Unit - Syphax

Syphax ruled the Masaesyli, the western Numidian kingdom, during one of the most consequential decades of the ancient Mediterranean world — the period when Carthage and Rome were tearing each other apart in the Second Punic War. He played both sides with remarkable audacity, negotiating alliances with Rome as early as 213 BC while ultimately throwing his lot in with Carthage through marriage to Sophonisba, daughter of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco. That decision ended him. Defeated by the Numidian rival Masinissa and the Roman Scipio Africanus at the Battle of the Great Plains in 203 BC, he died a Roman prisoner in Tibur.

This bronze issue is among the earliest coinage attributable to a specifically named Numidian ruler, placing it at the founding edge of the entire series.