List of kings of Numidia explained

Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom located in the region of North Africa that today comprises Algeria and parts of today Tunisia, Libya and Morocco. The kingdom existed from the 3rd to the 1st century BC. Rome established it as a client kingdom after the Second Punic War and annexed it, first in 46 BC and again in 25 BC after a brief period of restored independence under King Juba II (30 BC–25 BC).

List of kings

Kings of the Massylii (Eastern Numidia)

The last ruler of the Massylii conquered the Masaesyli and created the unified Numidian kingdom.

!Name!Reign!Notes!Image

Atlas	12th Century BC	King of Libya ^[1] ^[2] ^[3]
Iarbas	9th Century BC	King that welcomed Queen dido of Carthage and allowed establishment of the city of carthage
Madghis	4th Century BC	King of Numidia of which the mosoleum of Medghacen was named after ^[4] ^[5]
Zelalsen	3rd early Century BC	Unknown, possibly shuphet^[6]
Gala	late 3rd Century BC	father of Massinissa,died 207 BCE^[7]
Ozalces	207-206 BCE	Took over the throne of Gala after his death.
Capussa	206–206 BCE^[8]	Took over Numidia in a coup d'état against Ozalces
Lacumazes	206–206 BCE	Took over Numidia in a coup d'état against Capussa
Masinissa	206–148 BCE ^[9]	Unifier of Numidia, He Unified Massylia and Masaessylia, his kingdom starts east from the Emporia in Libya and ended west on the shores of the atlantic.

Kings of the Masaesyli (Western Numidia)

• Syphax (bef. 215–202)^[10]
• Vermina (202–???)^[11]
• Archobarzane (???–c. 157)^[12]

Kings of Numidia

The three sons of Massinissa originally shared the kingdom, dividing responsibility. Micipsa later tried the same thing with his three heirs, but the result was a civil war. The Roman Republic defeated Numidia during the Jugurthine War. Gauda thus succeeded to a reduced Numidian kingdom. He divided the kingdom geographically between his two sons, establishing two different lines of Numidian kings. They were briefly displaced by a certain Hiarbas, but Roman intervention restored them.

• Massinissa I (202–148)
• Micipsa (148–118), son of Massinissa
• Gulussa (148–145), son of Massinissa
• Mastanabal (148–14?), son of Massinissa
• Hiempsal I (118–117), son of Micipsa
• Adherbal (118–112), son of Micipsa
• Jugurtha (118–105), son of Mastanabal
• Gauda (105–88), son of Mastanabal
• Hiarbas (??–81)

Eastern Numidia

This was the main Numidian kingdom after 81.

• Hiempsal II (88–60), son of Gauda
• Juba I (60–46), son of Hiempsal II

Annexed to Rome as province Africa Nova (46–30).

• Juba II (30–25), son of Juba I

Annexed to Rome as province Africa Proconsularis (25 BCE - 193 CE).

Western Numidia

This was a much smaller chiefdom than Eastern Numidia

• Masteabar (88–81)
• Massinissa II (81–46)
• Sittius (46–44), a Roman mercenary leader
• Arabio (44–40)

Annexed to Rome as part of province Africa Nova (40–30).

• Juba II (30–25), son of Juba I

Annexed to the Kingdom of Mauretania (25 BCE - 40 CE).

Notes and References

1. Book: Rabasa, José . Inventing America: Spanish Historiography and the Formation of Eurocentrism . 1993 . University of Oklahoma Press . 978-0-8061-2539-8 . en.
2. Book: Graves, Robert . The Greek myths . 1992 . Penguin Books . 978-0-14-017199-0 . London New York . 12 . "Atlas was believed to be a king of Libya".
3. Web site: Atlas Titan, Mount Olympus & Constellations Britannica . 2024-09-08 . www.britannica.com . en . "The ancient mythological tradition often portrays Atlas as the ruler of a distant kingdom located in North Africa".
4. Khelifa . A. . 2010-12-29 . Madghis ou Madghès . Encyclopédie berbère . fr . 30 . 4482–4483 . 10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.404 . 1015-7344.
5. Book: Gautier, Émile Félix . Le passé de l'Afrique du Nord: les siècles obscurs . 1952 . Payot . fr.
6. Book: Koch, John T. . John T. Koch . Tartessian: Celtic in the South-west at the Dawn of History . Celtic Studies Publications . 2013 . 9781891271199 . 218.
7. Encyclopedia: The Masaesyli and Massylii of Numidia . . 25 June 2019 . Mark . Joshua J. . 27 February 2018.
8. Walsh . P. G. . 1965 . Massinissa . . 55 . 1/2 . 149–160 . 10.2307/297437 . 297437.
9. Book: Oyeniyi, Bukola A. . The History of Libya . 22 March 2019 . . 9781440856075 . 25 . Traders, Merchants, and Invaders . https://books.google.com/books?id=nvaKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25.
10. Book: Warden, Michael . Remember To Rule. Book Four. Personalities of the Republic . . 217 . 9780244777333 . 2019.
11. Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=5Oe1u1H_OSMC&pg=PA143 . Rome and Chartage . The Cambridge Ancient History. Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 B.C. . 8 . . 1970 . 143 . 9780521234481 . 2nd . A. E. . Astin . F. W. . Walbank . M. W. . Frederiksen . R. M. . Ogilvie.
12. Book: Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société archélologique de la Province de Constantine . 7 . 1863 . fr . Bibliothèque nationale de France.