Proconsular Roman province.
It was founded after Rome defeated Carthage in 146 BC and was subsequently extended to include Numidia and the northern part of modern Libya. Between 30 BC and AD 180, other parts of northern Africa, including Cyrenaica , Marmarica, and Mauretania, became part of the Roman Republic and Empire . In the 5th century the region was taken by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire; the Muslims conquered the area in 641.