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After helping the Romans to defeat Carthage, Massinissa took over the territory of his rivals, becoming the first Numidian king to unify all Numidia under his authority. His reign of over 50 years became the Golden Age of the Kingdom of Numidia.
Massinissa unites Numidia
Massinissa was born around 238 BCE. His father Gaia was the king of the Massyles, a Numidian kingdom. He was raised in Carthage, as his father was a Carthaginian ally.
When he was 17 years old, he became the commander of his father’s army. During the Second Punic War, he fought the Massaesyles, a rival Numidian kingdom and a Roman ally. Later, he joined his Carthaginian allies in Spain, where his powerful Numidian cavalry waged a formidable guerrilla campaign against the Roman troops. He also was engaged to Sophonisba, the daughter of a Carthaginian general.
After the Carthaginians were defeated in Spain, Massinissa, who had by now succeeded his father as king of the Massyles, understood that it was in his interest to break with Carthage and join the Roman side. After he defected, the Carthaginians made an alliance with his rival Syphax, the king of the Massaesyles. They also gave him Sophonisba, Massinissa’s fiancee, in marriage.
Massinissa and his army joined the Roman troops at their arrival in Africa. Together, they won a decisive victory against the Carthaginians and Massaesyles. Syphax was taken prisoner. Massinissa continued to fight his son Vermina, who succeeded him, until he conquered his kingdom. He thus became the first to achieve the ambition of his ancestors: unifying Numidia. In 202, he founded the Kingdom of Numidia, with Cirta (Constantine), the former Massaesyle capital, as his capital.
He spent the next few years conquering the Carthaginian territories in Libya, which he believed Carthage stole from his ancestors.
The Kingdom of Massinissa
Massinissa reigned over Numidia for over 50 years. He was a charismatic leader, of great stature, and a strong warrior, who still fought in battle at a very old age. All his life, he remained a trusted ally of the Romans.
Massinissa’s main achievement was developing agriculture: while the Numidian tribes before him were semi-nomadic, Massinissa implemented a system of large royal domains for large-scale wheat production. He also developed olive and vine cultivation. Because of this policy, the semi-nomadic population gradually became settled. In the Roman era, Numidia became the Empire’s breadbasket.
Massinissa also favored artistic and cultural diffusion in his kingdom. His influences were both Punic and Roman. After Carthage was destroyed, Massinissa received the Punic manuscripts that had been saved from the flames by the Roman legions. He also developed links with the Hellenic world, and a Greek community even settled in Cirta. One of his sons, Mastanabal, received a Greek education. Mastanabal’s participation at the Panathenaic Games, where he won the chariot race, is the best sign that Numidia was fully integrated into the circle of great civilisations of the old world.
By the end of his life, Massinissa aspired to conquer Carthage and make it his capital. The Roman decision to destroy Carthage was probably partly motivated by their fear that their ally would become too powerful for them.
Massinissa died in 148, at 90 years of age. After his death, his three sons shared his royal powers between themselves: Micipsa, the eldest, was in charge of the kingdom’s administration, Gulussa commanded the army, and Mastanabal administrated justice.
