Description
Numidia had a fierce warrior tradition, partly because the eastern Massylii and western Masaesylis had a tradition of bitter feuding and internal warfare. They took, and changed, sides in the Punic Wars to suit their own agenda, and only emerged as a single state after the Battle of Zama in 202BC. The fall of Carthage allowed the Numidians to expand their lands, and this led to the Jugurthine War of 112-105BC against Rome. Numidia’s king, Jugurtha, was only defeated when he was betrayed by his father-in-law, Bocchus. While the Numidians were famed as cavalrymen, their infantry forces were also quite effective. The historian Suetonius mentions that there were 'Numidian legions', a term normally used in Roman writings for Roman troops, when passing comment on Julius Caesar’s speech about Juba’s march to aid Scipio before the Battle of Thapsus in 46BC. This suggests that some Numidians were fighting in Roman style, and were possibly equipped in the same manner. The Numidians also adopted other tactics and war gear, such as the thureos-style shield and hoplite-like spears.
