Juba II or Juba of Mauretania was the son of Juba I and client king of Numidia and Mauretania. Aside from his very successful reign, he was a highly respected scholar and author. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Queen Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.
Portrait bust of Juba II, Louvre Museum
The tomb of Juba II and his wife in Tipaza, Algeria
Coin of Juba II.
Image: Portrait Juba II Louvre Ma 1886
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 the Massylii in the east and the Masaesyli in the west. During the Second Punic War, Masinissa, king of the Massylii, defeated Syphax of the Masaesyli to unify Numidia into the first Berber state in present-day Algeria. The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state.
The Numidian mausoleum of El-Khroub photographed in 2000
Numidia (in blue) at its largest extent after capturing Syphax in Tingitania and vassalizing Bokkar.
Northern Africa under Roman rule
The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania
