Greek geographer and historian
Strabo (c. 63 BC – 23 AD), informs us that the "territory of the
Maurii" is followed by that of the Massæsyles, which begins at the river Molochath and ends at
Cape Tritonis; the river in question could be the
Moulouya, the cape probably refers to
Cape Bougaroun. The Massæsyles occupied two-thirds of
Algeria and eastern
Morocco. ,
Villa Medicea Ambra,
Poggio a Caiano. The capital of eastern Numidia was
Siga (present-day
Oulhaça El Gheraba) whose first sovereign was
Syphax. Siga was then the best place to be the capital of the Massæsylian kingdom, it was indeed there that the sovereign had an interest in the affairs of Iberia and the west of the country and it was also there that
Syphax received in 206 BC, the Roman general and statesman
Scipio and the Carthaginian general
Hasdrubal Gisco. Many
Syphax coins have been found in Siga and it seems that at that time only the king could mint money. The two coin series with the effigy of
Syphax and his son
Vermina show the king wearing a
diadem each time. Syphax would therefore have been at the head of the tribes of
Orania and it was from this western province, the most flourishing, that he drew money and soldiers. He is the first Berber chief who has absolute powers of a sovereign king and the first who had money minted in the region. A powerful ruler, the wearing of the diadem made him god like. demanding aid of
Massinissa'', 16th century, by
Giovanni Battista Zelotti. Although married to
Sophonisba, a Carthaginian princess, he was very independent in regard to his wife's country
Ancient Carthage. The two great powers of the Eastern Mediterranean
Rome And
Carthage were disputing alliance with Massaesylia;
Syphax meeting with
Scipio and
Hasdrubal Gisco made Massaesylia a third power, one that dominated in the western Mediterranean. Recent excavations have shown the importance of
Punic sites, in the island of
Rachgoun, in Mersa Madakh, in
Bethioua, in Guelta, in Gouraya Sidi Brahim, and also that of the coastal cities which were the outlets and economic centers of Massæsylia. An active Mediterranean trade had been established between
Almeria and western Algeria.
Pottery and metal products arrived from Spain, while Algeria exported
ivory and
ostrich eggshells. No doubt majority of trading posts were autonomous, other trading posts entirely dependent on Carthage and the
aguellid (Tamazight for King). It is certain that
Portus Sigensis ("port of Siga", at the mouth of the
Tafna) belonged entirely to
Syphax. There have been vast interior cities controlled absolutely by the kingdom of Syphax; shards of pottery, near
El-Asnam, and a coin in the
Dahra would suggest so. (Italy, Rome, 1499-1546), the
Museum of contemporary Art, Los Angeles. We are somewhat informed about the administrative organization of the kingdom; the study of coins in the name of
Syphax and his son
Vermina, suggest that Syphax would have associated his son with his reign. We know from
Strabo that Massæsylia was an extremely rich kingdom, that it furnished a great deal of money and many soldiers. The war waged by
Syphax against
Carthage, followed by war against
Rome and another war against
Massinissa which requires a very big and versatile
state budget with large reserves to pay for all these wars toll was in fact during the beginning of the decadence of the kingdom, therefore one could only imagine the expanse of the state budget at the golden age of the kingdom. After the death of
Gaia (c. 206 BC), king of the
Massylii,
Syphax attempted to seize his territories with the help of
Carthage. Massinissa, originally an ally of Carthage, approached Rome to regain his kingdom. He succeeded in defeating
Syphax and unified
Numidia (c. 203-202 BC). ==Notes==