Sophonisba (in Punic, 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 Ṣap̄anbaʿal) (fl. 203 BC) was a Carthaginian noblewoman who lived during the

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 Ital ...

, and the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco. She held influence over the Numidian political landscape, convincing king

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).

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 Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, 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 story.

Biography

In 206, Sophonisba had been betrothed to the King Masinissa, a leader of the Massylii or eastern Numidians who served along with Gisco against Rome in Hispania, in order to conclude the diplomatic alliance between Carthage and the Massylii. However, the Carthaginian Senate prohibited the wedding and ordered Sophonisba to marry Syphax, chieftain of the western Masaesyli, who up to that point had been allied to Rome. Cassius Dio suggests that this was because Syphax was considered a better ally, while Appian says that Syphax was in love with Sophonisba and actively pressed for the marriage, harassing Carthage with revolts and threatening attacks alongside Roman forces until they conceded. In any case, Sophonisba married Syphax in 206, turning him into Carthage's greatest ally in African terrain. Meanwhile Masinissa, disgruntled by the circumstances, secretly allied himself with

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 com ...

and returned to his lands. Some believe those accounts might be embellished, as Livy implies Masinissa met her for the first time after the Battle of Cirta, but this is not entirely incompatible with the previous. Classical chroniclers praise Sophonisba for her virtues and skill. Diodorus Siculus called her "comely in appearance, a woman of many varied moods, and one gifted with the ability to bind men to her service," while Cassius Dio states she had a high education in music and literature and was "clever, ingratiating, and altogether so charming that the mere sight of her or even the sound of her voice sufficed to vanquish every one, even the most indifferent." Polybius also emphasizes her youth, calling her a "child" bride, something which Diodorus also mentions. Nevertheless, those traits have led modern historians to consider her a true political agent for Carthage instead of a mere pawn of the war. Loyal to her city, Sophonisba managed to make Syphax join forces with Hasdrubal and face Scipio and Masinissa in the battles of Utica and the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

, but the Punic forces ended up ultimately defeated. Syphax was then defeated and captured himself in 203 BC in the Battle of Cirta. When Sophonisba fell in Masinissa's hands, he freed her and married her, accepting that she had been forced to marry Syphax against her will. However, after hearing claims (confirmed by Gaius Laelius's inquiries) that Syphax had acted against Rome under the influence of Sophonisba, Scipio refused to agree to this arrangement, fearing she would turn Masinissa against him as well. He insisted on the immediate surrender of the princess so that she could be taken to Rome and appear in the triumphal parade. On the other hand, Plutarch considers Scipio asked for Sophonisba's delivery for safety reasons, fearing Masinissa could torment her in revenge for her marriage to Syphax. Although Masinissa loved Sophonisba, he agreed to leave her to avoid being declared an enemy to Rome, and went to Sophonisba. He told her that he could not free her from captivity or shield her from Roman wrath, and so he asked her to die like a true Carthaginian princess. With great composure, she drank a cup of

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

that he offered her and died, berating Masinissa for making their marriage short and bitter. Afterwards, Masinissa handed Scipio her corpse. His kingdom and Rome remained allied for long after Masinissa's death in 148 BC.

In literature, art and film

Petrarch elaborated her story in his epic poem '' Africa'', published posthumously in 1396. The playwright John Marston wrote '' The Wonder of Women'', a Roman tragedy based on the story of Sophonisba, in 1606 for the Children of the Queen's Revels. There are a number of paintings of Sophonisba drinking her poison, but the subject is often very similar to that of Artemisia II of Caria drinking her husband's ashes, and the

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

in the Prado (now known as '' Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes'' and a Donato Creti in the National Gallery are examples of works where the intended subject remains uncertain between the two). Sophonisba became the subject of tragedies (and later operas) from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and, along with the story of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

, furnished more dramas than any other. The first tragedy is credited to the Italian Galeotto Del Carretto (c. 1470–1530) which was written in 1502, but issued posthumously in 1546. The first to appear, however, was Gian Giorgio Trissino's play of 1515 which, "in codifying the forms of Italian classical tragedy, helped consign Del Carretto's Sofonisba to oblivion."Abstract
of the article “Galeotto Del Carretto’s ‘Sofonisba’” by Lovaniano Rossi, in ''Levia Gravia'' (2000). Universities of Turin and of Piemonte Orientale. In France, Trissino's version was adapted by Mellin de Saint-Gelais (performed in 1556), and may have served as the primary model for versions by Antoine de Montchrestien (1596) and Nicolas de Montreux (1601). The tragedy by

Jean Mairet Jean (de) Mairet (10 May 160431 January 1686) was a classical french dramatist who wrote both tragedies and comedies. Life He was born at Besançon, and went to Paris to study at the Collège des Grassins about 1625. In that year he produce ...

(1634) is one of the first monuments of French "classicism", and was followed by a version from

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

(1663). The story of Sophonisba also served as subject for dramatic works by John Marston (1606), David Murray (1610),

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an England, English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth; Dr Lee was ...

(1676), Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein (1680), James Thomson (1729), François Joseph Lagrange-Chancel, revised by Voltaire (1770), Vittorio Alfieri (1789), Emanuel Geibel (1869),

Jeronim de Rada Girolamo de Rada ( Arbërisht: ''Jeronim de Rada''; 29 November 181428 February 1903) was an Arbëreshë folklorist, journalist, lawyer, playwright, poet, rilindas and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of t ...

(1892), (1904), Vasco Graça Moura (1993), and others. Sophonisba was also the subject of vocal musical works by composers including

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

(1685), Antonio Caldara (1708), Leonardo Leo (1718),

Luca Antonio Predieri Luca Antonio Predieri (13 September 1688 – 3 January 1767) was an Italian composer and violinist. A member of a prominent family of musicians, Predieri was born in Bologna and was active there from 1704. In 1737 he moved to Vienna, eventually be ...

(1722),

Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including redu ...

(1746),

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(1747, 1764),

Maria Teresa Agnesi Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini (; ; October 17, 1720 – January 19, 1795) was an Italian composer. Though she was most famous for her compositions, she was also an accomplished harpsichordist and singer, and the majority of her surviving com ...

(1747-49), Tommaso Traetta (1762),

Antonio Boroni Antonio Boroni (Rome, 1738 - Rome, 21 December 1792) was an Italian composer.The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians - Volume 3 - Page 63 Stanley Sadie - 1980 In 1761 he had his first comic opera, La moda, performed at Turin (revived Ven ...

(1764),

Christoph Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

(1765), (1766), Christian Gottlob Neefe (1776),

António Leal Moreira António Leal Moreira (30 June 1758 – 26 November 1819) was a Portugal, Portuguese Classical period (music), Classical composer and organist. He composed a large number of operas, most of which were premiered in Lisbon; much of the rest of his ou ...

(1783),

Joseph Joaquín Mazuelo Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

(1784),

Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi (9 December 1728 – 19 November 1804) was an Italian opera composer of the classical period. Biography Guglielmi was born into the Guglielmi family of musicians in Massa. His father, Jacopo Guglielmi, was a compos ...

(1802), Marcos Portugal (1803),

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life and career ...

(1805), Vincenzo Federici (1805),

Luigi Petrali Luigi Petrali (1815 - 1855) was an Italian composer. He was a student of Saverio Mercadante. His opera ''Sofonisba'' premiered at La Scala on 6 February 1844. On 23 February 1854 his opera ''Ginevra di Scozia'' premiered at the Teatro Sociale di Ma ...

(1844), and Dimitrie Cuclin (1945). Sophonisba also appears in film, first in Giovanni Pastrone's 1914 silent film '' Cabiria'' and again in Carmine Gallone's 1937 epic movie '' Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal''. Lastly, she appears as an estranged lover of the East Numidian Prince Masinissa married to

against her will in the manga ''Ad Astra – Scipio to Hannibal''.

Gallery

File:Mantegna, sofonisba.jpg, ''Sophonisba'', by Andrea Mantegna (1490) File:Georg Pencz Sophonisbe.jpg, ''Sophonisba'', by

Georg Pencz Georg Pencz (c. 1500 – 11 October 1550) was a German engraver, painter and printmaker. Pencz was probably born in Westheim near Bad Windsheim/Franconia. He travelled to Nuremberg in 1523 and joined Albrecht Dürer’s atelier. Like Dürer, ...

(16th century) File:Guercino - sofonisba nuda.jpg, ''Dying Sophonisba'', by Guercino (1630) File:Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes (previously known as Artemisia), by Rembrandt, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg, ''Sophonisba Receiving the Poisoned Cup'' (a.k.a. '' Artemisia Receiving Mausolus' Ashes'', by

(1634) File:Sophonisba.jpg, ''Sophonisba'', by (1793)

Notes

References

* Livy, ''Ab urbe condita libri'' xxix.23, xxx.8, 12–15.8

External links

Livius.org: Sophoniba
{{Authority control 3rd-century BC births Carthaginian women 3rd-century BC women 203 BC deaths Ancient people who committed suicide Tunisian women 3rd-century BC Punic people