Tingis was founded in the early 5th centuryBC by Carthaginian colonists, who variously recorded the name of their settlement as , , and . The town is sometimes connected to the voyages of Hanno the Navigator.
Mauretanian city
After the Punic Wars, Carthage lost control of the colony to the Roman-allied kings of Mauretania. Its name during this time appears in Greek and Roman sources variously as Tenga, Tinga, Titga, &c. It maintained strong ties to its Carthaginian heritage, issuing bronze coins with Punic legends reading "City of Titga", "City of Tinga", or "people of Tinga". These bore Baal or Demeter's head obverse and wheatreverse.
The town came under Roman rule in the 1st century. Q.Sertorius, took and held Tingis for a number of years in the 70sBC as part of his war against Sulla's regime in Rome. Tingis grew in importance as a free city under Augustus and then as a colony under Claudius, who made it the capital of Mauritania Tingitana. As a Roman colony, it bore the formal name, the "Julian colony of Tingis". Under the early empire, it began to use Latin script, issuing its bronze coins with the legend ; these bore Augustus and Agrippa's heads obverse and Baal's head reverse. As a provincial capital, Tingis developed and prospered. In the 4th century, it surpassed Volubilis when that city was left south of the Roman lines and unprotected by Roman legions. Tingis at its peak reached 20,000 inhabitants, all thoroughly romanized and mostly Christian. Tingis was famed throughout the Roman Empire for its fishing conserve industry. Under Septimius Severus, two Roman roads were constructed from Tingis: one on the Atlantic coast to Sala Colonia and the second into the mountainous interior toward Volubilis. During Diocletian's reform of Roman governmental structures in 296, Mauretania Tingitana became part of the Diocese of Hispania. Tingis remained the capital of the larger territory, maintaining its status and development.
Later history
The Vandals conquered and occupied Tingis around 425 before sweeping across the Roman Maghreb. Between 534 and 682, Tingis was restored to Byzantine control. Tingis was fortified and a new church erected. However, its commercial strength had waned, a change attested by its decreased issuance of coins. Tingis fell under the control of the Umayyad Caliphate as part of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in 702, after which it was reduced to a small town more commonly discussed under the name Tangier. Moussa Ibn Noussair organized the conquest of Spain from Tingis and nearby Septem in 706.
Religion
The Christian history of Tingis started during the second half of the first century, under Claudius's rule. Originally, the city was part of the larger province of Mauretania Caesariensis, which included most of the Roman Maghreb. Later the area was subdivided, with the eastern part keeping the former name and the newer part receiving the name of Mauretania Tingitana. It is not known exactly at what period there may have been an episcopal see at Tangier in ancient times, but in the late Middle Ages Tangier was a titular see. For the historical reasons given above, one official list of the Roman Curia places the see in Mauretania Caesariensis. Towards the end of the third century, Tingis was the scene of the martyrdom of StMarcellus, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 30 October, and of St.Cassian, mentioned on 3 December. Indeed, according to tradition, the martyrdom of StMarcellus took place on 28 July 298. A small Christian community survived in Tangier as late as the 10th century. Due to its Christian past, Tangierunder the name Tingisis still a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
