Abstract/Summary

During the years of Italy's empire in Africa, the Punic Wars were a frequent point of reference in imperial propaganda. However, since Carthage was viewed as a city foreign to Africa, Italian ideologues of empire required an ancient enemy of Rome that was indigenous to Africa to serve as a classical counterpart for African resistance to modern Italian imperialism. This is where the Jugurthine War came in. This essay looks at two key moments of Italian receptions of the Jugurthine War: one in a Latin poem from towards the beginning of Italy's imperial endeavours in Africa and another from when the Italian Empire was at its height, under Fascism. The essay ends by considering how a Latin author who was half-Numidian—Apuleius—was used as a model of acculturation to offset the idea that Numidia and Numidians were always the enemies of Rome.