Kingdom of Numidia: Map & History
Jugurtha or Jugurthen was a king of Numidia, the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa.
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Jugurtha or Jugurthen was a king of Numidia, the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Micipsa's two sons, Hiempsal and Adherbal, along with Jugurtha, were in line for succession. Jugurtha arranged to have Hiempsal killed in 117 BC and, after a civil war, defeated and killed Adherbal in 112 BC.
Modern Countries Once Part of Kingdom of Numidia
At its mapped extent, Kingdom of Numidia covered territory in 3 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Kingdom of Numidia's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Kingdom of Numidia in Depth
Background
Numidia was a region of North Africa roughly within the boundaries of what is now eastern Algeria, parts of western Tunisia and Western Libya. Indigenous inhabitants of Numidia remained semi-nomadic, often identified as Berbers, until Masinissa, chief of the Massyli tribe based near Cirta, who supported Rome during the Second Punic War (206 BC) against the nearby Punics of Carthage, used the support of Rome to establish a kingdom. To do so, Masinissa defeated the rival chief Syphax with the help of famed Roman general Scipio Africanus in 203 BC. Numidian horsemanship and cavalry tactics, as asserted by Polybius, contributed greatly to the development of cavalry tactics in the Roman army which helped them to victory in the Second Punic War.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Jugurtha (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kingdom of Numidia Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Kingdom of Numidia appears, with the other states of the time.
Kingdom of Numidia Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 307,188 km² in 101 BCE.
Kingdom of Numidia: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Kingdom of Numidia exist?
The Kingdom of Numidia is dated to 197 BCE – 47 BCE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
How large was the Kingdom of Numidia at its peak?
At its peak in 101 BC the Kingdom of Numidia covered about 307,188 km².