page_title: Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia
section_title: Masinissa and Syphax
hierarchical_section_title: Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia / Masinissa and Syphax
caption_attribution_description: Soumaa El'Khroub, Tomb of Massinissa (Algeria) photo token by M.GASMI 2004. Source= Own photograph by uploader. Author= M.GASMI. Removed watermark read: © Moslim GASMI Long thought to be the tomb of Massinissa, it is now considered to be the tomb of his son, Micipsa. See Christine Hamdoune, "Massinissa, roi african et allié de Rome" No. 345 (2009) L'Histoire 82-87 at p. 87.
context_page_description: For nearly 250 years, Berber kings of the 'House of Masinissa' ruled in Numidia, which included much of Tunisia, and later in adjacent regions, first as sovereigns allied with Rome and then eventually as Roman clients. This period commenced with the defeat of Carthage by the Roman Army, assisted by Berber cavalry led by Masinissa at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, and it lasted until the year 40 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Gaius, also known as Caligula.
  During the Second Punic War Rome entered into an alliance with Masinissa, the son of a Berber tribal leader. Masinissa had been driven out of his ancestral realm by a Carthage-backed Berber rival. Following the Roman victory at Zama, Masinissa was celebrated as a "friend of the Roman people". He became king of Numidia and ruled for over fifty years. For seven generations his line of kings continued its relationship with an increasingly powerful Roman state.
  During this era, the Berbers ruled over many cities as well as extensive land, and the peoples under their governance prospered. Municipal and civic affairs were organized using a combination of Punic and Berber political traditions.
context_section_description: The Berber king Masinissa (c. 240–148 BC) was both well known and well regarded in Rome for many decades. He was the first and the most important of the early Berber leaders to establish major relations with the Roman state. His family became, what may be considered, the royal family of Numidia and its vicinity for eight generations: the House of Masinissa. A bilingual inscription (in Punic and Libyan) from the city of Thugga, made a few years after his death, commences:
  "The citizens of Thugga have built this temple to king Masinissa, son of the king Gaia, son of the sufete Zilasan, in the year ten of Micipsa." Here the office translated to "king" was written GLD (cognate with modern Berber "agellid" [paramount tribal chief]). The throne came to Masinissa in a roundabout way (from father to uncle to cousin to him). The "sufete" (Hebrew: Shophet) was a Punic title often translated as "judge" as in the biblical Book of Judges, Hebrew being a sister Semitic language to Punic. King Micipsa was the son of Masinissa.
  Masinissa served as a young cavalry commander for Carthage in Hispania during the early years of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). There, he met discreetly with the Roman general Scipio and eventually sided with Rome. On the death of his father, King Gala [Gaia], Masinissa sailed home to Massyli, where he fought for the throne against usurpers. A neighboring Berber king Syphax invaded the kingdom, but Masinissa escaped to continue his struggle from the outlying farmlands and mountains. When Scipio's armies later landed in Africa, Masinissa and his cavalry joined them. At the Battle of Zama in 202, Masinissa led Numidian and Italian cavalry on the right wing of the Roman forces. During the battle, his cavalry engaged in fighting disappeared from Scipio's view, but at a crucial moment suddenly reappeared, attacking the Punic forces and gaining victory. Hannibal's defeat here ended the long conflict.
  The Roman writer Livy (59 BC – 17 AD) in his history of Rome, Ab urbe condita, devotes a half-dozen pages to Masinissa's character and career, both turbulent and admired, eventful and long in duration. Livy writes: "Since Masinissa was by far the greatest of all the kings of his time and rendered much the most valuable service to Rome, I feel that it is worthwhile to digress a little in order to tell [his] story...." Livy informs us of Masinissa's early military services to Carthage and of his and Carthage's victory over the Masaesyli led by Syphax. Next in Hispania, Masinissa led cavalry units for Carthage against Rome. Here he switched sides to ally with Rome, after meeting with Scipio Africanus, the celebrated Roman general. There followed the death of his father Gala, King of the Massyli, upon which he returned home to find an usurper taking over his father's kingdom. Masinissa then became a guerilla chief in the mountains of Africa, regaining his kingdom after a persistent struggle. Sooner after, Syphax staged an invasion, defeating Masinissa and seizing the Massyli kingdom with Masinissa escaping into the bush. Later, his forces came upon the army of Scipio, recently landed in Africa. The Romans defeated Carthaginian forces in battle and Syphax was captured. Masinissa sends envoys to Rome who meet with the Senate. Carthage was forced to recall Hannibal from Italy to defend the African capital. Nearby, Hannibal fought the Battle of Zama (202 BC) against Scipio's Roman army, with Masinissa at the head of cavalry on Scipio's right flank. Following victory over Hannibal, Masinissa was restored to his kingdom, Massyli along with surrounding Numidia, where he ends up ruling for fifty years.
  That the Roman author Livy admired Masinissa is clear from his many favorable comments about the Berber king (constantissima fides). A modern Latin scholar summarizes as follows, citing Livy's Ab urbe condita:
  "Masinissa is in fact a foreigner with almost all the Roman virtues. He is religious, for he tells Scipio that he was awaiting any chance to [leave Carthage for Rome] which 'the kindness of the immortal gods offered'. As a gen
caption: Alleged tomb of Masinissa, King of Numidia (r. circa 206, 203–148) in Constantine (Algeria).
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