Numidia

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Map of Numidia

Numidia ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵏⵓⵎⵉⴷⵢⴰ Tageldit n Numdiya ) is a historical landscape in North Africa , which includes large parts of the present-day states of Algeria and Tunisia .

history

The Roman provinces under Trajan (117 AD)
Map of the Roman provinces of Numidia and Africa

Numidia was inhabited by Berber peoples known as the Numidians in ancient times . The Numidians were known to be excellent light cavalry , which were very fast and agile, mainly because the riders wore no armor other than a shield and the horses rode without saddles or bridles.

With the rise of Carthage , the Numidians were pushed away from the coastal areas. During the Second Punic War , Numidic mercenaries were important allies in Hannibal's army, until Numidia finally transferred to Rome. Major battles that the Numidian Horsemen fought in this war included the Battle of Cannae and the Battle of Zama .

Only at the end of the 3rd century BC A kingdom of the Massylians in Numidia, which ruled the area between the hinterland of Carthage and Cirta , was formed under Gaia, Massinissa's father . Around this time, a second Numidian kingdom arose in the west, extending to the kingdom of Mauritania . The border with the Roman province of Africa in the east was formed by a demarcation line established by Scipio the Younger , the Fossa regia .

After the death of Massinissa's son Micipsa , the empire was divided by the Romans under the sons Adherbal and Hiempsal and Jugurtha . This led to fierce power struggles and wars with the Roman Republic ( Yugurthin War ). During the 1st century BC Numidia was under Roman rule.

The last Numidian king Iuba I (60–46 BC) intervened on the side of Pompey in the Roman civil war , but was defeated by Caesar in 46 BC. Defeated in the battle of Thapsus and committed suicide. Numidia was incorporated as a province into the Roman Empire . The Numidians became auxiliary troops of Rome and are also depicted on Trajan's Column .

In 435, the Numidian coast came under the rule of the Vandals , while several small Roman-Berber states formed in the mountain regions (including the empire of the Masties in the Aurès ). After the reconquest by Byzantium in 534, the province of Numidia was rebuilt, and towards the end of the 7th century the area fell to the Muslim Arabs.

Ruler of Numidia

Surname Reign
Identical reigns indicate communal rule.
Massinissa 202-149 BC Chr.
Micipsa 148-118 BC Chr.
Gulussa 148 – before 118 BC Chr.
Mastanabal 148-145 BC Chr.
Adherbal 118-112 BC Chr.
Hiempsal I. 118-117 BC Chr.
Jugurtha 118-104 BC Chr.
Gauda 104-88 BC Chr.
Hiempsal II. 88-60 BC Chr.
Juba I. 60-46 BC Chr.
Roman Senate 46-30 BC Chr.
Juba II. 25 BC Chr. – 23 AD
Ptolemy 23–40 AD

literature

Overview representations

Overall presentations and investigations

  • Heinz Günter Horn (Ed.): The Numider. Horsemen and kings north of the Sahara. Catalog for the exhibition in Bonn 1979–1980. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne a. a. 1979, ISBN 3-7927-0498-6
  • Elfriede Storm: Massinissa. Numidia on the move. Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07829-0
  • Serge Lancel: Saint Augustin, la Numidie et la société de son temps. De Boccard, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-910023-66-4
  • André Berthier: La Numidie - Rome et le Maghreb. Picard, Paris 1981, ISBN 2-7084-0063-0
  • Yann Le Bohec : Les unités auxiliaires de l'armée romaine en Afrique Proconsulaire et Numidie sous le Haut Empire. CNRS, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-222-04239-9

Coordinates: 35 ° 30 '  N , 7 ° 18'  E