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Explanation: North Africa (simply Africa, or Africa Proconsularis to the Romans) was a productive region of the Classical-era world, but under the Romans, it became one of the breadbaskets of the entire Mediterranean, rivaled only by Egypt. Because of this intensified demand for food production, and the organization of Roman rule, Africa became the second-richest province in the Western Empire, and a well-integrated urban center which produced a great many Roman scholars and politicians throughout the years.
Fascinating. What term can I Google to learn more?
Just ‘Roman Africa’ will give you a number of good results. I recently read an archeological study on olive presses in Roman Africa which was… well, honestly, even for a Romaboo and a History major, it was fucking boring. But it was positively granular - there’s a lot of study on the industry and economy of Roman Africa in particular, especially exports like earthenware.
The Roman playwright Terence was born in Africa, and a LARGE number of prominent members of the early Christian Church were likewise from Africa. Emperor Septimius Severus and Emperor Macrinus were both born in Africa and were both of partial Berber descent. It was a happening place for Romanized culture outside of Italy!