Scholars are in disagreement about whether the polity aimed for independence as a kingdom or was part of a loose confederation, an alternative hypothesis drawn from contextual knowledge about Berber tribal alliances.

The founder of the polity, Masuna, allied with the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire during their reconquest of Northern Africa in the Vandalic War.

Altava and surrounding kingdoms continued to rule over the Maghreb until the conquest of the region by the Umayyad Caliphate in the seventh and eighth centuries.

[11] As barbarian incursions became more common even in previously secure provinces such as Italy, the Western Roman military became increasingly occupied to defend territories in the northern parts of the Empire.

Even the vital Rhine frontier against Germania had been stripped of troops in order to organize a defense against a Visigothic army invading Italy under Alaric.

The undermanned frontier allowed several tribes, such as the Vandals, Alans and Suebi, to cross the Rhine in 406 AD and invade Roman territory.

[12] In Mauretania, local Berber leaders and tribes had long been integrated into the imperial system as allies, foederati and frontier commanders and as Roman control weakened, they established their own kingdoms and polities in the region.

Although many Berber warlords had employed the term rex or "king" to describe themselves, the full inscription on which this title is found suggests grander ambitions, the scope of which has been debated by historians.

[16] This unique inscription is located on a fortification in Altava (modern Ouled Mimoun, in the region of Oran), dated 508 AD.

[4] In contrast, Jean-Paul Laporte believes that while there were "kings of the Moors and Romans" alive at this time, the inscription is insufficient to conclude that Masuna was actually among them.

[20] Andy Merrills rejects the idea that "any one individual or family enjoyed a monopoly over military power", and suggests that Masuna was part of a larger confederation and that he adopted the title to indicate the prestige accumulated by his construction of a castrum.

[13] As Masuna's polity, like others in the region, adopted the military, religious and sociocultural organization of the Roman Empire, it continued to be fully within the Western Latin world.

[25] When Belisarius and the Eastern Roman forces arrived in Northern Africa to invade and restore Roman rule over the region, local Berber rulers willingly submitted to Imperial rule, only demanding in return the symbols of their offices; a silver crown, a staff of silver gilt, a tunic and gilded boots.

The newly appointed Praetorian prefect of Africa, Solomon, waged several wars against these Berber tribes, leading an army of around 18,000 men into Byzacena.

Solomon did not engage Iabdas in battle, however, distrusting the loyalty of his allies, and instead constructed a series of fortified posts along the roads linking Byzacena with Numidia.

[32] Procopius states that Mastigas was a fully independent ruler who ruled almost the entire former province of Mauretania Caesariensis, except for the former provincial capital, Caesarea, which had been under control of the Vandals and was in Eastern Roman hands during his time.

[29] Pointing to the large group of dated Latin inscriptions at Altava and Tlemcen, Fisher and Drost suggest that "a political entity with some state-like features" originating with Masuna continued there until roughly 589–599.

Thus, the new Eastern Roman emperor, Tiberius II Constantine, re-appointed Thomas as praetorian prefect of Africa, and the able general Gennadius was posted as magister militum with the clear aim of reducing Garmul's kingdom.

Preparations were lengthy and careful, but the campaign itself, launched in 577–78 AD, was brief and effective, with Gennadius utilizing terror tactics against Garmul's subjects.

[35] The rulers of the area after Garmul are unattested in historical sources, but they have been variously connected to a group of mausolea called Jedars located south of Tiaret,[35] as well as to a line of tombstones in the Berber-Roman city of Volubilis dedicated to various leaders named Iulius and a woman named Iulia Rogatiana of Altava.

In any case, the question of the incorporation of parts of the Kingdom of Altava into the Eastern Roman dominion has not yet been researched, which is why only arguments for or against the thesis can be used at the moment.

Since the Eastern Roman Empire had been at war with Persia again since 572, a settlement seems likely in order to withdraw possible reinforcements back to the east, especially since the Persian Great King Khosrow I, who was fond of peace negotiations, died in 579.

- The information on the subsequent battles with the Berbers up to 584 show a temporal connection to the short, rapid campaign against the Altavian king Garmules and could refer to the elimination of pockets of resistance.

In 683 AD Uqba ibn Nafi was ambushed and killed in the Battle of Vescera near Biskra by Kusaila, who forced all Arabs to evacuate their just founded Kairouan and withdraw to Cyrenaica.