Masinissa (c. 240 or 238 BC - c. 148 BC) — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Berber tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage and later switching sides when he saw which way the conflict was going. With Roman help, he united the tribes and founded the kingdom. He is most famous for his role as a Roman ally in the Battle of Zama (202 BC) in Ancient Algeria which ended the war and as husband of Sophonisba, a Carthaginian noblewoman whom he allowed to poison herself to avoid being paraded in a triumph in Rome.
His name was found in his tomb of Cirta, modernday Constantine in Algeria under the form of MSNSN (which have to be read as Mas'n'sen which means "Their Lord").
Massinissa is largely viewed as a giant icon and an important forefather among modern Algerian Berbers.
Masinissa's story is told in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (written c. 27-25 BC).
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