The Nasamones (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Νασαμῶνες)[1] were a nomadic Berber tribe inhabiting southeast Libya. They were believed to be a Numidian people, along with the Garamantes.[2] They had established their tribe with their important leaders as rulers and they had a sphere of influence from Siwa Oasis to the Gulf of Sitre.[3] [4]
There is also a story about a young Nasamonian who travelled through the Sahara and Libya and discovered the River (possibly Niger River) where they found a Great City, gaining access to gold and Trans-Saharan trade[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
They took their name from Nasamon (Νασάμων), the son of Amphithemis and the nymph Tritonis. [10] while also being ancestors of Zenaga people and Laguatan[11] from translation of an ancient Numidian language inscription. They also practiced Polygamy[12]
The Nasamones were centred in the oases of Awjila and Siwa in the Libyan Desert. They used war chariots with four horses, like the Garamantes. They were known to attack and be defeated and killed by the Greek colonies in Cyrenaica. During the Peloponnesian War, the citizens of Euesperides received aid from the Spartan general Gylippus, who helped defend the town and defended it by defeating and killing the Nasomones from the Nasamone attack on his way to Sicily. Later, Pliny the Elder recounts that the Nasamones defeated the Psylli tribe in war, expelling them from the area and they lived with them in the same area later. They would been known to attack and burn ships although on a small scale[13] .The Roman emperor Augustus worked to pacify the Cyrenaican tribes and sent proconsul Publius Sulpicius Quirinus to govern Creta et Cyrenaica in 15 BCE and the Romans ruled the Nasamones. The Nasamones were ruled over by the Romans and remained autonomous in the Roman Empire . According to Cassius Dio, they rose up a century later in 85 CE when the Romans tried to extort money from them. They began trying to raid the coastal settlements again until they were pushed back to the interior by Gnaeus Suellius Flaccus and his forces when they defeated and killed them.
Later during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, the Nasamones became vassals of the Eastern Roman Empire. Procopius writes that the Nasamones remained pagan even after the sixth century when the emperor Justinian built a church for the Byzantines in Awjila.[14]
It is known what became of the Nasamones after that period; they remained a pagan semi-nomadic tribe until today as a semi-nomadic tribe in Cyrenaica.
The Nasamones worshipped a handful of Deity:
1-Anzar,god the god of Rain,Sky and Spring. Who is sacrificed a Bride each year while saying “O God Anzar Give us Water”
2-Sinifere a god of war, who was also tribal god who helped in Peace as well as War
3- Triton (mythology) god of Lake Tritonis
5- Amon a mythical king and king of the gods, who is associated with divine protection
6- Dea coeltis a goddess of Creation and “mother of the Gods”[16]
7-Ausean a goddess or rain and sky often associated with Virginity and Cows[17]
8- Garama and Nasamon two heroes who are worshipped by Garamantes and Nasamones alike[18]