Numidia

This article is about the ancient kingdom. For other uses, see Numidia (disambiguation).

Kingdom of Numidia Regnum Numidiae (Latin)
202 BC–25 BC
Numidian coin under Massinissa
Map of Numidia after the Punic Wars
Capital	Cirta (today Constantine, Algeria)
Official languages	Punic
Common languages	Numidian Latin Greek
Religion	Numitheism, Punic Religion
Government	Monarchy
King
• 202–148 BC	Masinissa
• 148 – 118 BC	Micipsa
• 148 – 145 BC	Gulussa
• 148–140 BC	Mastanabal
• 118–117 BC	Hiempsal I
• 118–112 BC	Adherbal
• 118–105 BC	Jugurtha
• 105–88 BC	Gauda
• 88–84 BC	Masteabar
• 88–60 BC	Hiempsal II
• 84–82 BC	Hiarbas
• 82–46 BC	Massinissa II
• 60–46 BC	Juba I
• 44–40 BC	Arabion
Historical era	Antiquity
• Established	202 BC
• Annexed by the Roman Empire	25 BC
Currency	Numidian coin, Carthaginian coinage
Preceded by Succeeded by Ancient Carthage Massylii Masaesyli Numidia (Roman province) Mauretania
Today part of	Algeria Tunisia Libya Morocco

Numidia (Latin: Regnum Numidiae) was the ancient Libyan kingdom of the indigenous Numidian Berbers in Northwest Africa during the Hellenistic period. Initially comprising the northern part of what is now Algeria, Numidia expanded into western modern Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between the Massylii state in the east, with its capital at Cirta, and the Masaesyli state in the west, with its capital at Siga. During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), Masinissa, king of the Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into the first unified Berber state for Numidians in North Africa. Initially an independent state and an ally of Rome, the kingdom later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state.

At its foundation, Numidia was bordered by the Moulouya River to the west, which separated it from the lands of the Mauri tribes. To the east lay the Carthaginian hinterlands of eastern Tunisia—later known as Africa Proconsularis—extending toward Cyrenaica. The Mediterranean Sea formed its northern boundary, while the southern frontier reached the Saharan regions inhabited by the Gaetulians.