Page 137 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

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In its basic characteristics and character, the Africanis thus seems quite similar to the
Sloughi and Azawakh. It therefore makes sense to turn once again to the long traditional
roots from which the Sloughi originates, the nomadic and semi-sedentary family group.
These social forms of life still exist in northern Africa.

With control over transport routes and as serviceable mounted armed forces, the nomads
had, in addition to their herds, significant resources that could only be tapped in contact
with sedentary societies. But also small livestock nomads in the steppe or mountain
regions have since ancient times pursued other economic activities, such as sporadic
farming or wage labour, in addition to nomadic forms of pasture use [86].

For North Africa, it can be shown that the nomadic or predominantly nomadic
environment itself had an impact on Roman rule, in that the domain economy here
developed its own forms of administration and law.

The predecessors of the Romans, the Punic, already used farmers of Berber origin
living in the agricultural zone of North Africa, and Rome took over their land for the
production of wheat and olive oil, which was important for Rome.

Raphael Joorde describes these very different Berber tribes, some of which allied with
the Romans or fought them. The Numidians, for example, who lived on the
Mediterranean coast in the north of present-day Algeria and Tunisia, are described as a
largely sedentary culture in Roman times. Numidia was elevated to a Roman province at
the time of the Severans. The tribes counted among the Numidians bred horses and were

often decisive in wars as auxiliary troops for the Romans.

The Garamantes lived south of them in the Fezzan. They were outside the Roman sphere
of influence, but traded with the Romans. For example, they caught wild animals to fight
each other or gladiators in the amphitheatres. The Garamantes also bred horses and later
camels. There is evidence that the Garamantes were the ancestors of the Touareg. The
Garamantes had permanent settlements, but probably also lived nomadically.

The Gaetulians, so called in Roman times, lived nomadically mainly in the northern
Sahara region. In fact, nomadic Gaetul tribes lived in the northern Sahara region outside
the Roman provincial border, but there were also numerous Gaetul tribes living within
Roman North Africa.