Micipsa

Micipsa (Numidian: MKWSN; Punic: 𐤌𐤊𐤅‬𐤎𐤍‬, MKWSN; died c. 118 BC) was the eldest legitimate son of Masinissa, the King of Numidia, a Berber kingdom in North Africa. Micipsa became the King of Numidia in 148 BC. In 151 BC, Masinissa sent Micipsa and his brother Gulussa to Carthage to demand that exiled pro-Numidian politicians be allowed to return, but they were refused entry at the city gates. As the royal party turned to depart, Hamilcar the Samnite and a group of his supporters attacked Micipsa's convoy, killing some of his attendants. This incident led to a retaliatory strike on the Carthaginian town of Oroscopa that heralded the start of the Carthaginian–Numidian War and eventually precipitated the Third Punic War. In the spring of 148 BC Masinissa died and the tripartite division of the kingdom among the elderly king's three sons, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal, took place by Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, to whom Masinissa had given the authority to administer his estate. Micipsa received as part of his inheritance the Numidian capital of Cirta (along with its royal palace and treasury), Gulussa the charge of war and Mastanabal the administration of justice. The sons continued their father's policy and his support of Rome during its war on Carthage. Though Micipsa wavered somewhat in his support for Rome, "always promising arms and money ... but always delaying and waiting to see what would happen". In 146 BC, when Mastanabal's illegitimate son Jugurtha was fourteen years old, Carthage was destroyed by the Romans.