Numidian army

The Numidian army was renowned for its use of War elephants, as Numidia was the primary supplier of elephants to Rome.^[17] Numidia was home to the African forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), which reaches a height of 2.45 meters at the shoulder and was strong enough to carry the weight of towers, crews, and armor. The elephants of King Juba I were equipped with towers and armor.^[18] He commanded an army of 60 war elephants at the Battle of the Bagradas River where he defeated Julius Caesar’s forces.^[19] This elite unit remained in service with the same number until the Battle of Thapsus.^[20]

Diodorus Siculus mentions that the Numidian King Ailymas allied with Agathocles of Syracuse during the Sicilian Wars, the Numidian participation consisted of 50 war chariots, along with a group of cavalry and infantry.^[21] The ancient Greeks utilized the skills of the Numidians in chariot driving; much of this mobility stemmed from the war chariots, which were deployed much like the Numidians used their cavalry alongside the infantry, Typically each chariot carried both a warrior and a driver, the warrior would engage in combat on foot, while it was the driver’s duty to keep the chariot as close to him as his own skill permitted.^[22]

G. Charles Picard identified another type of Numidian chariot, the desert chariot prevalent south of Numidia. These chariots are characterized by a low platform mounted directly onto the axle, restricting their capacity to a single driver wielding a short whip instead of a weapon. They were drawn by Barbary breed horses, harnessed using a neck collar rather than a yoke. The horses are depicted in the "flying gallop" pose a posture uncommon for war chariots in Aegean documentation that these vehicles were not intended for combat, but were rather used for ceremonial or sporting purposes.^[23] Herodotus also mentioned that the Garamantes used them to presue the Ethiopian troglodytes.^[24]

War chariots were common in North Africa and were utilized by Numidians, Over time, they were replaced by cavalry for military purposes; the last recorded use of chariots was with the allies of Agathocles in 307 BC, the use of chariots may have persisted until the 1st century BC, according to Strabo.^[25]

The Numidian armies played a decisive role in the Punic Wars, particularly the Numidian cavalry under the command of the Numidian leader Maharbal,^[26] whom the Carthaginian general Mago Barca considered the strongest element in Hannibal’s army during his campaign in Italy.^[27] The Numidian army reached its peak under King Masinissa after defeating Syphax and uniting Numidia, forming a massive and well-organized force that he led in the Numidian–Carthaginian Wars (201–146 BC).^[28]

• Ancient Numidia

• Massylii

• Masaesyli

• Iarbas

• Jugurthine war

• Punic wars

• Jugurtha

• Numidans