Numidia

Kingdom of Numidia
Kingdom of Numidia
202 BC–25 BC
	Numidian coins under Massinissa
	Map of Numidia after the Punic Wars
Capital	Cirta (today Constantine, Algeria)
Official languages	Punic
Common languages	Numidian; Latin; Greek
Religion	Numitheism, Punic Religion
Government	Monarchy
King
• 202–148 BC	Masinissa
• 148 – 118 BC	Gulussa
• 148–140 BC	Mastanabal
• 118–117 BC	Hiempsal I
• 118–112 BC	Adherbal
• 118–105 BC	Jugurtha
• 105–88 BC	Gauda
• 88–81 BC	Masteabar
• 84–82 BC	Hiarbas II
• 88–60 BC	Hiempsal II
• 60–46 BC	Juba I
• 81–46 BC	Massinissa II
• 44–40 BC	Arabion
Historical era	Antiquity
• Established	202 BC
• Annexed by the Roman Empire	25 BC
Currency	Numidian Coinage, carthagenian coinage
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Ancient Carthage
	Massylii
	Masaesyli
Numidia (Roman province)
Mauretania
Today part of	Algeria; Libya; Tunisia;

Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria,^[10] but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between the Massylii state in the east (Capital: Cirta) and the Masaesyli state in the west (Capital: Siga).^[11] During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), Masinissa, king of the Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into the first unified Berber state for Numidians in present-day Algeria.^[12] The kingdom began as a sovereign state and an ally of Rome and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state.

Numidia, at its foundation, was bordered by the Moulouya River to the west,^[13] Africa Proconsularis and Cyrenaica to the east.^[14]^[15] the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Sahara to the south so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage except towards the sea.^[16] before Masinissa expanded past the Moulouya and vassalizing Bokkar, and reaching the Atlantic ocean to the west.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Name

The Greek historians referred to these peoples as "Νομάδες" (i.e. Nomads), which by Latin interpretation became "Numidae" (but cf. also the correct use of Nomades).^[20] Historian Gabriel Camps, however, disputes this claim, favoring instead a local African origin for the term.^[21]

Despite their presence, the Numidians are scarcely mentioned in Greek and Roman historical accounts until the First Punic War (264–241 BC), when the Greek historian Polybius first noted their cavalry. He also indicated the peoples and territory west of Carthage including the entire north of Algeria as far as the river Mulucha (Muluya), about 160 kilometres (100 mi) west of Oran.^[22]

History

Background

The Numidians were a nomadic tribal people who inhabited North Africa, specifically the regions that now form northern Algeria and western Tunisia, during the final three centuries of the first millennium BC. Their lands bordered the Carthaginian hinterlands in eastern Tunisia to the east, the territory of the Mauri tribes to the west, and the Saharan edge occupied by the Gaetulians to the south.

By the time of the Second Punic War in 218 BC, the previously scattered Numidian tribes had consolidated into two great and rival tribal groups: the Massylii in eastern Numidia, and the Masaesyli in the west. During the first part of the Second Punic War, the eastern Massylii, under their king Gala, were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under king Syphax, were allied with Rome. The Kingdom of Masaesyli under Syphax extended from the Moulouya river to Oued Rhumel.^[23] The Romans worked hard to cultivate Syphax's friendship, and helped to train his troops in the techniques of infantry warfare.

Syphax initially defeated Gala, but Gala’s son Masinissa, raised in Carthage, rallied forces and defeated Syphax twice by 212 BC, forcing him to flee. Masinissa then joined the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barca in Spain, where he played a key role in Carthaginian victories against Rome. After Gala’s death, Carthage stripped Masinissa’s family of their lands, prompting him to ally with Rome. Returning to Africa, he initially partnered with Syphax against Carthage. However, Hasdrubal married his daughter Sophonisba to Syphax, securing his loyalty to Carthage. Syphax defeated Masinissa twice in 205 BC, forcing him to retreat into the mountains, where he waged a guerrilla campaign, eluding capture and eventually joining forces with Scipio’s Roman army. In 204 BC, the Roman general Scipio Africanus landed in Africa with Roman forces, joined by Masinissa, whose tactical brilliance became evident when he helped destroy a combined Carthaginian-Numidian camp and later defeated Syphax and Hasdrubal at the Battle of Cirta in 203 BC. Masinissa captured Syphax and married Sophonisba, but Scipio, wary of her Carthaginian loyalty, demanded her surrender. To avoid enslavement, Sophonisba took poison, dying in 203 BC.

Establishment

Masinissa regained his father's kingdom, and also took control of much of Syphax's territory. The Second Punic War ended with a Roman victory at the battle of Zama in 202 BC, and Masinissa of the Massylii consolidated his position as the first king of a united Numidia with enthusiastic Roman patronage.^[22] The Romans were determined to keep a powerful ally in Africa to prevent the Carthaginians from threatening their hard-won hegemony in the western Mediterranean.

At the time of his death in 148 BC, Masinissa's territory extended from the Moulouya to the boundary of the Carthaginian territory, and also southeast as far as Cyrenaica to the gulf of Sirte, so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage (Appian, Punica, 106) except towards the sea.^[16] Furthermore, after the capture of Syphax the king of the Masaesyli (West Algeria) with his capital based in Siga^[11] and after losing Siga had relocated to a temporary capital in Tinga, Bokkar, had become a vassal of Massinissa.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Massinissa had also penetrated as far south beyond the Atlas to the Gaetuli and Fezzan was part of his domain.^[14]^[15]

After the death of the long-lived Masinissa around 148 BC, he was succeeded by his son Micipsa. When Micipsa died in 118 BC, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons Hiempsal I and Adherbal and Masinissa's illegitimate grandson, Jugurtha, who was very popular among the Numidians. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to open war with Adherbal.^[24]

War with Rome

By 112 BC, Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal. He incurred the wrath of Rome in the process by killing some Roman businessmen who were aiding Adherbal. After a brief war with Rome, Jugurtha surrendered and received a highly favourable peace treaty, which raised suspicions of bribery once more. The local Roman commander was summoned to Rome to face corruption charges brought by his political rival Gaius Memmius.^[25]^[26] Jugurtha was also forced to come to Rome to testify against the Roman commander, where Jugurtha was completely discredited once his violent and ruthless past became widely known, and after he had been suspected of murdering a Numidian rival.

War broke out between Numidia and the Roman Republic and several legions were dispatched to North Africa under the command of the Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus. The war dragged out into a long and seemingly endless campaign as the Romans tried to defeat Jugurtha decisively. Frustrated at the apparent lack of action, Metellus' lieutenant Gaius Marius returned to Rome to seek election as Consul. Marius was elected, and then returned to Numidia to take control of the war. He sent his Quaestor Sulla to neighbouring Mauretania in order to eliminate their support for Jugurtha. With the help of Bocchus I of Mauretania, Sulla captured Jugurtha and brought the war to a conclusive end. Jugurtha was brought to Rome in chains and was placed in the Tullianum.^[27]

Jugurtha was executed by the Romans in 104 BC, after being paraded through the streets in Gaius Marius' Triumph.^[28]

Divided kingdom

After the death of Jugurtha, the far-west of Numidia was added to the lands of Bocchus I, King of Mauretania.^[22] A rump kingdom continued to be governed by native princes.^[22] It appears that, on the death of King Gauda in 88 BC, the kingdom was divided into a larger, eastern land and a smaller, western kingdom (roughly the Petite Kabylie). The kings of the east minted coins, while no known coins of the western kings survive. The western kings may have been vassals of the eastern.^[29]^[30]

The civil war between Caesar and Pompey brought an end to independent Numidia in 46 BC.^[22] The western kingdom between the Sava (Oued Soummam) and Ampsaga (Oued-el-Kebir) rivers passed to Bocchus II, while the eastern kingdom became a Roman province. The remainder of the western kingdom plus the city of Cirta, which may have belonged to either kingdom, became briefly an autonomous principality under Publius Sittius. Between 44 and 40 BC, the old western kingdom was once again under a Numidian king, Arabio, who killed Sittius and took his place. He involved himself in Rome's civil wars and was himself killed.^[30]

Roman provinces

Eastern Numidia was annexed in 46 BC to create a new Roman province, Africa Nova. Western Numidia was also annexed as part of the province Africa Nova after the death of its last king, Arabio, in 40 BC, and subsequently the province (except of Western Numidia) was united with province Africa Vetus by Emperor Augustus in 25 BC, to create the new province Africa Proconsularis. During the brief period (30–25 BC) Juba II (son of Juba I) ruled as a client king of Numidia on the territory of former province Africa Nova.

In AD 40, the western portion of Africa Proconsularis, including its legionary garrison, was placed under an imperial legatus, and in effect became a separate province of Numidia, though the legatus of Numidia remained nominally subordinate to the proconsul of Africa until AD 203.^[31] In 193 AD, under Septimius Severus, Numidia was separated from Africa Proconsularis, and governed by an imperial procurator.^[22]

In the reorganization of the empire by Diocletian, Numidia was divided in two provinces: the north became Numidia Cirtensis, with capital at Cirta, while the south, which included the Aurès Mountains and was threatened by raids, became Numidia Militiana, "Military Numidia", with the capital at the legionary base of Lambaesis.

Subsequently, Emperor Constantine the Great reunited the two provinces into a single one, administered from Cirta, which was now renamed Constantina (modern Constantine) in his honour. Its governor was raised to the rank of consularis in 320 AD, and the province remained one of the six provinces of the Diocese of Africa until the invasion of the Vandals in 428 AD. It began its slow decay,^[22] accompanied by desertification. It was restored to Roman rule after the Vandalic War, when it became part of the new Praetorian prefecture of Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Agriculture

The Numidian kingdom was very famous for its agricultural yield; besides lettuce, beans, and other grains already consumed by Berbers since the dawn of time, Numidia was very productive when it came to its famously high-quality wheat, very similar to the wheat farmed along the banks of the Egyptian Nile. According to Roman historian Pliny the elder:

Among the wheat imports of Rome, is light wheat imported from Gallia which does not surpass the weight of a bushel (Boisseau) 20 livres. The weight of the wheat of Sardinia surpasses that of Gallia by half a livre, the wheat of Biossia surpasses that of Gallia by an entire livre, whereas the wheat of Africa surpasses the weight of wheat of Gallia by a whole livre and three fourths.^[32]

In 179 BC, King Masinissa of Numidia received a golden crown from the inhabitants of Delos, as he had offered them a shipload of grain. A statue of Masinissa was erected in Delos in his honor, with an inscription by a native from Rhodes. His sons, too, had statues erected on the island of Delos; the King of Bithynia, Nicomedes, had also dedicated a statue to Masinissa.^[33] By 143 AD, the export of olive oil from Numidia rivaled its grain export throughout the Roman Empire.

In 200 BC, the Roman Army stationed in Macedonia received 17,508 hectoliters of Numidian wheat; in 198 BC, the Roman Army in Greece was sent, once again, the same amount of wheat. In 191 BC, Rome received 26,262 hectoliters of wheat and 21,885 hectoliters of barley; Greece, the same year, received 43,770 hectoliters of wheat and 26,262 hectoliters of barley. Then, in 171 BC, the Roman army in Macedonia received 87,540 hectoliters of wheat.

In total Rome received:^[35]

in 200 BC: 14,000 tonnes of wheat and 10,500 tonnes of barley.
in 198 BC: 14,000 tonnes of wheat.
in 191 BC: 56,000 tonnes of wheat and 28,900 tonnes of barley.
in 170 BC: 70,000 tonnes of wheat.

These numbers only represent a fraction from the reserves of the kingdom of Massinissa. His contributions to the Romans in 170 BC appear to be only a fraction of the kingdom's total production, as he was upset by Rome's decision to pay for the provided wheat that year. Massinissa hadn't laid his hands yet on the fertile lands of the Emporia (North West Ancient Libya) nor the great plains full of fertile soil yet; generally, barley was his kingdom's main produce, as they grew barley in light, mountainous and hilly soil which is suitable for its cultivation.

Architecture

The term “Royal Numidian Architecture” was coined for the monuments that were constructed by the Numidian kings.^[36] These monuments consist of tombs, tumuli and sanctuaries. Some examples of these structures are the mausoleum of Thugga, the tomb of Beni Rhenane, a tomb at Henchur Burgu in Djerba as well as two tumulus tombs known as the Madghacen and the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania.^[36] There are also altars that were built at Simitthus and Kbor Klib. All of these monuments were built within the area ruled by Massinissa and his descendants.^[36]

Navy and trade

Numidia took over most of the famous Carthaginian ports which were one of the most important in the mediterranean, the famous Roman orator and historian Cicero tells us that the Numidian king had a war navy to protect his trade, in one story, the fleet of Massinissa sailed to Malta and confiscated large ivory elephant pillars from the temple of Juno and returned to Numidia and gave it as a prize to Massinissa. When the king knew about the origin of the gift, he prepared a nimble fleet of five ships and sent it back to where it came from. This funny story tells us that not only Massinissa had enough ships to perform tasks at will but also these fleets were functioning outside of African shorelines towards the central mediterranean.

Unlike the Carthaginians who closed trade in face of the Greeks to large parts of North africa, Massinissa opened trade with the Greek, Egyptian, Syrian as well as Italic merchants, Massinissa used to provide to the population of Rhodes Toja wood and Ivory,^[37] in Cirta multiple Rhodian amphorae from the 2nd century B.C were found in burial sites and one of them carries the inscription (Sodamos).^[38]

Major cities

Numidia became highly romanized and was studded with numerous towns.^[22] The chief towns of Roman Numidia were: in the north, Cirta or modern Constantine, the capital, with its port Russicada (Modern Skikda); and Hippo Regius (near Bône), well known as the see of St. Augustine. To the south in the interior military roads led to Theveste (Tebessa) and Lambaesis (Lambessa) with extensive Roman remains, connected by military roads with Cirta and Hippo, respectively.^[22]^[39]

Lambaesis was the seat of the Legio III Augusta, and the most important strategic centre.^[22] It commanded the passes of the Aurès Mountains (Mons Aurasius), a mountain block that separated Numidia from the Gaetuli Berber tribes of the desert, and which was gradually occupied in its whole extent by the Romans under the Empire. Including these towns, there were altogether twenty that are known to have received at one time or another the title and status of Roman colonies; and in the 5th century, the Notitia Dignitatum enumerates no fewer than 123 sees whose bishops assembled at Carthage in 479.^[22]

Episcopal sees

See Numidia (Roman province)#Episcopal sees.

Explanatory notes

^ Punic and Neo-Punic was especially dominant during the early era of the Numidian kingdom. Several official Punic inscriptions survive, and Numidian coins were minted in Punic at first, likely because it was the most influential language when it came to trade in the area. Some historians even consider it the official language of Numidia during its early/mid eras.^[1]
^ Used especially in funerary and votive steles, with a few surviving "official" royal inscriptions.^[5]^[6]^[7]
^ During the later eras of Numidia, Latin started replacing Punic as the dominant secondary language inside Numidia. Coins were minted in Latin, and inscriptions in Latin began appearing,^[8] however, many of those Latin inscriptions may have been from the Roman era itself
^ Greek first appeared in the region through trade routes opened up by Massinissa, and gained traction and influence by the end of the kingdom when the Numidian dynasty intermarried and mixed with the Ptolemaic dynasty.^[9]

References

^ Quinn, Josephine Crawley; Vella, Nicholas C. (2014-12-04). The Punic Mediterranean. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05527-8.
^ Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert B. (2007-01-01). Language Planning and Policy in Africa. Multilingual Matters. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-84769-011-1. Numidic kings and elites spoke and used Punic as the official language while peasants spoke Berber. The Carthaginian idiom was in use until the third century CE
^ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3. Punic was employed as the official language of the Numidian kingdom, as is shown by monumental inscriptions and coin legends. Numidia even became something of a centre of Punic literary culture. In 146 BC the Romans presented to Micipsa the captured library of Carthage, and in the following century, as has been seen, a Numidian king (Hiempsal II) wrote a history of his country in Punic.
^ Hoyos, B. Dexter (2015). Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War. Oxford University Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-19-986010-4. The Punic language and religion survived the cataclysm too. Many if not most Libyan communities used Punic for official purposes, as did the Numidian kingdom.
^ Boutammina, Nas E. (2022-01-06). Le numide, langue populaire de la Berbérie (in French). Books on Demand. ISBN 978-2-322-41710-0.
^ Chaker, S. (2008-01-01). "Libyque : écriture et langue". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (28–29): 4395–4409. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.344. ISSN 1015-7344. S2CID 161729616.
^ Camps, G.; Claudot-Hawad, H.; Chaker, S.; Abrous, D. (1996-08-01). "Écriture". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (17): 2564–2585. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2125. ISSN 1015-7344.
^ Hirst, Anthony; Silk, Michael (2017-05-15). Alexandria, Real and Imagined. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-95959-9.
^ Roller, Duane W. (2004-02-24). The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-40296-0.
^ "Numidia". Livius. 23 Sep 2020. Retrieved 2 Aug 2024.
^ ^a ^b Abed, Bakhta Moukraenta (2015). Les villes de l'Algérie antique Tome I: Au travers des sources arabes du Moyen Âge (Province de la Maurétanie Césarienne) (in French). Presses Académiques Francophones. p. 226. ISBN 978-3-8381-7852-3.
^ Thomas M. Leonard (2013). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-135-20508-9.
^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b Histoire des Romains depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la fin du règne des Antonins: Depuis les Gracques jusqu'à la fin du règne de Claude. Victor Duruy. Hachette et cie
^ ^a ^b Storia della Libia dai tempi piu' [i.e. più] remoti ad oggi: compendio. Muḥammad Masʻūd Fushaykah. Stabilimento poligrafico editoriale Maggi.
^ ^a ^b Historical Dictionary of Morocco Aomar Boum, Thomas K. Park Rowman & Littlefield
^ ^a ^b Villes et tribus du Maroc: documents et renseignements, Volume 7 Morocco. Direction des affaires indigènes: “Les rois indigènes . Bokkar . Au début du troisième siècle avant JésusChrist , le Maroc obéissait à Bokkar , qui résidait à Tanger , capitale du royaume , et qui était un lieutenant du roi de Numidie Syphax. En 202 avant Jésus - Christ , après la capture de Syphax , il devint le vassal de Massinissa” H. Champion
^ ^a ^b Histoire du Maroc Coissac de Chavrebière Payot: “ La guerre tourna à l'avantage de Massinissa , allié des Romains . Syphax fut fait prisonnier ( 202 ) et Bokkar devint le vassal du vainqueur . « Massinissa , dit St. Gsell , rêvà d'être pour la civilisation punique ce que le Macédonien...”
^ ^a ^b Le Maroc Prosper Ricard Hachette: “En 202 avant J.-C. , elle était la résidence , disent les Anciens , de Bokkar , roi du Maroc , lieutenant de Syphax le numide , vassal de Massinissa . En 105 avant J.-C. , Bokkus [ er , allié de Sylla , livre aux Romains son gendre”
^ Numida and Nomas
^ Camps, Gabriel (1979). "Les Numides et la civilisation punique". Antiquités africaines (in French). 14 (1): 43–53. doi:10.3406/antaf.1979.1016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Numidia" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 868–869.
^ UNESCO (1996-12-31). History of Humanity: From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Seventh Century A.D. UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-102812-0.
^ Sallust (c. 40 BCE), Jugurthine War XI–XIII.
^ T. Mommsen, The History of Rome, (The Colonial Press, Massachusetts, 1958), ch. III, p. 94
^ J. A. Froude, Caesar- A Sketch, (A. L. Burt Company, New York, 1903), ch. IV, pp. 35
^ Telford, Lynda (2014). Sulla: A Dictator Reconsidered. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473834507.
^ Connolly, Peter; Gillingham, John; Lazenby, George (2016). The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare. Routledge. p. 171. ISBN 9781135936747.
^ Duane W. Roller (2003), The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier, New York: Routledge, p. 25.
^ ^a ^b Gabriel Camps (1989) [published online 2012], "Arabion", Encyclopédie berbère, 6: Antilopes–Arzuges, Aix-en-Provence: Edisud, pp. 831–34, doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2569, retrieved 13 February 2017.
^ Fage, J.D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3.
^ Erdkamp, Paul (3 November 2005). The Grain Market in the Roman Empire: A Social, Political and Economic Study. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-44768-3.
^ Edward Lipiński (2004). Itineraria Phoenicia. Peeters Publishers. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-90-429-1344-8.
^ Historical Dictionary of Morocco Aomar Boum, Thomas K. Park Rowman & Littlefield
^ Livius, Titus (1882). Oeuvres de Tite-Live: Histoire romaine avec la traduction en français. Livres XXVII à XLV (in French). Firmin-Didot.
^ ^a ^b ^c Quinn, J. (2013). Monumental power: ‘Numidian Royal Architecture’ in context. In J. Prag & J. Quinn (Eds.), The Hellenistic West: Rethinking the Ancient Mediterranean (pp. 179-215). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139505987.008
^ Gsell, Stéphane (1929). Histoire d'Algérie: S[tephane] Gsell-G. Marçais-G. Yver. Ouvrage illustré de grav. hors texte (in French). Boivin.
^ Antiquités africaines (in French). Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique. 2005. ISBN 978-2-271-06342-7.
^ Detailed map of Roman Numidia

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