Masinissa (also spelled Massinissa) was the first king of a united Numidia, a kingdom that spread between modern Tunisia and Algeria along the North African coastline. Originally composed of several tribes and clans, the Numidians were a Berber-speaking ethnic group famous for their horsemanship. Prior to bringing the Numidians together under his leadership, Masinissa first fought as an ally of Carthage against the Romans during the Second Punic War, but then switched sides to help the Roman invasion.
Once the war ended and he became king of all Numidia, he sought to “modernize” his country by introducing agricultural techniques from Carthage and then impelling many of his once nomadic people to settle down as farmers. Unfortunately for the Numidians, their kingdom’s future would take a turbulent turn after Masinissa’s death, struggling with both intermittent disunion and Roman pressure until the Romans finally took control of the area in 46 BC. From that point forward, Numidia’s name would live on as that of a province in the Roman Empire.
(This is a redraw of an artwork I did back in 2018. I wanted the updated version to have more distinctly North African facial features as well as an elephant-hide shield.)