Numidia

Numidia (nmĭd`ēə), ancient country of NW Africa, very roughly the modern Algeria. It was part of the Carthaginian empire until Masinissa, ruler of E Numidia, allied himself (c.206 B.C.) with Rome in the Punic Wars. After the Roman victory over Carthage led to peace in 201 B.C., Masinissa was awarded rule of all Numidia. This began Numidia's most flourishing period, culturally and politically. Numidia's encroachments on reviving Carthage furnished Rome with a pretext for the Third Punic War (149–146 B.C.). Masinissa's successor was Micipsa (148–118 B.C.), one of whose heirs, Jugurtha, brought on a fatal war with Rome. Later, in the Roman civil war, King Juba I sided with Pompey, and Numidia lost (46 B.C.) all independence with Julius Caesar's victory. Juba II was favored by the Romans as a subject prince, and the region subsequently flourished for several centuries. Numidia was invaded by the Vandals in the 5th cent. A.D. and by the Arabs in the 8th cent. The main urban centers of ancient Numidia were Cirta (now Constantine) and Hippo Regius (now Annaba).

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Numidia

Ancient country, North Africa, approximately coextensive with present-day Algeria. During the Second Punic War, the tribal chief Masinissa supported the Romans from 206 BC, and he was made king of Numidia after the Roman victory over the Carthaginians in 201 BC. After the destruction of Carthage, thousands fled to Numidia, which became a Roman province in 46 BC. Its capital was Cirta (Constantine), and the chief city was Hippo, which was the see of St. Augustine. After its conquest by the Vandals in AD 429, Roman civilization there declined rapidly; some pockets of native culture survived, however, and even continued after the Arab conquest in the 8th century.

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Numidia

an ancient country of N Africa, corresponding roughly to present-day Algeria: flourished until its invasion by Vandals in 429; chief towns were Cirta and Hippo Regius

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Numidia 

in antiquity, a region of northern Africa occupying what is now the eastern part of modern Algeria. At the end of the first millennium B.C., the nomadic Numidian Massyli and Masaeslyi tribes made a gradual transition to land cultivation and settled stock raising. This transition was accompanied by the rise of cities, such as Cirta (the main city), Thugga, Theveste, and Sicca Veneria, and the development of the cities into poleis.

Numidia was conquered by Carthage in the third century B.C. The Numidians repeatedly rose up against Carthaginian domination. During the Second Punic War (218–201 B.C.), Masinissa, king of the eastern portion of Numidia, aided the Romans; in return for his aid, the Romans helped him to become ruler of all Numidia in 201 B.C. Under Masinissa (ruled 201–149 B.C.), the Numidian kingdom was greatly strengthened: its size increased, cities grew, and commercial ties were increased with the entire Mediterranean region.

Between 111 and 105 B.C., the Numidian king Jugurtha waged a war with Rome. He suffered defeat, was taken prisoner, and was executed. In 46 B.C., Numidia became the Roman province of Africa Nova. It was conquered by the Vandals in 429–30 A.D. and by the Byzantines in 533. The region was seized by the Arabs in the seventh century.

REFERENCES

Lentsman, Ia. A. “Dar Masinissy.” Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1948, no. 4.
Mashkin, N. A. “Iz istorii afrikanskikh gorodov II—III vv.” Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1951, no. 2.
Diligenskii, G. G. Severnaia Afrika v IV-V vv. Moscow, 1961.
Gsell. St. Histoire ancienne de l’Afrique du Nord, vols. 1–8. Paris, 1913–28.