JUBA I (60-46)

"Teneo te, Africa – I Have You, Africa" These words were reportedly spoken by Caesar when he stumbled and fell in front of his soldiers while disembarking from a ship on the shores of Africa.

Juba I was the king of Numidia, the son of Hiempsal II, and the father of Juba II. In 81 BCE, Hiempsal was deposed, but Sulla soon sent Pompey to Africa to restore Hiempsal as king of Numidia. This act cemented Hiempsal’s—and later Juba I's—allegiance to Pompey the Great. Their alliance grew stronger after Juba's visit to Rome, during which Julius Caesar publicly humiliated him by tugging his beard.

During Rome’s civil war (49–48 BCE), Juba sided with Pompey. After Caesar's ultimate victory at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BCE, Juba took his own life.