Description:
Obverse: Bearded bust of Juba I, diademed and draped, right, holding scepter over right shoulder; REX IVBA
Reverse: Octastyle temple; Hmmlkt – Ywb’Y in neo-Punic characters flanking temple in left and right fields
Label Text:
Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label Text:
An African King in the Roman Civil War
Juba I (r. 60–46 BCE) was ruler of the north African kingdom of Numidia. On this bilingual coin, Juba I is identified as king in Latin on the obverse and neo-Punic on the reverse, demonstrating both his political connections to Rome and his autonomy as king of Numidia.
In the Roman civil war between the factions of Pompey and Julius Caesar, Juba supported Pompey, as did the Roman general Metellus Scipio; both were ultimately defeated by Caesar’s allies. Caesar’s coin (2004.13.104) may refer to his determination to defeat the Numidian king—the Latin version of Juba’s name, “Iuba,” is the same as the word for the crest of the snake that is shown being crushed by the elephant.
[Displayed with 2000.2.4.INV, 2000.3.20.INV, 2000.4.7b.INV, 2004.13.2, 2004.13.15, 2004.13.65, 2004.13.81, 2004.13.621, 2013.24, 2013.L10, 2019.24]
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; numismatics Subjects:
Civilization, Ancient; archaeological objects; Numismatics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2004.13.523 |
