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Tacfarinas (Latinised form of Berber Tiqfarin, died AD 24) was a Numidian deserter from the Roman army who led his own Musulamii tribe and a loose and changing coalition of other Ancient Libyan tribes in a war against the Romans in North Africa during the rule of emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37). Although Tacfarinas' personal motivation is unknown, it is likely that the Roman occupation under Augustus of the traditional grazing grounds of the Musulamii, and denial of access to the latter, was the determining factor. The war lasted for about 10 years (from ca. AD 15 to 24) and engaged four successive Roman proconsuls (governors) of the province of Africa (modern Tunisia), which, although a small part of the empire, was economically vital as the source of most of Rome's grain supply. It is unlikely that the Romans were ever in danger of being driven out of the province altogether, although in at least two periods, Tacfarinas' forces greatly outnumbered the Roman garrison. But the incapacity of Tacfarinas' lightly armed forces to defeat the Romans in set-piece battles or to assault successfully Roman fortified points prevented him from achieving a decisive victory. Nevertheless, Tacfarinas' large-scale raids caused severe disruption of the province's grain production, which in turn threatened civil disorder in Rome. The Romans, for their part, were for a long time unable to eradicate their enemy because of the Numidians' extraordinary mobility and ability to win the support of many desert tribes and even of more sedentary Numidian tribes within Roman territory. Tacfarinas was finally caught and killed in AD 24 by a combination of determined pursuit and a lucky break in intelligence. The direct consequence of the war was the registration of the entire Tunisian plateau for land tax 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 forced to lead a more impoverished existence in the Aures mountains and the arid zone. The war also probably sealed the long-term fate of the client kingdom of Mauretania, which was annexed in AD 44 by the Emperor Claudius (ruled 41-54). ==Sources== Apart from a passing mention by another (minor) author, the ''Annales'' by the Roman historian Tacitus (written ca. 98 AD) is the sole surviving ancient source on the Tacfarinas War. Tacitus gives a relatively detailed account, but its exclusivity makes it difficult to assess its accuracy and the war's significance. Tacitus was fascinated by the psychology of the emperor Tiberius, whom he regarded as the quintessential flawed tyrant, and the way that the long-drawn out insurgency in Africa with its many crises exposed his weaknesses.〔Grant (1996) 18-9〕 For example, the emperor's explosion of fury when he received envoys from Tacfarinas demanding concessions in return for peace. This was not only due to Tiberius' exasperation with the insurgency. Adding insult to injury, Tacfarinas was apparently a commoner by birth, an affront to the status-conscious Romans. To Tiberius, a scion of the illustrious Claudii patrician clan and ruler of a vast empire, it seemed intolerable that such a person should be seeking to deal with him on an equal basis, like a foreign king. Tacitus relates with relish Tiberius' feelings of personal humiliation.〔Tacitus III.72〕 This has led C.R. Whittaker to doubt that Tacfarinas' revolt was ever a serious threat to Roman rule in Africa, suggesting that Tacitus may have exaggerated the war's importance for dramatic effect.〔CAH X 596〕 In favour of this view is the inability of Tacfarinas' forces to take Roman fortified positions or to stand up to Roman armies in pitched battle. Against it are Tacfarinas' establishment of a Roman-style force, the despatch of an extra legion to the war zone and the award of triumphal honours to no less than 3 Roman proconsuls for successes in the war (implying, in each case, the killing of at least 5,000 insurgents), all events indicating more than just low-level guerrilla warfare.〔Smith's (1890) ''Triumphus''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tacfarinas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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