AHC/WI: Roman conquest of Morocco

Morocco (Mauretania) is one of the few places the Roman Empire could have reasonably expanded into but for reasons or another, chose not to. All throughout the Imperial period, Mauretania (I'll use Mauretania to refer to Mauretania Tingitana and not the other Roman provinces of that name) was pretty much a backwater, with very few soldier colonies and only some outposts, all located in the north of the country.

So what if the Romans decided to conquer deeper into the country? It isn't bad land, no worse than the deep forests of Germania Rome tried to rule or likewise Caledonia. As long as you stick to the Atlas Mountains and the coastal regions, you have solid enough land. Granted, possibly not enough to totally justify military rule, but the other option is setting up client states in the south of Mauretania and bringing them more firmly into the Roman sphere.

I was thinking the best way to get this done is to increase Roman efforts in Mauretania. More settlement, more people there. The region was known for its purple dye, after all. And this is a long shot, but what if a son or grandson of Ptolemy of Mauretania (descendent of Mark Antony, Cleopatra/Ptolemaic dynasty, cousin of Gemanicus and Claudius) becomes Emperor, perhaps after the extinction of the Julio-Claudians and with a favourable marriage on the part of Ptolemy? He'd have Rome's grain supply in Africa under his rule, and could take power, and hopefully naturally favour the land of his ancestors despite being Roman in all other aspects.

Basically, can Rome rule or nominally control all of modern-day Morocco (minus Western Sahara), and what might the effects be?
 
Quite likely, it was only the lack of attention to the region that kept it from it in OTL. It would have been a prime area for settlement.
 
And this is a long shot, but what if a son or grandson of Ptolemy of Mauretania(descendent of Mark Antony, Cleopatra/Ptolemaic dynasty, cousin of Gemanicus and Claudius) becomes Emperor, perhaps after the extinction of the Julio-Claudians and with a favourable marriage on the part of Ptolemy
At this period of the Roman Empire being descendent of any king ruined all your chances to become an Emperor.

Septimius Severus
was born in Africa by the way but that did not have the result you want.
But there were times when the Romans were very deep in the direction of 'Morocco'.

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I don't know, but it seems to me that the Mauretans were very warlike and under some circumstances they might have become the recruiting ground for the Roman army like the Germanic tribes.
Probably to counterweight the Germanic elements in the army which in times got too important for it's own good.
So this land being smaller than Germany would have Romanized quite faster and might have become the core territory of the Empire.
 
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any expansion of roman north Africa would be dependent upon the gain to the Roman empire. One POD for instance could be Agricola smashes Caledonia makes another province plus client tribes then raids Hibernia ala Caesar Septimous Severus would then look for another conquest perhaps driving further into sub Saharan africa
 
At this period of the Roman Empire being descendent of any king ruined all your chances to become an Emperor.

Septimius Severus
was born in Africa by the way but that did not have the result you want.
But there were times when the Romans were very deep in the direction of 'Morocco'.

edit:
I don't know, but it seems to me that the Mauretans were very warlike and under some circumstances they might have become the recruiting ground for the Roman army like the Germanic tribes.
Probably to counterweight the Germanic elements in the army which in times got too important for it's own good.
So this land being smaller than Germany would have Romanized quite faster and might have become the core territory of the Empire.

Severus was one individual--maybe another North African might think otherwise. Severus was also from Tripolitania. Get a Mauretanian (any of the three Mauretania provinces) on the throne and have him be rather biased in favour of his home (but still obvious capable). Obviously through an event early on like the Year of the Four Emperors or something.

Did they serve as an important element OTL? They're all Berbers, after all. I believe the Berbers of the mountains in nowadays Algeria made up important auxiliaries, but how much more of a component did they serve? I guess with a huge influx coming from Africa, they'll make an even greater percentage of Roman force

any expansion of roman north Africa would be dependent upon the gain to the Roman empire. One POD for instance could be Agricola smashes Caledonia makes another province plus client tribes then raids Hibernia ala Caesar Septimous Severus would then look for another conquest perhaps driving further into sub Saharan africa

Severans seem too late for any major operation like this. It would need to be Late Republic (earlier annexation of Mauretanian client?) or 2nd century Empire at latest.

Hibernia and Caledonia aren't really worth more than Mauretania and are likewise populated by tribal groups that would be masters at guerilla warfare and could lead to a Varus-level disaster. If this is post-Teutoburg, than any Roman ordering such an operation will have to weigh that risk based on gain. And the gain is obvious. And any commander in charge will have to keep it in mind.

For extra fun, have Varus be in charge of invading Mauretania (at one point he was governor of Africa) and deal with some Maurish chieftain who is like Arminius--but Varus isn't fooled this time into an ambush
 
First you need Ptolemy of Mauretania to survive long enough to have a son or grandson, and given his rather illustrious ancestry, the rulers in Rome are going to view him as dangerous, just as they did his (maternal) uncles. His best bet is to sink into obscurity and Mauretania not to attract any Roman interest in the period.
 
Did they serve as an important element OTL? They're all Berbers, after all. I believe the Berbers of the mountains in nowadays Algeria made up important auxiliaries, but how much more of a component did they serve? I guess with a huge influx coming from Africa, they'll makean even greater percentage of Roman force
Yes, the Berbers served in the Roman army in OTL.
Some as allies.
And some of them made remarkable careers up to a consular rank under Trojan.

But it always struck me how underestimated by the Romans the Berber warriors were.

I mean at the Cannaes Hannibal owed a lot to his Berber cavalry.
At Zamma the Berbers greatly contributed to the Roman victory.
Actually they were the best cavalry of the Mediterranean of their time, from my point of view.

Let's say the POD - Julius Caesar started his career in Mauretania, had some huge successes there and since then the tradition started to have Maurish imperial cavalry bodyguards and much more numerous Maurish contingents in the army, infantry as well.
So this territory might have become the backbone of the empire as the recruiting ground as well as an economically developed region.
 
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