinas led his rebellions was of particular concern to the Third Augustan Legion. At first, Tacfarinas did not...
Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, while Musulamii, led by Tacfarinas, and Garamantes were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD...
and not separate, as Junius Blaesus the younger describes a war against Tacfarinas as a war against the Gaetulas Gentes ("Gaetulian Peoples"). Originally...
fought wars in Germania and Dacia. In Africa, Rome was challenged by Tacfarinas, who led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of...
Ptolemy, rather than pressing military or economic needs. The rebellion of Tacfarinas had shown how exposed Africa Proconsularis was to its west and how the...
Spartacus early in his command of the war; Apronius, deserters against Tacfarinas; and four occasions during the civil wars between 49 and 34 BC. Roman...
"Schmackeboom" is a song by Swedish singer of French origin - Tacfarinas Yamoun (aka "Le Tac"). The single was released on 20 May 2014 under the label...
the 1st century. In the year 17, the local Berber tribes, the Numidian Tacfarinas and Garamantes, started to revolt against the Kingdom of Mauretania and...
century BC) Jugurtha Tableland Jugurthine War Sallust, De Bello Iugurthino Tacfarinas MacKendrick, Paul Lachlan (2000). The North African Stones Speak. p. 330...
subsequent year, a war broke out between Maroboduus and Arminius. In Africa, Tacfarinas led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of other...
Deaths Amanisemansis dies Antiochus III of Herodia Dies Amanisemansis dies Tacfarinas, Numidian deserter from the Roman army, begins a guerrilla war against...
celebrated on August 15 Firmus and Rusticus, Christian martyrs (4th century) Tacfarinas, resisted Roman invasions Ancient Rome portal Wikimedia Commons has media...
and Illyricum suppressed by Germanicus and Drusus Julius Caesar 17–24: Tacfarinas' revolt in north Africa – revolt suppressed by Publius Cornelius Dolabella...
tribesmen, and the Frisians against the Roman Empire. In North Africa, Tacfarinas, a Numidian Berber deserter, led the Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing...
ritual scars and tattoos. Tacitus wrote that they assisted the rebel Tacfarinas and raided Roman coastal settlements. According to Pliny the Elder, in...
suppressed by Germanicus and Drusus Julius Caesar respectively 15–24 Tacfarinas' revolt' Mauretania, Roman Empire Musulamii Revolt suppressed by Publius...
Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, whilst Musulamii, led by Tacfarinas, and Garamantes were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD...
century AD-? Berber tribal confederation that fought the Romans led by Tacfarinas. Clan Chattan ?-present Confederation of clans in the Scottish Highlands...
Swedish X Factor. A song co-written by Anderz Wrethov, Firas Razak Tuma, Tacfarinas Yamoun and by Behrang Miri himself, it is a trilingual song in Swedish...
Africa in AD 21 and earned triumphal honors by crushing the rebellion of Tacfarinas. According to the ancient historian Tacitus, Sejanus was also a former...
evidence of long periods of pre-historic human habitation. In AD 17, Tacfarinas led the Gaetuli to revolt against the Romans. Tlemcen became a military...
Takfarinas took his surname from the ancient warrior of North Africa Tacfarinas who fought against the presence of the Romans in Algeria. Since 1979 Takfarinas...
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