Numidia

Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, 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). 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. 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, Africa Proconsularis and Cyrenaica to the east. the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Sahara to the south so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage except towards the sea. before Masinissa expanded past the Moulouya and vassalizing Bokkar, and reaching the Atlantic ocean to the west.
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). Historian Gabriel Camps, however, disputes this claim, favoring instead a local African origin for the term.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Massinissa, constantly encroaching on the territory left to the Carthaginians, had, by 158 BC, conquered Lepcis Magna and the Tripolitanian coast, bringing under his authority all the Berber tribes established between Cyrenaica and the Ampsaga River. Masinissa's territory extended from the Mulucha river 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. Furthermore, after the capture of Syphax the king of the Masaesyli (West Algeria) with his capital based in Siga and after losing Siga had relocated to a temporary capital in Tinga, Bokkar, had become a vassal of Massinissa. Massinissa had also penetrated as far south beyond the Atlas to the Gaetuli and Fezzan was part of his domain.
Settled in Cirta, where he surrounded himself with the refinements of Greek and Roman civilizations, Masinissa disciplined his Berbers and trained them in agricultural work. Carthage, complaining about Massinissa’s encroachments as he had taken control of most of the emporia or African ports, thereby ruining its trade, appealed to Rome, which sent commissioners to investigate the grievances on-site. Among these envoys was Marcus Cato, who, upon observing the rapid recovery of Carthage, whose fleet and army had been rebuilt, advocated for the destruction of the Punic metropolis. He concluded all his reports and speeches with the words: “Moreover, I think Carthage must be destroyed.”
Rome, seeking a pretext for further intervention, found one when Massinissa attacked the Punic city of Oroscopa. Hasdrubal, leading a force of 30,000 men to relieve the city, was decisively defeated by Gulussa, Massinissa’s son, in 150 BC. Learning that Carthage had waged war against a prince allied with Rome, the Romans dispatched an army of 80,000 men to Africa. In 146 BC Carthage was obliterated by the armies of Consul Scipio Aemilianus in what is known as the Third Punic War. The victors reduced Carthage’s territory to a Roman province, which they named the “Province of Africa.”
Masinissa ruled for 55 years until his death in 148 BC, shortly before Rome’s destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. Micipsa succeeded him, reigning for another 30 years. The three sons of Massinissa jointly ruled Numidia, under Roman oversight. At the request of Masinissa, Scipio Aemilianus arranged a division of Masinissa's kingdom and inheritance. Micipsa managed the palace and the treasury in Cira, Gulussa was given command of the Numidian army and Mastanabal was appointed chief Judicial authority in the kingdom. On the death of his two brothers in 145 BC, Micipsa, finding himself sole heir to the kingdom of Massinissa, reigned in Cirta, with the help of his two sons Adherbal and Hiempsal I, and his nephew Jugurtha, son of his brother Manastabal.
Under Masinissa and his son Micipsa, Numidia flourished. During this era of stability, Numidia advanced significantly. Settled agriculture expanded alongside traditional pastoralism, towns grew more urbanized, and trade flourished through access to former Carthaginian ports. The kingdom maintained Roman favor by supplying grain and military auxiliaries, including cavalry, infantry, and elephants. The Numidian kings tried to involve themselves in the Greek-dominated Hellenistic culture of the eastern Mediterranean. In their coin portraits, Masinissa and Micipsa often wore a diadem, a white ribbon tied around the head and recognized as a Hellenistic symbol of monarchy. They financed the construction of Greek-style buildings in their cities, and one of Masinissa's sons even competed in the Panathenaic Games.
When Micipsa died in 118 BC, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons Hiempsal I and Adherbal and Jugurtha, who was very popular among the Numidians. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha orchestrated the assassination of his cousin Hiempsal and expelled his other cousin, Adherbal, from Cirta. Adherbal fled to Rome to seek the Senate’s protection. However, Jugurtha had already bribed influential Romans, prompting the Senate to divide Numidia in 114 BCE: western Numidia was given to Jugurtha, while Adherbal retained the eastern portion. Jugurtha, having married the daughter of Bocchus, king of the western Mauri, amassed a large army and invaded Adherbal’s territory in 112 BC. Adherbal retreated to Cirta, where he endured a two-year siege. Starving, he surrendered, but Jugurtha executed him along with many Italians living in the city. Summoned before the Senate for this act, Jugurtha escaped punishment by bribing senators. Before leaving Rome, he assassinated Massiva, the son of Gulussa, who had lodged complaints against him. As he departed, Jugurtha famously declared, “O venal city, doomed to perish if it finds a buyer!”
Determined to end Jugurtha’s defiance, Rome sent the propraetor Aulus against him in 109 BCE. However, Aulus was ambushed near Suthul and forced to pass under the yoke with his soldiers. Consul Metellus then took command, leading an indecisive battle against Jugurtha’s forces near Theveste but later being compelled to retreat near Zama in 108 BCE. In 107 BCE, after regrouping, Metellus invaded Numidia, pushing Jugurtha’s Berber forces into retreat and capturing Cirta. Jugurtha fled to the Gaetulians and sought aid from Bocchus. Metellus was recalled and replaced by Consul Marius, who led an army of 50,000 men. Marius defeated the combined forces of Jugurtha and Bocchus near Sitifis after a three-day battle and returned to Cirta. Bocchus sought peace and, at the urging of Marius’s lieutenant Sulla, betrayed Jugurtha. Luring his son-in-law into his camp, Bocchus handed Jugurtha over to the Romans in 106 BCE. On January 1, 104 BCE, Marius celebrated a triumph in Rome, with the captured Jugurtha paraded in chains. That same evening, Jugurtha was thrown into the Tullianum prison, where he soon died from cold and starvation.
After the death of Jugurtha, western Numidia, which was now called Mauretania, was added to the lands of Bocchus I. Meanwhile, Gauda, another son of Manastabal who had remained loyal to Rome, was granted central Numidia. After Gauda’s death shortly thereafter, his sons Hiempsal II and Hiarbas divided their father’s kingdom, ruling under Roman supervision. These Numidian and Mauretanian kings, as Roman protégés, frequently traveled to Rome, where their children were often educated and held as hostages to ensure their loyalty. Fluent in Latin and living according to Roman customs, they supported the arts, beautified their cities in Roman style, and developed their lands, which supplied Italy with a variety of agricultural products. Italians were also settled in fertile regions of Berber lands, often on lands confiscated from the indigenous population. This contributed to the increasing Romanization of North Africa.
The kings of Numidia and Mauretania often took advantage of Roman internal conflicts to settle their own disputes. During the civil war between Marius and Sulla, Marius, exiled by Sulla, sought refuge with Hiarbas, while Hiempsal II supported the dictator Sulla in 88 BC. Hiarbas, with the help of Marius’s supporters, defeated his brother Hiempsal and seized his kingdom. To counter Hiarbas and the Marian faction he had revived in Africa, Sulla sent Gnaeus Pompey with six legions. Bocchus supported Pompey’s forces with a large contingent of Mauretanian cavalry commanded by Gauda, the son of his son Bogud. Hiarbas, defeated by Pompey and besieged in Bulla Regia, was eventually forced to surrender to Gauda and was executed after enduring severe torture. Hiempsal II regained his kingdom and was granted Hiarbas’s former territory in 81 BC. Around the same time, Bocchus died, and Mauretania was divided between his two sons: Bocchus II, who ruled the eastern part of the kingdom with the old Punic city of Iol as his capital, and Bogud, who inherited the western part with Tingi as its center.
Juba, succeeding his father Hiempsal II in 50 BC, sought to take advantage of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey to free himself from Roman control. From the city of Hippo, which he made his capital, he rallied exiles who helped him organize his native troops effectively. After Caesar took Italy from the Senate’s faction, Attius Varus, a lieutenant of Pompey and leader of the senatorial army, proclaimed his general’s authority in Africa and allied with Juba. Together, they defeated the army of Gaius Scribonius Curio, Caesar’s lieutenant, at the Battle of the Bagradas in July 49 BC. Following Pompey’s orders, Varus blocked African ports to halt shipments of goods, leading to famine in Italy, where even slaves began to starve. However, an agreement was reached between the rival leaders, who, realizing the need to avoid depopulating Italy, eventually neutralized the food embargo.
After the Alexandrian War in Ptolemaic egypt ended favorably for Caesar. He installed Cleopatra as queen of Egypt, who bore him a son, Caesarion, and moved on to suppress a revolt in Armenia. He famously summarized this brief campaign, known as the Pontic War, with the words: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” The remnants of Pompey’s forces, having regrouped in Africa under Varus, were joined by Labienus (a former lieutenant of Caesar), Metellus Scipio (Pompey’s father-in-law), Afranius, Porcius Cato, and Gnaeus Pompey. With Juba’s support and his Berber troops, the republican army held off Caesar, forcing him to launch a new campaign against them.
From Rome, Caesar negotiated with Publius Sittius, a Campanian adventurer commanding a small army of Italians, Gauls, Spaniards, and Berbers in Africa. Promising Bocchus II and Bogud portions of Juba’s territory if they supported him, Caesar landed near Hadrumetum in November 47 BC. Initially outnumbered, with only 5,000 soldiers against his opponents’ 60,000, Caesar failed to take Hadrumetum but gained the allegiance of Ruspina and Leptis Parva. Meanwhile, his quaestor Sallustius Crispus captured the Cercina Islands, a key supply base for Pompey’s forces. Sittius captured Cirta, threatening Juba’s rear and forcing him to divert forces to deal with the insurgent Gaetulians. Reinforced with 30,000 men at Ruspina, Caesar besieged Thapsus. On February 6, 46 BC, he decisively defeated the allied forces attempting to relieve the city. Juba, attempting to reach Zama-Regia, found its gates closed and was killed by a slave as Caesar entered the city in triumph. Scipio, cornered by Sittius’s sailors in the Gulf of Hippo, stabbed himself and drowned.
Victorious, Caesar sent Juba I’s son to Rome, where he was educated in Roman culture and loyalty to its power. Caesar annexed eastern Numidia into the Roman province of Africa Nova, appointing his lieutenant Sallustius Crispus as governor. Sallust exploited the province, amassing wealth under the pretext of punishing it for supporting Pompey. Bocchus II was granted additional territory in Mauretania Sitifensis, while Bogud received western Numidia. Sittius, made legate, was awarded Cirta and its dependencies, taken from Masanasses, an ally of Juba. The surviving republican leaders fled to Spain, where Caesar, reinforced by Berber contingents under Bogud, defeated the Pompeian forces at Munda the following year. This marked the end of significant resistance to Caesar. 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.
The Numidian cavalry were renowned as the most effective light cavalry in the ancient Mediterranean, playing a crucial role in the armies of both Carthage and Rome. Despite their lack of armor, simple weaponry, and rudimentary tack, their unmatched horsemanship made them invaluable. Numidian riders, trained from childhood, mastered riding without saddles or bridles, using only a simple rein and wooden rod to guide their hardy, fast, and low-maintenance horses. Their close bond with their mounts enabled remarkable feats, such as switching to a spare horse mid-battle. Their distinctive tactics relied on speed and mobility. Using hit-and-run strategies, they would harass enemy formations with javelins while avoiding direct combat. This approach, developed from the raiding practices of North African nomads, minimized casualties while disrupting opponents. Notably, they excelled at reconnaissance, raiding, and supporting larger armies by keeping enemies off-balance. Numidian cavalry played pivotal roles in major conflicts, such as Hannibal’s campaigns during the Second Punic War and Scipio Africanus’ victory at Zama in 202 BC. After Rome’s alliance with the Numidian king Masinissa, these horsemen became essential auxiliaries, fighting in wars across the Mediterranean. Even after Numidia’s absorption into the Roman Empire, their tactics and equipment remained largely unchanged, with Numidian cavalry continuing to serve in policing and military campaigns well into the Roman imperial period.
The Numidian kings supplied African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) to the Romans, who used them in key battles such as Pydna (168 BC) and the siege of Numantia (134 BC). These elephants, smaller than bush elephants, were adopted from the Carthaginians, who used them effectively during the Punic Wars, including Hannibal’s famous Alpine crossing. Initially, Carthaginian elephants carried only a mahout, as their size and ferocity were sufficient for combat. However, by the 1st century BC, Numidian elephants were equipped with turrets, as seen during Juba I’s alliance with the Romans and Caesar’s capture of 64 elephants at Thapsus (46 BC). Despite their utility, elephants could be unpredictable, as demonstrated during the siege of Numantia, where one enraged elephant caused chaos, trampling both allies and enemies.
The Numidian kingdom was very famous for its agricultural yield; besides lettuce, beans, and other grains already consumed by Berbers since the dawn of their recorded history, 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:
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. 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:
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.
The term “Royal Numidian Architecture” was coined for the monuments that were constructed by the Numidian kings. 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. 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.
Massinissa had a profound influence on religion in his kingdom. During his reign, urban areas worshipped Baal Hammon and other Phoenician deities, while rural communities venerated local gods and spirits. Some Libyan groups also worshipped celestial bodies such as the Sun and Moon. Massinissa, despite his openness to foreign influences, did not abandon traditional African beliefs. When he welcomed Roman consul Publius Cornelius Scipio, he expressed his gratitude in a distinctly African manner, saying: “I give thanks to you, O Great Sun, and to you, other gods of the heavens.” This invocation highlights his reverence for the solar deity. Massinissa, influenced by Phoenician civilization, allowed the worship of Phoenician gods in urban centers. As an admirer of Greek culture, he likely introduced the Numidians to the Greek cult of Demeter and Persephone (Ceres), a fertility religion involving rituals aimed at promoting agricultural productivity. These rites often included crude and provocative elements, reflecting their connection to natural cycles and fertility.
The significance of trade in the Numidian kingdom is evident from the development of coinage. Many coins depict a bearded figure on one side and a free, galloping or rearing horse on the other. Some coins bear the inscriptions “MN,” an abbreviation for Massinissa (MSNSN), or “MKWSN” (Micipsa). While coin minting in Numidia predates Massinissa, it expanded significantly during his reign. This increase in coin circulation is attributed to Massinissa, particularly as the largest number of coins has been discovered around Constantine. These coins, made of lead or bronze, were used for domestic trade. Trade also involved rural populations paying taxes in grain. For foreign commerce, Massinissa received gold and silver coins from other nations in exchange for Numidian exports such as grain, ivory, ostrich feathers and eggs, exotic animals for circuses, and wood.
The Numidian kingdom maintained trade relations with the Iberian Peninsula, Carthage, and Rome, as well as the Greek world, including Rhodes, Athens, and Delos. Grain was the primary export. Historian Camps, referencing Livy, provides detailed records of Numidian grain exports to Rome: 14,000 quintals of wheat and 10,500 quintals of barley in 200 BCE, 14,000 quintals of wheat in 198 BCE, 56,000 quintals of wheat and 28,000 quintals of barley in 191 BCE, and 70,000 quintals of wheat in 170 BCE.
Massinissa used to provide to the population of Rhodes Toja wood and Ivory, in Cirta multiple Rhodian amphorae from the 2nd century B.C were found in burial sites and one of them carries the inscription (Sodamos). Massinissa encouraged Greek merchants to settle in his cities and welcomed figures like the historian Polybius. During his reign, North Africa established direct trade connections with both the East and the West, bypassing Carthage. This transformation was largely due to Massinissa’s efforts.
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.
Numidia became highly romanized and was studded with numerous towns. 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.
Lambaesis was the seat of the Legio III Augusta, and the most important strategic centre. 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.
See Numidia (Roman province)#Episcopal sees.