ABSTRACT
Libya was its ancient name, first cited in Greek literature by Homer, and originally referring to the territory west of Egypt. As geographical knowledge expanded to the west, Libya came to define the territory as far as the Atlantic Ocean and north of the Sahara. Mauretania Tingitana, extended from the Kotes Promontory east to the Maloua River, and south to the Atlas Mountains. The Atlantic coast had been explored at least as far south as the Atlas, the highest mountains in North Africa. At the southern end of Mauretania was Mt. Atlas, not only the theoretical boundary of the Roman province but the northern edge of Ptolemy’s Inner Libya. To the east of Mauretania Tingitana and the Maloua River was the other Mauretanian province, Caesariensis, continuing east to the province of Africa at the Ampsaga River, or essentially the extent of modern Algeria.
