Nuvel
King of the Quinquegentiani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nubel or Nuvel was a Quinquegentian king from the Jubalenis tribe (a tribe established near the region of the ancient city of Auzia[1]), having lived in the middle of the fourth century in Petra Mlakou Castle.
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| Nubel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Quinquegentiani | |||||
Sculture of the Numidian King Nubel | |||||
| Monarchy | 4th century AD | ||||
| Died | Mauretania Caesariensis | ||||
| Consort | Nonica | ||||
| |||||
| House | Quinquegentiani | ||||
| Dynasty | Numidian | ||||
| Religion | Donatism | ||||
He is considered by Ammianus Marcellinus to be one of the most powerful Numidian kings of his time, this officer of the Roman army, commander of a cavalry unit, the equites Armigeri junior, who with his wife Nonnica (or Monnica) had a basilica built around the middle of the fourth century, housing a relic of the True Cross.[2]
Biography
Nubel is still generally identified by many modern scholars with the Romanized name as an officer of African origin, his name, Flavio Nuvel, who, according to an inscription found at Rusguniae (present-day Tamentfoust, Algeria), in Caesarean Mauretania, would have served as a post for young armed knights (Latin: praepositus equitum armigerorum iuniorum). This association was questioned in the 1970s by the authors of the Prosopography of the Late Roman Empire. In particular, he played an important role in the Roman provincial administration, for which he was responsible for supervising the local tribes, his indigenous origin contributing and guaranteeing in a certain way a firmer control of the region.[3]
According to a hypothesis of Stéphane Gsell that was later resumed and developed by Gabriel Camps, Nubel should indeed be identified with Flavius Nuvel, officer of the Roman army, commander of a cavalry unit, the equites Armigeri junior, who with his wife Nonnica (or Monnica) had a basilica built around the middle of the fourth century, housing a relic of the True Cross.[4]
Issue
Nubel had 7 known descendants:
- Zammac/Sammac
- Firmus (who killed Zammac and rebelled against Valentinian I)
- Gildo (who rebelled against Emperor Honorius)
- Mazuca
- Mascezel
- Dius
- His daughter Cyria.
Although according to Ammianus Marcellinus, he also had illegitimate children from relations with his concubines.[5] According to Jean-Pierre Laporte:
- "Although probably a Christian, judging by the religion of his children, Nubel was polygamous, an old Libyan tradition that the Christianization of the family had not been able to eliminate. His children, born of a legitimate wife and concubines, were therefore of different status. If Ammianus mentions this detail in the first sentence of his account, it is because it was important for the rest of his presentation: the different fate reserved for his children in Nubel's succession "provoked discord and wars" (Ammianus, ibidem).[6]
His death must have preceded the revolt of his son Firmus in 370 because this revolt was due to a succession dispute.
Culture
The residence of Nubel is Petra Mlakou Castle, also known as Mlakou, is a historical site former castle of the Berber King Nubel located near Béjaïa in Algeria[7]. Destroyed in the 4th century by Theodosius[1] during the war against Firmus, son of Nubel who will wage a war of succession against his brother Zammac. Petra Mlakou was the residence of Nubel, a Berber king, and his son Zammac. According to the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, Petra was "the size of a city".[6][8][1]
Presented by archaeologists as "the seat of residence and governance of the region", Petra was razed to the ground by Theodosius after Firmus revolted against the authority of Emperor Valentinian II[6]. Description by Stéphane Gsell in his "Note on an inscription by Ighzer Amokrane", Stéphane Gsell describes Petra Mlakou Castle as a "spur that commands the confluence of the Oued-Seddouk with the Oued-Sahel (Soummam) to the north". He also mentions the presence of "traces of walls, capitals, well-preserved columns" and "stones bearing characters and designs used for neighbouring constructions".