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Syphax
Syphax (, ''Sýphax''; , ) was a king of the Masaesyli tribe of western Numidia (present-day Algeria) during the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. His story is told in Livy's ''Ab Urbe Condita'' (written c. 27–25 BC).Livy: ''Ab urbe condita'', vol. VIII, bks. xxviii-xxx
Loeb Classical Edn, pp.73-99, 173-225, 405-421 at openlibrary.org
He ruled over a territory extending from present day Constantine to .Abada, Malek.

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Masinissa
Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ultimately uniting them into a kingdom that became a major regional power in North Africa. Much of what is known about Masinissa comes from the Livy's ''History of Rome,'' and to a lesser extent Cicero's Scipio's Dream. As the son of a Numidian chieftain allied to Carthage, he fought against the Romans in the Second Punic War, but later switched sides upon concluding that Rome would prevail. With the support of his erstwhile enemy, he united the eastern and western Numidian tribes and founded the Kingdom of Numidia. As a Roman ally, Masinissa took part in the decisive Battle of Zama in 202 BC that effectively ended the war in Carthage's defeat; he also allowed his wife Sophonisba, a famed Carthaginian noblewoman who had influenced Numidian ...
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Sophonisba
Sophonisba (in Punic, 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 Ṣap̄anbaʿal) (fl. 203 BC) was a Carthaginian noblewoman who lived during the Second Punic War, and the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco. She held influence over the Numidian political landscape, convincing king Syphax to change sides during the war, and later, in an act that became legendary, she poisoned herself rather than be humiliated in a Roman triumph. Name The form of the name Sophonisba is not known until the fifteenth century, in a few late manuscripts of Livy, but it is the better known form because of later literature. She is also called Sophonisbe and Sophoniba. However, her true name might be unclear. Her story is told in Livy (30.12.11–15.11), Diodorus (27.7), Appian (Pun. 27–28), and Cassius Dio (Zonaras 9.11), but Polybius, who had met Masinissa, never refers to Sophonisba by name in his allusions to her (14.4ff.). Nevertheless, it has been proposed that Polybius' account provides the basis for the Sophonisba stor ...
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Battle Of The Great Plains
The Battle of the Great Plains ( la, Campi Magni) was a battle between a Roman army commanded by Scipio Africanus and a combined Carthaginian-Numidian army late in the Second Punic War. It was fought on the plains south of Bulla Regia around the upper Bagradas River (the classical name of the Medjerda). The African campaign of Scipio was designed as a diversionary tactic by Rome to disrupt Hannibal's attack on Italy. By defeating the Carthaginians, Scipio Africanus caused Hannibal to leave Italy and return to Africa, where he was later defeated at Zama. Prelude Hasdrubal and Syphax had both succeeded in escaping from their camps, which the Roman general Scipio Africanus and his Numidian allies, under Masinissa, had destroyed in the Battle of Utica. Hasdrubal and Syphax fell back, with a few followers who had also escaped the massacre at the Carthaginian camps. The arrival of 4,000 Celtiberian mercenaries from Hispania made the Carthaginians determined to make one more effort ...
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Numidia
Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia, Libya, and some parts of Morocco. The polity was originally divided between the Massylii in the east and the Masaesyli in the west. During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), Masinissa, king of the Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into one kingdom. The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state. Numidia, at its largest extent, was bordered by Mauretania to the west, at the Moulouya River, Africa Proconsularis to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Sahara to the south. It was one of the first major states in the history of Algeria and the Berbers. History Independence The Greek historians referred to these peoples as ...
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Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military commanders and strategists of all time, his greatest military achievement was the defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. This victory in Africa earned him the epithet ''Africanus'', literally meaning “the African,” but meant to be understood as a conqueror of Africa. Scipio's conquest of Carthaginian Iberia culminated in the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC against Hannibal's brother Mago Barca. Although considered a hero by the Roman people, primarily for his victories against Carthage, Scipio had many opponents, especially Cato the Elder, who hated him deeply. In 187 BC, he was tried in a show trial alongside his brother for bribes they supposedly received from the Seleucid king Antiochos III during the Roman–Seleucid War ...
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Gaius Laelius
Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and statesman, and a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign (210–206 BC; the Roman Hispania, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) and his African campaign (204–202 BC). His command of the Roman fleet in the attack on New Carthage and command of the Roman cavalry at Zama contributed to Scipio's victories. Background According to some Roman historians, including Polybius (Book 10), Laelius was a friend of Scipio from childhood; however, his family background is obscure. This obscurity unfortunately extends to how he became acquainted with Scipio in the first place. Livy suggested that he was not from a rich family, since he wanted command of the campaign against Antiochus the Great in 190 BC to repair (or more likely make) his family fortunes. Polybius suggests that Laelius was a companion of Scipio from their earliest days in the army together, since Laelius was apparently a witness to Scipio's rescue of his ...
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Battle Of Cirta
The Battle of Cirta was a battle during the Second Punic War between the forces of the Massyli King Massinissa and the Masaesyli King, Syphax. On the orders of Roman general Scipio Africanus, his most able commander, Gaius Laelius and his ally king Masinissa, followed Syphax's retreat to the town of Cirta, wherein Syphax garnered fresh forces to meet the two generals in the open. He proceeded to organise them on the Roman model, hoping to copy the continuous success of Scipio on the battlefield; he had a force large enough to take on the Romans, but nearly all of his soldiers were raw recruits. The first encounter was between the two opposing cavalry units, and though the battle was initially hard-fought, when the Roman infantry line reinforced the intervals of their cavalry, Syphax's green troops broke and fled. Syphax, seeing his force crumbling, sought to inspire his men into regrouping by riding forward and exposing himself to danger. In this gallant attempt, he was unhorse ...
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Hasdrubal Gisco
Hasdrubal Gisco (died 202BC), a latinization of the name ʿAzrubaʿal son of Gersakkun ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤁𐤍 𐤂𐤓𐤎𐤊𐤍 ),. was a Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in Iberia (Hispania) and North Africa during the Second Punic War. Biography Hasdrubal Gisco was sent to Iberia with an army following the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC. He arrived in Iberia in 214 BC. His arrival ended the absolute command of the Barcid family there. In 212 BC, the two Roman commanders in Iberia, Publius Cornelius Scipio and Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, decided to take the offensive. Publius Scipio marched to encounter the Carthaginian forces commanded by Hasdrubal and Mago Barca, who had been reinforced by Numidian cavalry commanded by Masinissa. In a battle near Castulo, the Roman forces were defeated and Publius Scipio killed. Immediately after this victory, Hasdrubal hastened to join his army with that of ...
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Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Italy and Iberia, but also on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and, towards the end of the war, in North Africa. After immense materiel and human losses on both sides the Carthaginians were defeated. Macedonia, Syracuse and several Numidian kingdoms were drawn into the fighting, and Iberian and Gallic forces fought on both sides. There were three main military theatres during the war: Italy, where Hannibal defeated the Roman legions repeatedly, with occasional subsidiary campaigns in Sicily, Sardinia and Greece; Iberia, where Hasdrubal, a younger brother of Hannibal, defended the Carthaginian colonial cities with mixed success before moving into Italy; and Africa, where Rome finally won the war. The First Punic War had ended in a Roman ...
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Masaesyli
The Masaesyli were a Berber tribe of western Numidia (present day Algeria) and the main antagonists of the Massylii in eastern Numidia. During the Second Punic War the Masaesyli initially supported the Roman Republic and were led by Syphax against the Massylii, who were led by Masinissa, as an ally of the Carthaginian Republic. After Masinissa and the Massylii switched sides to Rome, the Masaesyli turned against Rome and allied with Hasdrubal Gisco Hasdrubal Gisco (died 202BC), a latinization of the name ʿAzrubaʿal son of Gersakkun ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤁𐤍 𐤂𐤓𐤎𐤊𐤍 ),. was a Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in Iberia (Hispania) and North Africa du .... Syphax was defeated, however, and spent the remainder of his days in Roman captivity, while his tribe was assimilated into the kingdom of Masinissa. Notes * Numidia Ancient African people {{Berber-stub Berber peoples and tribes ...
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Vermina
Vermina (, ) was the son of king Syphax, king of Masaesylian Berbers, a Berber tribe of western Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ... which was an ancient Berber kingdom in North Africa. References {{Berber-stub 200s BC deaths 3rd-century BC Berber people Kings of Numidia People of the Second Punic War Year of birth missing ...
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Battle Of Ilipa
The Battle of Ilipa () was an engagement considered by many as Scipio Africanus’s most brilliant victory in his military career during the Second Punic War in 206 BC. It may have taken place on a plain east of Alcalá del Río, Seville, Spain, near the village of Esquivel, the site of the Carthaginian camp. Though it may not seem to be as original as Hannibal’s tactic at Cannae, Scipio's pre-battle maneuver and his ''reverse Cannae'' formation stands as the acme of his tactical ability, in which he forever broke the Carthaginian hold in Iberia, thus denying any further land invasion into Italy and cutting off a rich base for the Barca dynasty both in silver and manpower. Prelude After the Battle of Baecula and Hasdrubal Barca’s departure, further Carthaginian reinforcements were landed in Iberia in early 207 BC under Hanno, who soon joined Mago Barca. Together they were raising a powerful army by the heavy recruitment of Celtiberian mercenaries. Meanwhile, Hasd ...
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