Numidian army
The Numidian army was the military force established by the Kings of Numidia in North Africa during the Ancient ages, and it was a major power in the Mediterranean. The name of the Numidians emerged in warfare as early as 1274 BC during the Battle of Kadesh, where Numidian cavalry fought as allies of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II against the Hittites. The second mention of the Numidians, according to Ovid Fasti and Virgil in his epic The Aeneid, comes during the reign of King Iarbas I in the 9th or 8th century BC, when he launched a military campaign against Carthage and laid siege to it. The Numidian Army ruled North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to Cyrenaica on the borders of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Numidian war elephant
The Numidian army was renowned for its use of War elephants, as Numidia was the primary supplier of elephants to Rome. They were particularly famous for their expertise in handling African war elephants, with their close relationship to the land giving them a profound understanding of elephant behavior and the skills necessary for capturing and training them. Numidia was home to the African forest elephant '', which reaches a height of 2.45 meters at the shoulder and was strong enough to carry the weight of towers, crews, and armor. The elephants of King Juba I were equipped with towers and armor. He commanded an army of 60 war elephants at the Battle of the Bagradas River where he defeated Julius Caesar’s forces. This elite unit remained in service with the same number until the Battle of Thapsus.Numidian kings often maintained large herds of war elephants, which formed an integral part of their armies. These elephants were deployed in a variety of roles, from breaking enemy formations to providing mobile platforms for archers and spearmen. The Numidians also demonstrated exceptional skill in using elephants during battles and siege operations, employing them to break gates and walls.
Their use of elephants was so effective that they became highly sought-after warriors, offering their services to other powers, including Carthage. The relationship between Numidia and Carthage was complex, marked by periods of alliance and conflict. Nevertheless, the Numidians consistently supplied Carthage with a valuable source of war elephants, significantly contributing to Carthage's military strength.
Numidian war chariot
mentions that the Numidian King Ailymas allied with Agathocles of Syracuse during the Sicilian Wars, the Numidian participation consisted of 50 war chariots, along with a group of cavalry and infantry. The ancient Greeks utilized the skills of the Numidians in chariot driving; much of this mobility stemmed from the war chariots, which were deployed much like the Numidians used their cavalry alongside the infantry, Typically each chariot carried both a warrior and a driver, the warrior would engage in combat on foot, while it was the driver’s duty to keep the chariot as close to him as his own skill permitted.G. Charles Picard identified another type of Numidian chariot, the desert chariot prevalent south of Numidia. These chariots are characterized by a low platform mounted directly onto the axle, restricting their capacity to a single driver wielding a short whip instead of a weapon. They were drawn by Barbary breed horses, harnessed using a neck collar rather than a yoke. The horses are depicted in the "flying gallop" pose a posture uncommon for war chariots in Aegean documentation that these vehicles were not intended for combat, but were rather used for ceremonial or sporting purposes. Herodotus also mentioned that the Garamantes used them to presue the Ethiopian troglodytes.
War chariots were common in North Africa and were utilized by Numidians, Over time, they were replaced by cavalry for military purposes; the last recorded use of chariots was with the allies of Agathocles in 307 BC, the use of chariots may have persisted until the 1st century BC, according to Strabo.