istoryworld
Events relating to north africa
Realistic portraits, done in hot wax and preserved in coffins at Fayyum, vividly depict inhabitants of Roman Egypt
The network of Roman roads stretches eventually from England to Egypt
Ptolemy writes in Alexandria an encyclopedic account of Greek scientific theory in cosmology, astronomy and geography
Plotinus, moving from Alexandria to Rome, teaches the influential philosophy later known as Neo-Platonism
Roman socks, surviving in dry Egyptian tombs, are the earliest known examples of knitting
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, is one of many Christians martyred for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods
St Anthony, one of the early Christian hermits in the Egyptian desert, is tempted by terrifying hallucinations
The Jews of the Diaspora have by now spread through much of the Roman empire, where they are treated with tolerance
The emperor Diocletian initiates a sustained persecution of Christians in the Roman empire
Pachomius organizes in Egypt the first community of Christian monks, at Dandara on the Nile
The Cushite dynasty fades away in Nubia, after lasting for 1000 years or more
A document is distributed by the bishop of Alexandria, formally establishing the contents of the New Testament
The Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete New Testament, is copied out - probably in Egypt
St Augustine reveals that as a young man, studying and teaching in Carthage, he often prayed for 'chastity and continence, but not yet'
Prompted by the fall of Rome to the Visigoths, St Augustine undertakes a great work of Christian philosophy, the City of God
Gaiseric captures Carthage and makes it his base for Vandal raids across the Mediterranean
The Byzantine general Belisarius recovers Carthage from the Vandals
Belisarius, conquering the Vandals in north Africa, pioneers the strategic concept of the castle
The unopposed capture of Alexandria by the Arabs completes the Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Coptic Christians of Egypt become isolated after the Muslim conquest
The Arabs establish a garrison town at Kairouan, as a base for the conquest of northwest Africa
With the entire middle east under their control, the Arabs make Damascus the capital of the Umayyad caliphate
Carthage is captured from the Byzantines by the Arabs and is finally destroyed, though Tunis will later rise nearby
The African slave trade through the Sahara is so extensive that a new town, Zawila, is established as a trading station
Muslim Arabs cross from north Africa into Spain and drive the Visigoths from Toledo
