Hiarbas (died 82/81 BC) was the king of eastern Numidia from in or shortly after 88 BC until his death. His name is sometimes given as Iarbas, Hiartas or Hiarbal. Hiarbas may be the historical inspiration for the legendary figure of

Iarbas Iarbas (or Hiarbas) was a Roman mythological character, who has appeared in works by various authors including Ovid and Virgil. The character is possibly based on a historical king of Numidia. In Roman mythology, Iarbas was the son of Jupiter H ...

, rejected suitor of

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

, described by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

as a Gaetulian. His origins are obscure. He may have been a Gaetulian. He was probably not related to the ruling family of Numidia, which had largely been wiped out following the

Jugurthine War The Jugurthine War ( la, Bellum Iugurthinum; 112–106 BC) was an armed conflict between the Roman Republic and king Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopte ...

in 106. On the death of Gauda in 88, Numidia was divided into a smaller western and a larger eastern kingdom. Hiempsal II inherited the eastern kingdom, but was immediately confronted by a revolt led by Hiarbas. He was deposed and Hiarbas, who would have been regarded as a usurper by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, seized the throne. After their defeat in the

Roman civil war This is a list of civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts and rebellions in ancient Rome (Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BCE – 476 CE). For the Eastern Roman Empire or B ...

of 83–82, the supporters of Marius fled or were exiled to the Roman province of Africa. Under Domitius Ahenobarbus they succeeded in taking control of the province and allied with Hiarbas.

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

was sent to Africa to restore Roman control. In a campaign that lasted a mere forty days, he defeated and killed Domitius and forced Hiarbas to flee. The latter was soon captured near

Bulla Regia Bulla Regia was a Berber, Punic, and Roman town near present-day Jendouba, Tunisia. Its surviving ruins and archaeological site are noted for their Hadrianic-era semi-subterranean housing, a protection from the fierce heat and effects of the sun ...

and executed. Hiempsal was restored to the throne and the Gaetulians were formally placed under his authority. According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, Pompey took Numidia from Hiarbas and gave it to Massinissa II. This seems to indicates that the petty kingdom of western Numidia (which belonged to Massinissa) was also formally recognized by the Romans at this time, having perhaps been under Hiarbas' authority. These events took place either in 82 or 81 BC.

Coinage

Several coin types have been tentatively attributed to Hiarbas.For images of the coins, see Camps 2000. They lack legends and their attribution is based largely on the lack of other known coins attributable Hiarbas. These coins, if they belong to the reign of Hiarbas, contain the earliest examples of personification from Numidia. The obverse of three show a long-haired bearded man facing right with a long-haired beardless man wearing an elephant scalp facing right on the reverse. This latter image has been taken to be a personification of Africa. The other coin depicts a bridled horse on the reverse.

Coinage

References

Further reading