MASSINISSA (c. 238-149 B.c.), king of Massylian or east ern Numidia, was educated at Carthage. His kingdom, though nominally independent of Carthage, was imbued to a very con siderable extent with Carthaginian civilization ; Massinissa, though a barbarian at heart, had a varnish of culture, and the craft and cunning in which Carthaginian statesmen were supposed to excel. While yet a young man (212) he forced his neighbour Syphax, prince of western Numidia, who had recently entered into an alliance with Rome, to fly to the Moors in the extreme west of Africa. Soon afterwards he appeared in Spain, fighting for Carthage with a large force of Numidian cavalry against the Romans under the two Scipios. The defeat of the Carthaginian army in 206 led him to cast in his lot with Rome. Scipio Afri canus is said to have cultivated his friendship. Massinissa now quitted Spain for a while for Africa, and was again engaged in a war with Syphax in which he was decidedly worsted, but after Scipio's arrival in Africa in 204 Massinissa crushed his old enemy Syphax, and captured his capital Cirta (Constantine).
Here occurs the romantic story of Sophonisba, daughter of the Carthaginian Hasdrubal, who had been promised in marriage to Massinissa, but had subsequently become the wife of Syphax. Massinissa, according to the story, married Sophonisba imme diately after his victory, but was required by Scipio to dismiss her as a Carthaginian, and consequently an enemy to Rome. To save her from such humiliation he sent her poison, with which she destroyed herself. Massinissa was now confirmed by Scipio in the possession of his kingdom. In the battle of Zama (202) (see PUNIC WARS), he commanded the cavalry on Scipio's right wing. For his services he received the kingdom of Syphax, and
thus under Roman protection he became master of the whole of Numidia, and his dominions completely enclosed the Cartha ginian territories. It would seem that he had thoughts of annex ing Carthage itself with the connivance of Rome. In a war which soon followed he was successful; the remonstrances of Carthage with Rome on the behaviour of her ally were answered by the appointment of Scipio as arbitrator; but, as though in tentionally on the part of Rome, no definite settlement was ar rived at. Rome, it is certain, deliberately favoured her ally's unjust claims with the view of keeping Carthage weak, and it was Massinissa's policy, as soon as Carthage seemed to be re covering herself, to excite the fears of Rome, till at last the Third Punic War (149) ended in the final overthrow of Carthage. The king died soon after its commencement.
Massinissa converted a plundering tribe into a settled and civil ized population. To his sons he bequeathed a well-stored treasury, a formidable army, and even a fleet. Cirta (q.v.), his capital, be came a famous centre of Phoenician civilization. In fact Mas sinissa changed for the better the whole aspect of a great part of northern Africa. His fidelity to Rome was merely that of temporary expediency.
See Livy xxiv. 49, xxviii. II, 35, 42, xxix. 27, xxx. 3, 12, 28, 37, xlii. 23, 29, xliii. 3; Polybius iii. 5 ix. 42, xiv. I, xxxii. 2, xxxvii. 3; Appian, Hisp. 37, Punica, II, 27, 105 ; Justin xxxiii. I ; A. H. J. Greenidge, Hist. of Rome (1904).