Mauretania

Mauretania (; Classical Latin: [mau̯reːˈtaːni.a]) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central Algeria to the Atlantic coast of Morocco, encompassing northern Morocco (from the Mediterranean coast to the Atlas Mountains). Its inhabitants, of Imazighen and Phoenician ancestry, were known to the Romans as the Mauri and the Masaesyli. The kings of Mauretania became Roman vassals in 25 BC. Around 44 AD, the region was annexed to Rome and divided into two provinces: Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis. From the 3rd century onward, Christianity spread. After the Muslim Arabs subdued the region in the 7th century, Islam became the dominant religion.