Roman Expeditions into Sub-Saharan Africa: Balbus, Paulinus, and Nero's Scouts
The Roman Empire's foray into Sub-Saharan Africa featured significant military campaigns. In 19 BC, Lucius Cornelius Balbus led an offensive against the Garamantes in Libya, successfully capturing Garama. Pliny the Elder recorded that Balbus's victory involved a river believed to be the Niger. However, lasting settlement was hindered by adverse conditions. Following the execution of King Ptolemy of Mauretania by Emperor Caligula around 40 AD, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus embarked on a mission south of the Atlas Mountains, where he encountered diverse landscapes and the Canarii tribe. Emperor Nero dispatched scouts to trace the Nile's origins, reaching Meroe in Sudan and the Sudd marshes. In 70 AD, Septimius Flaccus targeted the Garamantes again, and in 90 AD, Julius Maternus traveled to Agisymba near Lake Chad.
Key facts
- Lucius Cornelius Balbus, a non-Roman-born proconsul, campaigned against the Garamantes in 19 BC and was awarded a triumph in Rome.
- Balbus's triumph mentioned a river 'Dasibari,' possibly the Niger River, suggesting scouts reached it.
- Pliny the Elder noted that the road to the Garamantes was impracticable because they filled wells with sand.
- Gaius Suetonius Paulinus led an expedition south of the Atlas Mountains after defeating Aedemon's revolt in Mauretania.
- Paulinus crossed snowy peaks, encountered a black sand desert (Hamada du Guir), and the river Ger, possibly the Guir or Draa.
- Emperor Nero sent praetorian scouts to find the source of the Nile, reaching Meroe in Sudan and the Sudd marshes in South Sudan.
- The Sudd marshes were impassable, marking the limit of the scouts' journey; some theories suggest they reached Murchison Falls in Uganda.
- Septimius Flaccus campaigned against the Garamantes around 80 AD, possibly reaching the Air Mountains or Tibesti Mountains.
- Julius Maternus journeyed with the king of the Garamantes to Agisymba in 90 AD, likely near Lake Chad, where rhinoceroses were found.
Entities
Artists
- Lucius Cornelius Balbus
- Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
- Julius Maternus
- Septimius Flaccus
- Pliny the Elder
- Seneca
- Tacitus
- Ptolemy
- Henry Lhote
- Julius Caesar
- Octavian Augustus
- Pompey the Great
- Caligula
- Nero
- Vespasian
- Cleopatra Selene II
- Cleopatra VII
- Mark Antony
- Aedemon
- Candace Amanirenas
- John Hanning Speke
- Samuel White Baker
Institutions
- Roman Empire
- Garamantes
- Kingdom of Meroe
- Aksum
- Kush
- UNESCO
Locations
- Africa
- Libya
- Tunisia
- Cadiz
- Spain
- Egypt
- Rome
- Italy
- Garama
- Germa
- Fezzan
- Ghadames
- Niger River
- Mauretania
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Atlas Mountains
- Hamada du Guir
- Guir river
- Draa river
- Nile River
- Meroe
- Sudan
- Aswan
- Syene
- Napata
- Sudd
- South Sudan
- Khartoum
- Murchison Falls
- Uganda
- Lake Albert
- Air Mountains
- Niger
- Tibesti Mountains
- Chad
- Lake Chad
- Oaea
- Tripoli
- Leptis Magna
- Britain
- Syria
- Central Asia
- Indian Ocean