Cirta (from Berber: KRTN or Kirthan, Phoenician: Tzirta) was the capital city of the Berber Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa (modern Algeria). Its strategically important port city was Russicada. Although Numidia was a key ally of the ancient Roman Republic during the Punic Wars (264 BC–146 BC), Cirta was subject to Roman invasions during the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. Eventually went under Roman dominion during the rule of Julius Caesar.