Juba II


Juba II or Juba of Mauretania was the client King of Numidia and Mauretania, succeeding his father Juba I. Aside from his very successful reign, he was a highly respected scholar and author. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.

Early life

Juba II was a Berber prince from Numidia. He was born in Hippo Regius. He was the only child and heir of King Juba I of Numidia; his mother's identity is unknown. In 46 BC, his father was defeated by Julius Caesar and in 40 BC Numidia became a Roman province. His father had been an ally of the Roman General Pompey.
Several modern scholars cite his age at Caesar's Triumph in 46 BC as four or six giving rise to the typically cited birth year range of 52-50 BC, which his biographer, Duane Roller, believes is incorrect. Roller instead places his birth in early 48 BC because the Greek term brefos was used for him which means literally fetus but can figuratively mean youth. The word for a child of age 4 to 6 is pais which was not used for him in the ancient sources. Therefore, Roller places his age in the triumph at anywhere from 2 months to 2 years, which actually indicates a birth year range between 48 and 46 BC.
Juba II was brought to Rome by Julius Caesar and he took part in Caesar's triumphal procession. In Rome he learned Latin and Greek, became romanized and was granted Roman citizenship. Through dedication to his studies, he is said to have become one of Rome's best educated citizens, and by age 20 he wrote one of his first works entitled Roman Archaeology. He was raised by Julius Caesar and later by his great-nephew Octavian. While growing up, Juba II accompanied Octavian on military campaigns, gaining valuable experience as a leader. He fought alongside Octavian in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.

Restored to the throne

In 30 BC, Octavian restored Juba II as king of Numidia. Juba II established Numidia as an ally of Rome. Probably as a result of his services to Augustus in a campaign in Hispania, between 26 BC and 20 BC the Emperor arranged for him to marry Cleopatra Selene II, giving her a large dowry and appointing her queen. In 25 BC, Numidia became a Roman province and Juba II received Mauretania as his kingdom.

Reign in Mauretania

According to Strabo, upon the deaths of the Mauretanian kings Bogus and Bocchus, who were both allies of the Romans, Juba II succeeded to the Mauretanian kingdom, having received it from Augustus, in addition to his paternal dominions. When Juba II and Cleopatra Selene moved to Mauretania, they named their new capital Caesaria, in honour of Augustus. The construction and sculpture projects at Caesaria and another city, Volubilis, display a rich mixture of Egyptian, Greek and Roman architectural styles.
Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade. The Kingdom of Mauretania was of great importance to the Roman Empire. Mauretania engaged in trade all across the Mediterranean, particularly with Spain and Italy. Mauretania exported fish, grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process. Tingis, a town at the Pillars of Hercules became a major trade centre. In Gades, and Carthago Nova in Spain, Juba II was appointed by Augustus as an honorary Duovir, probably involving trade, and was also a Patronus Colonaie.
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The value and quality of the Mauretanian coinage became highly regarded. The Greek historian Plutarch describes him as 'one of the most gifted rulers of his time'. Between 2 BC and AD 2, he travelled with Gaius Caesar, as an advisor to the Eastern Mediterranean. In AD 21, Juba II made his son Ptolemy his co-ruler. Juba II died in AD 23. Juba II was buried alongside his first wife in the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania. Ptolemy then became the sole ruler of Mauretania.

Marriages and children

Juba wrote a number of books in Greek and Latin on history, natural history, geography, grammar, painting and theatre. He compiled a comparison of Greek and Roman institutions known as Όμοιότητες. His guide to Arabia became a bestseller in Rome. Only fragments of his works survived. He collected a substantial library on a wide variety of topics, which no doubt complemented his own prolific output. Pliny the Elder refers to him as an authority 65 times in the Natural History and in Athens, a monument was built in the Gymnasium of Ptolemy in recognition of his writings.

Natural history

Juba II was a noted patron of the arts and sciences and sponsored several expeditions and biological research. He also was a notable author, writing several scholarly and popular scientific works on natural history.
According to Pliny the Younger, Juba II sent an expedition to the Canary Islands and Madeira. Juba II had given the Canary Islands that name because he found particularly ferocious dogs on the island.

Legacy

Juba's Greek physician Euphorbus wrote that a succulent spurge found in the High Atlas was a powerful laxative. In 12 BC, Juba named this plant Euphorbia after Euphorbus, in response to Augustus dedicating a statue to Antonius Musa, Augustus's own personal physician and Euphorbus's brother. Botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus assigned the name Euphorbia to the entire genus in the physician's honour. Euphorbia was later called Euphorbia regis-jubae to honour the king's contributions to natural history and his role in bringing the genus to notice. It is now Euphorbia regis-jubae. The palm tree genus Jubaea is also named after Juba.
Flavius Philostratus recalled one of his anecdotes: "And I have read in the discourse of Juba that elephants assist one another when they are being hunted, and that they will defend one that is exhausted, and if they can remove him out of danger, they anoint his wounds with the tears of the aloe tree, standing round him like physicians."