a celebrated African prince, son of Gala, king of the Numidian tribe of the Massyli, was born about 239 B.C. Receiving his education at Carthage, and thus becoming interested in the welfare of that city, he incited his father in 213 B.C. to form a league with the Carthaginians. In the same year, accordingly, Masinissa, at the head of a troop of Numidian cavalry, sailed for Spain, and served most devotedly in the war against the Romans. But the check which the Punic fortunes received at Silpia in 206 B.C. shook his fidelity, and he resolved to pass over to the Romans on the first safe opportunity. This resolution was strengthened by the generosity which his nephew Massiva had experienced from Scipio, and probably also by the intelligence that Sophonisba, the beautiful daughter of Hasdrubal, to whom he had been betrothed, was about to be wedded to Syphax, the prince of the Numidian tribe of the Massyli. Meanwhile an event had occurred in Africa that accelerated the defection of Masinissa. The crown of his native country, which, after the death of his father Gala, had passed in rapid succession to his uncle Esacles, and his cousin Capusa, was seized at this time in the name of an infant brother of the latter by Mezetulus. On hearing of this usurpation, Masinissa crossed to Africa, rallied around his standard the old soldiers of his father, defeated Mezetulus in a pitched battle, and forced him to flee, along with his royal ward, into the dominions of Syphax. No sooner, however, was Masinissa seated on his ancestral throne, than he recalled the two fugitives, and by his favours disarmed their hostility. But a more formidable foe immediately appeared in the person of Syphax. Instigated and backed by the Carthaginians, that prince invaded the Massylian territories, and annihilated in quick succession those armies which had been hastily mustered to oppose him. Thus stripped of his sovereignty, and driven from his kingdom, Masinissa was obliged to skulk with a few followers near the sea-shore, until the landing of Scipio in 204 B.C. gave him the opportunity which he had for some time wished, of identifying his cause with that of the Romans. He joined the invaders with a part of his shattered forces, and by his active fidelity, and his knowledge of the habits of the enemy, contributed in no small degree to the two victories gained over Hasdrubal and Syphax. On the capture of Cirta, the metropolis of the Massyli, Masinissa obtained possession of Sophonisba, the wife of Syphax, and, with her own consent, married her. But Scipio severely censured his marriage with so determined a foe of the Romans; and Sophonisba, by the advice of her newly espoused husband, poisoned herself to escape the ignominy of falling into the power of her enemies. The grief of Masinissa for this untoward event was allayed by his reinstalment into the sovereignty of the Massylians. From the quiet possession of his power, however, he was soon summoned by the arrival of Hannibal in Africa. In the decisive conflict of Zama which followed (202 B.C.), he made a brilliant charge at the head of his Numidian horse, drove the cavalry of Hannibal from the field, and was thus the first to turn the tide of battle against the Carthaginians. For this important service he was rewarded in the following year with the greater part of the kingdom of Syphax. Firmly fixed in his possessions, with the title of King of Numidia, Masinissa now devoted his attention to the organization of his government and the improvement of his people. Yet at times his ambitious spirit, and his reliance upon the powerful support of Rome, incited him to provoke by aggressions the humbled Carthaginians. In all these disputes the Romans acted as mediators, and uniformly favoured the Numidian king. At length in 150 B.C., the Carthaginians, indignant at the intrigues which Masinissa had been carrying on against the welfare of their city, commenced acts of hostility. Masinissa accordingly marched into their territories, and though deserted by several of his chiefs, he adroitly circumvented the enemy, and forced them to capitulate. He died in 148 B.C., at the age of ninety, while Roman ambassadors were on the way to his palace to demand reinforcements for the third Punic war. In accordance with his dying request, his kingdom was divided between his three sons, Micipsa, Gulusa, and Massanabal.

Masinissa displayed all the qualities that render a prince the favourite of semi-barbarian subjects. Not destitute of skill in strategy, he also possessed a dauntless valour in action, and an unshaken magnanimity under reverses. He shared the hardships and fare of the meanest soldier; and till within a short time before his death, he underwent with surprising agility all the warlike exercises of youth. His attempts to civilize his people were highly praiseworthy.