In 88 BC, after the triumph of
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, when
Gaius Marius and his son fled from
Rome to
Africa, Hiempsal received them with apparent friendliness, his real intention being to detain them as prisoners. Marius discovered this intention in time and made good his escape with the assistance of the king's daughter. In 81 BC, Hiempsal was driven from his throne by the Numidians themselves, or by
Hiarbas, ruler of part of the kingdom, supported by
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the leader of the Marian party in Africa. Soon afterwards
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was sent to Africa by Sulla to reinstate Hiempsal, whose territory was subsequently increased by the addition of some land on the coast in accordance with a treaty concluded with
Lucius Aurelius Cotta. When the tribune
Publius Servilius Rullus introduced his agrarian law (63 BC), these lands, which had been originally assigned to the Roman people by
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, were expressly exempted from sale, which roused the indignation of
Marcus Tullius Cicero (
De lege agraria, i. 4, ii. 22). From
Suetonius (
Caesar, 71) it is evident that Hiempsal was alive in 62 BC. According to
Sallust (
Jugurtha, 17), he was the author of an historical work in the
Punic language. ==References==