Skip to content
TRACEKEEPERS
Menu
English

Choose language

Your Tracekeepers account

← Back to the collection

CANONICAL CHARACTER · CURRENCY · HISTORICALLY ATTESTED FIGURE

Syphax of Numidia

Syphax of Numidia: an identity, a material trace

The Numidian king Syphax intervened in the alliances between Carthage and Rome and was defeated by Masinissa and Scipio.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Image 1 of 2 · Main image
Syphax of Numidia · AI-RECREATED PORTRAIT · HYPOTHETICAL APPEARANCE

Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

AI-recreated portrait of Syphax of Numidia. The clothing is based on the historical context of the file; the face, the age represented, the colouration and the details not preserved are interpretive. It is not an authentic photograph nor a scientific facial reconstruction.

Tracekeepers

Image 1 of 2 · Main image
AI-recreated portrait of Syphax of Numidia, head and shoulders against a black background; hypothetical appearance.
Syphax of Numidia · AI-RECREATED PORTRAIT · HYPOTHETICAL APPEARANCE

Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

AI-recreated portrait of Syphax of Numidia. The clothing is based on the historical context of the file; the face, the age represented, the colouration and the details not preserved are interpretive. It is not an authentic photograph nor a scientific facial reconstruction.

Tracekeepers

History and context

Syphax ruled a North African power that was not a simple appendix of Carthage nor of Rome. His shifting alliances and defeat at the hands of Masinissa and Scipio show a war also decided by Numidian actors; the coins attributed to his reign are the most prudent visual anchor.

The selected visual window is concrete: Numidian coins with legends and royal attributions. The file does not use a generic work as if it were a certified portrait.

Reading limit: Document the attribution of the specific coin and avoid a hyper-realistic facial portrait.

Evidence and interpretation

Authorised material window: coin. Numidian coins with legends and royal attributions. Interpretation limit: Document the attribution of the specific coin and avoid a hyper-realistic facial portrait.

AI-recreated portrait of Syphax of Numidia. The clothing is based on the historical context of the file; the face, the age represented, the colouration and the details not preserved are interpretive. It is not an authentic photograph nor a scientific facial reconstruction.

Catalogue facts

Canonical ID
syphax
Status
Historically attested figure
View window
currency
Chronology
End of the 3rd century BCE · defeat in 203 BCE
Location
Masaesylia and Siga · north of Africa
Relevance
Numidian king whose diplomacy oscillated between Rome and Carthage
Scope
Historical itinerary of Phoenicia
State in museum
no own stop; anchor material available
Status on the books
without presence; editorial reserve

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

The rider and the mint of Siga

The British Museum specimen 1938,0510.124 weighs 8.38 grams and measures 25 millimetres. The museum associates it with Alexandropoulos type 6; the IRIS numismatic repertoire attributes that type to Syphax, to the Masaesyli kingdom, and to the mint of Siga, with a date range of 213–200 BCE. Its obverse shows a diademed head and its reverse a galloping rider. This is a specific iconographic combination, not just any North African coin with a horse. The museum label and the typological catalogue allow separate verification of the conserved object and its historical classification.

One history, two perspectives

What connects Syphax with other people, and how the view changes from the other side. These interpretations are based on sources; they are not quotations or reconstructions of private thoughts.

CONFLICT · DOCUMENTED RELATIONSHIP

Syphax ↔ Masinissa

Defeated Rival

Syphax fought against Masinissa and Rome until the loss of Cirta, his capture and the fall of his power.

From Syphax’s perspective

Since the fall of Syphax, the rise of Masinissa means loss of territory, capture and the end of his regal position. Looking from the defeated reveals that a victory narrated in Roman terms also reorganised local powers.

Read Masinissa’s perspective on Syphax →

Reference images and provenance

No verifiable entrance photograph is preserved for this representation. You may consult its documentation, but we would not present its face as an exact reconstruction.

Additional visual documentation

A cited publication does not establish which image was used to create the character.

Sources and references

Consult the material footprint and your institutional record

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…