Juba I of Numidia or
Juba I (c.
85 BCYear 85 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar.-Rome:*First Mithridatic War—Lucius Cornelius Sulla again defeats Archelaus in the decisive Battle of Orchomenus.-Births:...
-46 BC, reigned
60 BCYear 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar.-Rome:* Gaius Julius Caesar suppressed an uprising and conquered all of Lusitania for Rome...
-
46 BCYear 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian calendar. This year had 445 days due to the errors that had accumulated in the pre-Julian calendar...
), was a King of
NumidiaNumidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia that later alternated between being a Roman province and being a Roman client state, and is no longer in existence today...
. He was the son and successor to King of Numidia
Hiempsal IIHiempsal II was a king of Numidia, the son of Gauda, the half-brother of Jugurtha.In 88 BC, after the triumph of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, when Gaius Marius and his son fled from Rome to Africa, Hiempsal received them with apparent friendliness, his real intention being to detain them as prisoners...
. Juba was the father of King of Numidia and later
MauretaniaIn Antiquity, Mauretania was originally an independent Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa , corresponding to western Algeria, northern Morocco and Spanish Plazas de soberanía. The Mauri people were indicated with the Greek word mauros, black...
Juba IIJuba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania...
(50/52 BC-23), father-in-law of Juba II’s wives
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
PtolemaicPtolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy.This adjective is usually used in one of three ways:*To describe the Egyptian dynasty founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter...
princess Cleopatra Selene II (40 BC-6), Cappodocian princess
GlaphyraGlaphyra was a Princess of Cappadocia and daughter of King Archelaus of Cappadocia. Her mother is unknown, was born at an unknown date and raised in the 1st century BC...
and paternal grandfather to King
Ptolemy of MauretaniaPtolemy of Mauretania, also known as Ptolemy of Morocco was a prince and the last Roman client king of Mauretania.Ptolemy was the only son to queen Cleopatra Selene II and king Juba II of Mauretania. Drusilla of Mauretania was his younger sister...
(1 BC-40 AD) and Mauretanian princess Drusilla of Mauretania (born 5 AD).
In 81 BC Hiempsal had been driven from his throne, soon afterwards,
PompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey /'pɑmpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
was sent to
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
by Sulla to reinstate Hiempsal as king in Numidia, because of this Hiempsal and later Juba I became Pompey’s ally. This alliance was strengthened during a visit by Juba to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
where
Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar , , was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
insulted him by pulling on his beard during accusations Juba made against Caesar, and still further in 50 BC, when the tribune
Gaius Scribonius CurioGaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic.-Father:Gaius Scribonius Curio was a Roman statesman and orator. He was nicknamed Burbulieus for the way he moved his body while speaking...
openly proposed that Numidia should be sold privately. In August 49 BC, Caesar sent Curio to take Africa from the Republicans. Overconfident and holding the governor of Africa,
Publius Attius VarusPublius Attius Varus was the Roman governor of Africa during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompeius Magnus . He declared war against Caesar, and initially fought and defeated Gaius Scribonius Curio, who was sent against him in 49 BC.-Political career:Varus held the office of praetor no...
(Varus) in low esteem Curio took fewer legions than he had been given. In the
Battle of the Bagradas RiverThe Battle of the Bagradas River refers to three ancient battles fought along the Bagradas River near the town of Utica, Tunisia:*Battle of Tunis - also called Battle of the Bagradas River, during the First Punic War....
(49 BC), Curio led his army in a bold, uphill attack which swiftly routed Varus' army and in the process wounded Varus. Encouraged by this success, Curio acted on what proved to be faulty intelligence, and attacked what he believed to be a detachment of Juba's army. In fact, the bulk of the king's forces were there and, after an initial success, Curio's forces were ambushed and virtually annihilated by Saburra (Juba's military commander). Curio was surrounded with the remnants of his troops on a hilltop and died in the fighting. Only a few were able to escape on their ships, and King Juba took several senators captive back to Numidia for display and execution.
With the arrival of Caesar in Africa, Juba originally planned to join
Publius Cornelius Scipio SalvitoPublius Cornelius Scipio ‘Salvito’ was a consul who lived in the late Roman Republic. He was a member of the Cornelius gens and a relative of Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated Hannibal....
, but his kingdom was invaded by west by Caesar's ally
Bocchus IIBocchus II was king of Mauretania. Son of Sosus of Mauretania , who was dead in 49 B.C., in the early years of Bocchus reign, Mauretania was jointly ruled between Bocchus and his younger brother Bogud, with Bocchus ruling east of the Mulucha River and his brother west. As enemies of the senatorial...
and an Italian adventurer, Publius Sittius. He therefore left only 30 elephants behind and marched home to save his country.
Scipio knew he couldn't fight without more troops, sent a desperate message to Juba for assistance. Juba immediately left the command of his kingdom's defence with Sabura, and joined Scipio with 3 legions (around 15,000 men light infantry), 1,000 cavalry and 30 elephants for the
Battle of ThapsusThe Battle of Thapsus took place on April 6, 46 BC near Thapsus . The Army of the Optimates political faction, led by Quintus Caecillius Metellus Scipio clashed with the forces of the Populares faction led by Julius Caesar, who won the battle...
but camped away from Scipio's main lines. Seeing the certain defeat of Scipio's army, Juba did not take part in the battle and fled with his 30,000 men. Having fled with the Roman general
PetreiusMarcus Petreius was a Roman Politician and General.The chronology of the early stages of Petreius’ career is unclear. He was in any case the first in his family line to enter into the Senate. Sallust describes him as a military man, who in 62 BC already had a thirty-year-long career in the army as...
and finding their retreat cut off, they made a suicide pact and engaged in one on one combat. The idea was that one would meet an honourable death. Sources vary on the outcome, but most likely, Petreius killed Juba and then committed suicide with the assistance of a slave.
Legacy
The endangered Chilean Wine Palm,
Jubaea chilensis, is named for Juba I of Numidia.
Sources
- Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars - Caesar.
- Appian
Appianus , of Alexandria was a Roman historian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, Appian....
, B.C. i. 80.
- Velleius Paterculus ii. 54.
- Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar , , was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, Commentarii de Bello CiviliCommentarii de Bello Civili is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Pompey and the Senate...
2.40