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In the ancient world, North African horses were famous for their speed, and the Numidian cavalry was made of powerful warriors, feared by all their enemies. Mastanabal, the son of King Massinissa of Numidia, won the chariot race at the Panathenaic Games, a sports competition organised in Athens.
Mastanabal was born around 190 BCE, in Cirta (Constantine). His father Massinissa was the king of Numidia. His name means “defender, protector”. He received a Greek education, a rare privilege for a Numidian prince. He studied law and Greek literature. After his father died, he succeeded him as king, together with his older brothers Micipsa and Gulussa. He was in charge of administrating justice in the kingdom. Later on, his son Jugurtha led an uprising against Rome.
Mastanabal had a passion for horse-riding, and owned a stable of pure-breeded horses. In his youth, maybe while he was studying in Greece, he even took part in the Panathenaic Games, one of the most prestigious sports competitions in the Greek world.
The Panathenaic Games were religious and social festivities which the city of Athens organised every four years. As at the Olympic Games, there were several sporting events. We don’t know which year exactly Mastanabal ran the chariot race, probably in 168 or 164. Anyway, he won the race on the Athenian hippodrome, becoming the first North African champion of a major sports competition.
Only nations considered as civilized by the Greeks could participate in the Panathenaic Games. Mastanabal’s participation thus shows that at this time, Numidia was fully recognized as one of the great civilisations of the ancient world.
This was not the first time that North African horses were awarded at a major sports competition: in 462, King Arcesilaus IV of Cyrene had already won the chariot race at the Pythian Games in Delphi, with a team of Libyan horses. However, Mastanabal’s victory was the first time those proud steeds had a driver who also hailed from their land.
