Roman Presence in West Africa

Hello everyone, it's Jabari here, and before we begin, I apologize if I sound a little stuffy, I'm feeling a little sick, but hopefully you enjoy the video anyway. It's common knowledge that the Roman Empire spanned all three continents of the Old World, dominating most of Europe, expanding well into the Middle East, absorbing much of the coastal Maghreb all the way through Egypt where it was stopped in its tracks by the Kingdom of Kush. Very sour relations between Rome and Kush erupted as Rome tried to establish control over the region. Despite several efforts, Rome failed to accomplish dominion over Kush, as they had done with Egypt to the north, and eventually settling for peaceful trade relations on terms that were largely favorable to the Kingdom of Kush. Aksum was also known to the Romans, and Aksumites were regular trade partners to the Empire. However, there is no evidence that Rome ever had any interest in the conquest of Aksum. In fact, Prophet Mani of the Persian Empire considered Aksum to be one of the world's greatest empires, along with Persia, Rome, and China. Despite Rome's obvious influence in North Africa and East Africa, a largely unknown fact is that the Roman Empire's influence extended all the way to Sub-Saharan West Africa. Though the Sahara Desert was still massive and unforgiving, in ancient times it was much smaller and wetter than it is today, making it much easier for peoples of the Mediterranean to cross over into Sub-Saharan Africa. No part of West Africa was ever conquered by the Romans, nor is there any evidence that any attempt was ever made to do so. However, Roman presence in West Africa has been proven to have existed briefly in ancient times. These expeditions began largely with the intention of discovering direct sources of gold and precious stones. The first of such expeditions was a legion of 10,000 warriors led by Roman proconsul Cornelius Babus in the year 19 BCE. The original goal was a punitive expedition to neutralize the Garamantes, a Berber people who had recently practiced rebellious activity. After conquering two Garamante cities, Babus did not turn back to Rome, but continued marching south through the Sahara until eventually reaching a great river, which is believed to have been the Niger River. Another expedition was led by Roman General Suetonius Pollens in 40 CE, which again started as a force with the intent to quell a rebellion in Mauritania. He then ventured farther south crossing the Atlas Mountains into the Fezzan region of the Sahara Desert. General Septimius Flaccus led another force just ten years later to suppress local bandits that were aggravating the Roman province of Leptis Magna. After successfully thwarting the bandits, like Babus, he continued on farther south, reaching sub-Saharan Africa. However, he did not reach the Niger River of West Africa, for he arrived at a place that he described as an enormous lake surrounded by elephants and rhinoceroses. It is generally accepted that he was describing the modern-day Lake Chad. This brought an end to his expedition, and he turned back and returned to Rome. Fascinated by the stories of the exotic animals described by Flaccus, Roman merchant Julius Maternus followed Flaccus's footsteps in 83 CE in hopes of finding the area that he had described. He was allowed permission to embark on his expedition with the King of the Garamantes. In addition to the prospect of exotic beasts, Maternus sought to send out letters of introduction to the kings of sub-Saharan African states on behalf of the Roman Empire. After he finally reached Lake Chad, he captured an African rhinoceros and brought it back with him to Rome for display in the Colosseum. This rhino quickly became a spectacle among the Roman people and was even minted on coins by an order of Emperor Domitian between the years of 83 and 85 CE. Though evidence is spotty, some modern historians believe that yet another Roman explorer by the name of Bestas may have reached the Niger River of West Africa in 70 CE. He is believed to have travelled through the Air Mountains before encountering a dinosaur graveyard, and ultimately arrived at what is now Timbuktu. Some of his men are believed to have possibly reached even as far as the forest region of modern-day Nigeria. Late trade networks are believed to have been established between the West African kingdoms and the Roman Empire after these expeditions took place. West African goods such as rice, sorghum, cotton, millet, and ultimately gold were exported to Rome, while camels, donkeys, and chickens were imported to West African kingdoms in the 4th century CE. This also provides evidence of kingdoms and centralized states that were already in existence in sub-Saharan Africa in ancient times prior to the spread of Islam, despite popular beliefs to the contrary as cities such as Djenne-Djenno have been excavated in West Africa and show clear evidence of trade with the Roman Empire and the Middle East. This city has also been dated back to at least 250 BCE, or two centuries before the Roman Empire was even established. The art, architecture, and political structures of these kingdoms decisively indicates an indigenous origin independent of outside influence. Unfortunately, no written records exist that contain the names of these kingdoms or their rulers, which pushes the recorded history of centralized West African states to a much later date. Perhaps in time, with the decipherment of Islamic texts from ancient libraries of Mali and surrounding areas, we can learn more about the ancient history of West Africa, as well as the Roman presence in the region. Thanks for watching guys. If you enjoyed this video and would like to make a video request of your own, you can do so by becoming a patron. It's the least I can do for those who support my channel contributing towards the quality and quantity of content that I put out. I'll see you guys next time, and always remember, we don't come from nothing.