Masteabar was a
petty king of western
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 ...
. He was a son of
Gauda, ruler of all Numidia, and brother of
Hiempsal II
Hiempsal II was king of Numidia from 88 – 60 BC. He was the son of Gauda, half-brother of Jugurtha, and was the father of Juba I.
History
In 88 BC, after the triumph of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, when Gaius Marius and his son fled from Rome to Af ...
, ruler of eastern Numidia. His existence is known only from a single fragmentary inscription. It seems that Gauda, on his death in 88
BC, divided his kingdom between his sons, Hiempsal receiving the larger part and Masteabar the smaller.
In 81
BC, a rebellious
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
general,
Domitius, allied with a Numidian king named
Hiarbas, who appears to have displaced the sons of Gauda. The allies were defeated by the Roman general
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
, Hiempsal being restored to his throne and
Masinissa
Masinissa (''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ultimately uniting the ...
being placed on the western throne. This latter was probably Masteabar's son, and the Roman action indicates that Rome recognised the legitimacy of Masteabar's kingdom.
Masteabar's grandson,
Arabio, was the last independent Numidian king in 42
BC.
Notes
Sources
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{{refend
1st-century BC Berber people
Kings of Numidia