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Young Massinissa, the son of King Gaia, was the best warrior of all the Numidian princes. At age 17, he was already commanding his father’s cavalry. However, when his father died, his succession could not be taken for granted… especially as Carthage feared that such a powerful Numidian king would escape their control.
At the time of his father’s death, Massinissa was in Spain, helping his Carthaginian allies in their war against the Romans.
According to Massylian custom, the eldest prince was to inherit the throne. Oezalces (Ulzacen), Gaia’s brother and Massinissa’s uncle, was thus chosen as the new king. Massinissa did not contest his throne.
Oezalces died a few months later, and was succeeded by his eldest son Capussa. Massinissa again did not contest his cousin’s throne: Capussa was the legitimate heir, as the eldest of the new generation of princes.
However, another Numidian chief, Mazetule, opposed Capussa. By marrying Oezalces’ widow, who was Carthaginian, he obtained the support of part of the Carthaginian elite, who wanted to exclude Massinissa: although the Numidian prince had always faithfully served Carthaginian interests until then, his military successes made them fear that their ally would become too powerful for them.
Capussa was killed in a coup perpetrated by Mazetule. Massinissa was next in the succession order. As Mazetule could not be king himself because he wasn’t from the royal family, he established Lacumazes, Oezalces’ youngest son, as king, and made himself his regent.
At this time, Massinissa, expelled from Spain by the Romans, returned to Africa to claim his father’s throne. When Lacumazes and Mazetule heard the news of his return, they fled to Syphax, the king of the Massaesyles. They were captured en route. Massinissa treated Lacumazes with honor and restored him as a prince.
Less than a year after his father died, Massinissa succeeded him as king of the Massyles. However, Syphax, the all-time rival of the Massyles, took profit of the succession conflict to conquer part of his territory. At the same time, in Carthage, suspicion of him was growing. This would finally lead him to break his allegiance to the Carthaginians and ally with Rome instead.
