Search
Search Results

Image
Masinissa
Coin depicting Masinissa, the first king of Numidia, who reigned from 202 BCE-148 BCE.

Image
Masaesyli in Battle
An artist's impression of the Masaesyli tribe in battle. The Masaesyli were the original inhabitants of the western part of the North African Berber kingdom of Numidia (202-40 BCE). (From the PC game Total War: Rome II - Desert Kingdoms by...

Image
Bust of Ptolemy of Mauretania, Louvre
A marble bust of King Ptolemy of Mauretania (c. 10 BCE - c. 40 CE). Ptolemy was the son of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II, making him a descendant of both the Berber rulers of Numidia and the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. Through his mother...

Image
Castellum Tidditanorum (Tiddis), Algeria
Castellum Tidditanorum (modern Tiddis in Algeria) was a Roman city in Numidia, established as a military settlement in Augustus' time (r. 27 BCE-14 CE). Built on a steep hillside of red earth with commanding views over a deep canyon, the...

Image
Mithraeum of Castellum Tidditanorum (Tiddis), Algeria
The Mithraeum of Castellum Tidditanorum in Numidia (modern Tiddis in Algeria) was a rock-cut sanctuary on the hillside dedicated to the god Mithras (dated 2nd-3rd century CE). At the entrance to the sanctuary, one of the pillars has a winged...

Video
Dougga / Thugga (UNESCO/NHK)
Before the Roman annexation of Numidia, the town of Thugga in present-day Tunisia, built on an elevated site overlooking a fertile plain, was the capital of an important Libyco-Punic state. It flourished under Roman and Byzantine rule, but...

Definition
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between Carthage and Rome between 264 BCE and 146 BCE. The name Punic comes from the word Phoenician (Phoinix in the Greek, Poenus from Punicus in Latin) as applied to the citizens of Carthage...

Definition
Psyche
Psyche was the goddess of the soul in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Born a mortal woman, her beauty rivaled that of Aphrodite (Venus) and inspired the love of Aphrodite's son, Eros, god of desire. After completing a series of seemingly...

Definition
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome between 149 and 146 BCE. Carthage had already lost two wars against Rome, but their assault on their Numidian neighbours gave the Romans the perfect excuse to crush this troublesome...

Definition
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who are first mentioned in Roman history in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (77 CE). The Roman historian Tacitus also mentions them in his Germania (c. 98 CE), though he also refers to them as the...