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Masaesyli

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Masaesyli
Masaesyli Kingdom
Μασαισύλιοι
Masaisylioi
4th century BC–175 BC
Map of Masaesyli (with Massylii in east), 220 BC during the reign of Syphax.
Map of Masaesyli (with Massylii in east), 220 BC during the reign of Syphax.
CapitalSiga
Cirta
Official languagesPunic[a][2][3][4]
Common languagesNumidian[b]
Latin[c]
Greek[d]
Religion
Numitheism
Punic religion
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• 344 –310 BC
Aylimas (?)
• ? –175 BC
Archobarzane
Historical eraAntiquity
• Established
4th century BC
• Annexed by Numidia
175 BC
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Image Ancient Carthage
Numidia (Roman province) Image
Mauretania Image
Today part of

The Massaesylii [mas.sae̯ˈsyː.liː]; (Neo-Punic: 𐤌𐤔𐤔𐤋𐤉𐤉𐤌, mššlyym; Ancient Greek: Μασαισύλιοι, romanized: Masaisylioi; also Masaesyli) were a Berber confederate kingdom of western Numidia (central and western Algeria)[10][11] and the main antagonists of the Massylii in eastern Numidia. The kingdom of Massaesylia extended all the way west to Mulucha river and under Syphax its authority extended to the Strait of Gibraltar.[12][13]

Image
Coin of Vermina, King of Masaesyli, c. 200 BC. Depicts a galloping horse and the Phoenician text WRMNDH MMLKT, "Vermina the king."

During the Second Punic War the Massaesylii initially supported the Roman Republic and were led by the king 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 Massaesylii turned against Rome and allied with Hasdrubal Gisco. Syphax was defeated, however, and spent the remainder of his days in Roman captivity, while his kingdom was assimilated into the kingdom of Masinissa.[14]

History

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Image
General view of Siga from Skouna Mountain

Greek geographer and historian Strabo (c. 63 BC – 23 AD),[15][16] informs us that the "territory of the Maurii" is followed by that of the Massæsyles, which begins at the river Molochath and ends at Cape Tritonis; the river in question could be the Moulouya, the cape probably refers to Cape Bougaroun. The Massæsyles occupied two-thirds of Algeria and eastern Morocco.

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King Syphax of Western Numidia receives Scipio Africanus - Allori Alessandro (1535–1607) - sala di Leone X, Villa Medicea Ambra, Poggio a Caiano.

The capital of eastern Numidia was Siga (situated in Oulhaça El Gheraba Commune)[17] whose first sovereign was Syphax. Siga was then the best place to be the capital of the Massæsylian kingdom, it was indeed there that the sovereign had an interest in the affairs of Iberia and the west of the country and it was also there that Syphax received in 206 BC, the Roman general and statesman Scipio and the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco.

Many Syphax coins have been found in Siga and it seems that at that time only the king could mint money. The two coin series with the effigy of Syphax and his son Vermina show the king wearing a diadem each time. Syphax would therefore have been at the head of the tribes of Orania and it was from this western province, the most flourishing, that he drew money and soldiers. He is the first Berber chief who has absolute powers of a sovereign king and the first who had money minted in the region. A powerful ruler, the wearing of the diadem made him god like.

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Sophonisba demanding aid of Massinissa, 16th century, by Giovanni Battista Zelotti.

Although married to Sophonisba, a Carthaginian princess, he was very independent in regard to his wife's country Ancient Carthage. The two great powers of the Eastern Mediterranean Rome And Carthage were disputing alliance with Massaesylia; Syphax meeting with Scipio and Hasdrubal Gisco made Massaesylia a third power, one that dominated in the western Mediterranean.

Recent excavations have shown the importance of Punic sites, in the island of Rachgoun, in Mersa Madakh, in Bethioua, in Guelta, in Gouraya Sidi Brahim, and also that of the coastal cities which were the outlets and economic centers of Massæsylia. An active Mediterranean trade had been established between Almeria and western Algeria. Pottery and metal products arrived from Spain, while Algeria exported ivory and ostrich eggshells.

No doubt majority of trading posts were autonomous; other trading posts entirely dependent on Carthage and the aguellid (Tamazight for King). It is certain that Portus Sigensis ("port of Siga", at the mouth of the Tafna) belonged entirely to Syphax. There have been vast interior cities controlled absolutely by the kingdom of Syphax; shards of pottery, near El-Asnam, and a coin in the Dahra would suggest so.

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Death of king Syphax transported from the field of battle, Giulio Romano (Italy, Rome, 1499–1546), the Museum of contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

We are somewhat informed about the administrative organization of the kingdom; the study of coins in the name of Syphax and his son Vermina, suggest that Syphax would have associated his son with his reign. We know from Strabo that Massæsylia was an extremely rich kingdom; that it furnished a great deal of money and many soldiers. The war waged by Syphax against Carthage, followed by war against Rome and another war against Massinissa which requires a very big and versatile state budget with large reserves to pay for all these wars toll was in fact during the beginning of the decadence of the kingdom, therefore one could only imagine the expanse of the state budget at the golden age of the kingdom.

After the death of Gaia (c. 206 BC), king of the Massylii, Syphax attempted to seize his territories with the help of Carthage. Massinissa, originally an ally of Carthage, approached Rome to regain his kingdom. He succeeded in defeating Syphax and unified Numidia (c. 203-202 BC).[18]

Notes & references

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References

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  1. ↑ Quinn, Josephine Crawley; Vella, Nicholas C. (2014-12-04). The Punic Mediterranean. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05527-8.
  2. ↑ Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert B. (2007-01-01). Language Planning and Policy in Africa. Multilingual Matters. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-84769-011-1. Numidic kings and elites spoke and used Punic as the official language while peasants spoke Berber. The Carthaginian idiom was in use until the third century CE
  3. ↑ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland Anthony (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-521-21592-3. Punic was employed as the official language of the Numidian kingdom, as is shown by monumental inscriptions and coin legends. Numidia even became something of a centre of Punic literary culture. In 146 BC the Romans presented to Micipsa the captured library of Carthage, and in the following century, as has been seen, a Numidian king (Hiempsal II) wrote a history of his country in Punic.
  4. ↑ Hoyos, B. Dexter (2015). Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War. Oxford University Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-19-986010-4. The Punic language and religion survived the cataclysm too. Many if not most Libyan communities used Punic for official purposes, as did the Numidian kingdom.
  5. ↑ Boutammina, Nas E. (2022-01-06). Le numide, langue populaire de la Berbérie (in French). Books on Demand. ISBN 978-2-322-41710-0.
  6. ↑ Chaker, S. (2008-01-01). "Libyque : écriture et langue". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (28–29): 4395–4409. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.344. ISSN 1015-7344. S2CID 161729616.
  7. ↑ Camps, G.; Claudot-Hawad, H.; Chaker, S.; Abrous, D. (1996-08-01). "Écriture". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (17): 2564–2585. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2125. ISSN 1015-7344.
  8. ↑ Hirst, Anthony; Silk, Michael (2017-05-15). Alexandria, Real and Imagined. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-95959-9.
  9. ↑ Roller, Duane W. (2004-02-24). The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal Scholarship on Rome's African Frontier. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-40296-0.
  10. ↑ Jeremy McInerney (2014). A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean. John Wiley & Sons. p. 535. ISBN 978-1-118-83438-1.
  11. ↑ Good, John (1819). Pantologia. A new (cabinet) cyclopædia.
  12. ↑ Modéran, Yves (2003). Les royaumes d'Afrique du Nord. Publications de l’École française de Rome. Syphax semble exercer rapidement son autorité jusqu'au détroit de Gibraltar
  13. ↑ Desanges, J. (2010-12-29). "Masaesyli / Masaesyles". Encyclopédie berbère (in French) (30): 4630–4631. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.478. ISSN 1015-7344.
  14. ↑ "The Masaesyli and Massylii of Numidia". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  15. ↑ Stéphane Gsell, Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord, 1929, t. 3, p. 176.
  16. ↑ Strabo, The Geography, trad. Amédée Tardieu, 1867, L. XVII, ch. III, § 9, 12 et 13.
  17. ↑ CAPOUEST, Rédaction (2020-07-12). "Syphax, le roi de Numidie occidentale, reprend ses droits | Capdz" (in French). Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  18. ↑ "Arbre généalogique des rois numides". dzairhistory.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Punic and Neo-Punic was especially dominant during the early era of the Numidian kingdom. Several official Punic inscriptions survive, and Numidian coins were minted in Punic at first, likely because it was the most influential language when it came to trade in the area. Some historians even consider it the official language of Numidia during its early/mid eras.[1]
  2. ↑ Used especially in funerary and votive steles, with a few surviving "official" royal inscriptions.[5][6][7]
  3. ↑ During the later eras of Numidia, Latin started replacing Punic as the dominant secondary language inside Numidia. Coins were minted in Latin, and inscriptions in Latin began appearing,[8] however, many of those Latin inscriptions may have been from the Roman era itself
  4. ↑ Greek first appeared in the region through trade routes opened up by Massinissa, and gained traction and influence by the end of the kingdom when the Numidian dynasty intermarried and mixed with the Ptolemaic dynasty.[9]
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