| Bocchus I | |
|---|---|
| King ofMauretania | |
 | |
| Reign | c. 110 – c. 80s BC |
| Successor | Mastanesosus[1] |
| Born | Mauretania |
Bocchus, often referred to asBocchus I for clarity, was king ofMauretania fromc. 111 – 80 BCE. He was father-in-law to theNumidian kingJugurtha,[1][2] with whom he initially allied against theRomans in theJugurthine War, a lengthy and indecisive conflict.
King Bocchus eventually betrayed Jugurtha to the Romans in 105 BCE. Jugurtha was captured and imprisoned in Rome, while the Romans and Bocchus divided Jugurtha's Numidian kingdom between them.[1]
A. Pellegrin suggests that the name Bocchus is only the Latin form of a Berber name, possibly Wekkus. This name may be related to theTouareg "Aweqqas", which means "lion", or, in the localAokas dialect, "shark", and can be used as a male name. Several locations inNorth Africa bear etymologically related names, such as the city ofAokas inAlgeria, and Djebel Ouekkas inTunisia.[3]
Very little is known about Bocchus I or his Mauretanian kingdom. He was probably the son or grandson of KingBaga ofMauretania, a contemporary of KingMassinissa of neighboringNumidia.[1]
Bocchus's North African kingdom was bordered by theAtlantic Ocean and theMoulouya River (Latin:Mulucha).[1] Roman historianSallust inBellum Jugurthinum (The Jurguthine War) notes:[4]
All the Moors were ruled by King Bocchus, who knew nothing of the Roman people save their name and was in turn unknown to us before that time either in peace or in war.
— C. Sallustius Crispus, Chapter 19,Bellum Iugurthinum
According to Sallust, by custom Bocchus had many wives[2] and four known children: his daughter (name unknown), who marriedJugurtha of Numidia; his eventual heir Sosus/Mastanesosus; and two other sons, Bogud (not to be confused with kingBogud) and Volux.
Around 108 BCE, as the conflict between Rome and Numidia coalesced, Bocchus remained noncommittal. After Jugurtha promised Bocchus a third of his kingdom, Bocchus allied with Jugurtha. Their allied forces were defeated byGaius Marius at theSecond Battle of Cirta in 106 BCE.
As Jugurtha continued to evade the Romans and the war dragged on, Bocchus began reconsidering the alliance and sought a consultation with an ambitious quaestor namedSulla. Mauretanian ambassadors were dispatched to Rome. The Senate was cautiously encouraging but requested a demonstration of commitment to the alliance. Bocchus again consulted Sulla and requested a meeting with Jugurtha, who walked into their trap. Bocchus turned Jugurtha over to Sulla.
By treaty, Bocchus and the Romans divided the kingdom ofNumidia between them. Marius was given atriumph for victory over Numidia, but Sulla always wore a gold ring that King Bocchus had made for him, which depicted Bocchus handing Jugurtha over to Sulla.[5]
Bocchus was a reliable supplier of exotic African animals to Rome, including panthers andlions for Roman spectacles.[1]
Bocchus was succeeded by his sonMastanesosus,[1] who bequeathed the kingdom to his sonsBocchus II andBogud, who each ruled half the kingdom of Mauretania. The two kings took opposite sides in Rome's civil war, and Bocchus II seized Bogud's half. When Bocchus II died in 33 BCE, Mauretania became aclient kingdom of Rome.[6]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bocchus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 106. This cites:| International | |
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