Kingdom of Syphax (206-203 B.C.) (In light of the Libyan inscriptions of Siga)

Abstract

Pierre Grimal,was called in 1936 by Louis Leschi, then director of antiquities in
Algeria, to carry out excavations at the alleged site of Siga numid city, capital of Syphax king
of the Massaessyles (Western Numidia). This city is located in the town of Takembrit, port
of Mauritania. These excavations allowed him to discover two Libyan inscriptions. The first
inscription consists of (7) characters in two lines, one vertical of four characters, and the other
horizontal of three characters, which form two identical words of three characters, the mutilated text interpretation is uncertain. The second inscription consists of (19) characters
in four vertical lines; it is a funeral inscription that concerns a certain "MDY son of TLLTN".
It is characterized by the unexplained word "NBNIYI" and bears the title RS'I (known from
82 epigraphic testimonies), which refers to dignity or honorable status.
These inscriptions have their originality. They can be read using the alphabet known in
Central Berberia (Algeria) and Eastern Berberia (Tunisia), and not the alphabet more widely
used in Western Berberia (Morocco), suggesting that the use of both alphabets has depended
on the social level of the users, not on the geographical location.
This study attempts to answer the following question: did Central Berber use the same
Libyan alphabet or a different alphabet than Western Berber? If applicable, what are the
convergences and divergences between these two alphabets? How does his inscriptions relate
to the kingdom of Syphax?