Polybius and other historians first apply the…
151 BCE
Polybius and other historians first apply the name Numidia during the second century BCE to indicate the territory west of Carthage, including the entire Maghreb as far as the river Mulucha (Muluya), about one hundred miles west of Oran.
The Romans conceive the Numidians as two great tribal groups: the Massyli in eastern Numidia, and the Massaesyli in the west.
On the eve of the Third Punic War, the eastern tribes take the side of the Romans, whereas the Massaesyli support the Carthaginians.