A.M. 3959. A. Rom. 703.
He slew himself after the battle of Thapsus, in which his forces and those of Scipio were entirely defeated. Juba, his son, then a child, was delivered up to the conqueror, and was one of the most conspicuous ornaments of his triumph. It appears from history, that a noble education was bestowed upon Juba in Rome, where he imbibed such a variety of knowledge, as afterwards equalled him to the most learned [pg 311] among
A.M. 3974. A. Rom. 719. Ant. J.C. 30.
the Grecians. He did not leave that city till he went to take possession of his father's dominions. Augustus restored them to him, when, by the death of Mark Antony, the provinces of the empire were absolutely at his disposal. Juba, by the lenity of his government, gained the hearts of all his subjects; who, out of a grateful sense of the felicity they had enjoyed during his reign, ranked him in the number of their gods. Pausanias speaks of a statue which the Athenians erected in his honour. It was, indeed just, that a city, which had been consecrated in all ages to the Muses, should give public testimonies of its esteem for a king who made so bright a figure among the learned. Suidas ascribes[953] several works to this prince, of which only the fragments are now extant. He had written the history of Arabia; the antiquities of Assyria, and those of the Romans; the history of theatres, of painting and painters; of the nature and properties of different animals, of grammar, and similar subjects; a catalogue of all which is given in Abbé Sevin's short dissertation on the life and works of the younger Juba,[954] whence I have extracted these few particulars.