Hiarbas (died 82/81 BC) was the king of eastern

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

from in or shortly after 88 BC until his death. His name is sometimes given as Iarbas, Hiartas or Hiarbal. Hiarbas may be the historical inspiration for the legendary figure of Iarbas, rejected suitor of

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

, described by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

as a Gaetulian. His origins are obscure. He may have been a Gaetulian. He was probably not related to the ruling family of Numidia, which had largely been wiped out following the

Jugurthine War The Jugurthine War (; 112–106 BC) was an armed conflict between the Roman Republic and King Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopted son of Micipsa, ki ...

in 106. On the death of Gauda in 88, Numidia was divided into a smaller western and a larger eastern kingdom. Hiempsal II inherited the eastern kingdom, but was immediately confronted by a revolt led by Hiarbas. He was deposed and Hiarbas, who would have been regarded as a usurper by the Romans, seized the throne. After their defeat in the Roman civil war of 83–82, the supporters of Marius fled or were exiled to the

Roman province of Africa Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisi ...

. Under Domitius Ahenobarbus they succeeded in taking control of the province and allied with Hiarbas. Pompey the Great was sent to Africa to restore Roman control. In a campaign that lasted a mere forty days, he defeated and killed Domitius and forced Hiarbas to flee. The latter was soon captured near Bulla Regia and executed. Hiempsal was restored to the throne and the Gaetulians were formally placed under his authority. According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, Pompey took Numidia from Hiarbas and gave it to

Massinissa II Masinissa II (or Massinissa II) was the petty king of western Numidia with his capital at Cirta (81–46 BC). He was named after, or took his name after, his famous ancestor Masinissa I, the unifier and founder of the kingdom of Numidia. M ...

. This seems to indicates that the petty kingdom of western Numidia (which belonged to Massinissa) was also formally recognized by the Romans at this time, having perhaps been under Hiarbas' authority. These events took place either in 82 or 81 BC.

Coinage

Several coin types have been tentatively attributed to Hiarbas.For images of the coins, see Camps 2000. They lack legends and their attribution is based largely on the lack of other known coins attributable Hiarbas. These coins, if they belong to the reign of Hiarbas, contain the earliest examples of

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

from Numidia. The obverse of three show a long-haired bearded man facing right with a long-haired beardless man wearing an elephant scalp facing right on the reverse. This latter image has been taken to be a personification of Africa. The other coin depicts a bridled horse on the reverse.

Coinage

References

Further reading