I've seen your ancients related post,and I like how you added many ancient kingdoms/empires as well as some tribes that were usually left out in hetalia (and history class in general) such as Numidia.👀
So do you mind telling us more about Numidia?As well as his relationship with Carthage and Maurusia (kingdom of Mauretania)?
Can do!! A lot of this garnered from conversations I had with the lovely @recbeetch who has some fascinating insights on the ancient Maghreb ♥
(Note: You may notice that compared to my original "The Known world according to Rome" map, Numidia has lighter skin here than he does there. This is because the Numidians are generally considered to be a Mediterranean people, as well as the ancestors of the modern day Berbers, Amazigh, and other groups present in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. In the interest of accuracy, I wanted to make him resemble Mediterranean people and his descendants more. His original design specifically looks very Sub-Saharan African, and while Sub-Saharan Africans were certainly present in the Mediterranean, there's a great amount of physical differences between the Numidian people (and their descendants), and say, the people of Kush or Aksum! Hope this makes sense 🙏)
Now, historically Numidians had a reputation for being treacherous because they switched sides so often, though their reasons for switching sides are a lot more complicated than "pay me more" (like in the joke above bahaha) Numidia (who represents the Massylii) was a very crafty dude who was always looking to outplay his opponents, and tried to get as much leverage as he could out of his reputation as a skilled cavalryman for his own goals. On first glance, he's an unassuming dude, not particularly flashy or loud. He's used to people underestimating him, whether it because they considered him a provincial desert nomad or because it was often his sister Masaeyli who eclipsed him in stature and grandeur. However, he perhaps started overestimating his own capabilities later in his life, especially under Jugurtha's reign.
Masaeyli: (There's almost no information on the Masaeyli...) Their relationship is the closest he has to "immediate family." As stated earlier, she was the more outspoken and expressive out of both of them. They both resisted against, served as mercenaries for, and deeply resented Carthage, keeping them united on that front. As their world expanded however, and they saw more and more, they began to drift apart from one another. During the Mercenary War, both of them allied with different sides in hopes of furthering their own goals. I'm not sure what 100% they were doing during Hamilcar and Hannibal's Iberian misadventures, but right before the conclusion of the 2nd Punic War, their relationship was worst it'd ever been. Though idk rn when she specifically died, he was largely responsible for her death, annexing her lands and absorbing her people into his own.
Carthage: They have something of a mixed relationship- he and Masaeyli fiercely resisted when Phoenician settlers first landed in what would become Carthage, and they even managed to kick her around for a solid bit, as these earlier Carthaginians paid tribute to the nearby tribes. He served under her as a mercenary, and travelled to a lot of places fighting for her interests (because Carthage would never fight herself when she's gotz business to do) Their relationship is something of a combination of "asshole boss" and "begrudging enemy you can't help but respect", as he would later adopt many of her practices in his own lands, like agricultural practices and sedentary lifestyles. After the 2nd Punic War, he took full advantage of his alliance with Rome to beat her up as much as he could.
Maurusia/Mauretania: He wasn't also close/familiar with them (gender undecided) as he was with Masaeyli, as geographically, he was just much farther away from Maurusia than Masaeyli. However, he considered them a valuable ally during some of his greatest times of need, as Masinissia, the Massyli King who would defeat the Masaeyli and switch sides from Carthage to Rome, appealed the Mauri king Baga for aid. Despite Maurusia refusing to get involved in the 2nd Punic War, they agreed to provide him aid against Masaeyli. Their relationship later soured as his ambitions elicited more and more wariness. Despite this, they still allied with him in the Jugurthine War, but ultimately, ended up betraying him in exchange for territorial gains. There's something poetic to be said about just as how Massyli cemented his kingdom by betraying Masaeyli and Carthage to Rome, Maurusia too carved out their kingdom through similar treachery, but I'll settle for this meme instead.
Not superrrr sure whatever they were exactly up to under Roman rule, so this is very much informed by recbeetch!! Numidia def continued to cling on to his identity, despite being conquered by Mauretania, who began to wonder whether their choice to defect to Rome really was the correct choice in the end when they was the only independent North African polity left and Rome continued to menace them for the rest of their days, before the modern day Maghreb nations rose to take their places.
