Editing History of Nigeria (section)

== Roman expeditions to Nigeria (1st century AD) ==
[[File:Expeditions rome nigeria.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Roman exploration of Nigeria]]Between 50 AD and 90 AD, Roman explorers undertook three expeditions to the area of present-day Nigeria. The reports of these expeditions confirm, among other things, the geologically already established extent of Lake Chad at that time and thus its drastic shrinkage in the past 2,000 years.

The expeditions were supported by legionaries and served mainly commercial purposes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buckley |first=Emma |title=A Companion to the Neronian Age |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2013 |isbn=978-1444332728 |edition=1 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey, Vereinigte Staaten |language=en}}</ref>

One of the main goals of the explorations was the search for and extraction of gold, which was to be transported back to the Roman provinces on the Mediterranean coast by land with the help of camels.<ref name="Roth 2002">Roth, Jonathan 2002. ''The Roman Army in Tripolitana and Gold Trade with Sub-Saharan Africa''. APA Annual Convention. New Orleans.</ref>

The Romans had at their disposal the memoirs of the ancient Carthaginian explorer [[Hanno the Navigator]].<ref name="Roth 2002"/> However, it is not known to what extent they were read, believed or found interesting by the Romans.

The three Roman explorations/expeditions in Nigeria were:

* The Flaccus expedition
* The Matiernus expedition<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/agisymba-e108180 |title=Agisymba and Maternus |access-date=2023-08-24 |archive-date=2020-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006131342/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/agisymba-e108180 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Possibly a commander of [[Legio III Augusta]] named Festus undertook an expedition in the direction of the Niger River.

Roman coins have been found in Nigeria. However, it is likely that all these coins were introduced at a much later date and there was not direct Roman traffic this far down the west coast. The coins are the only ancient European items found in Central Africa.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Eric Anderson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISg9AAAAIAAJ&q=roman%20coins%20in%20mozambique&pg=PA69 |title=The Cambridge History of the British Empire |date=1963 |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=69 |language=en}}</ref>