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Sophonisba

Sophonisba (died 203 BC) was a Carthaginian noblewoman, daughter of the general Hasdrubal Gisco, who wielded significant influence over Numidian rulers through strategic marriages amid the Second Punic War (218–201 BC).^[1] Celebrated in ancient accounts for her beauty, eloquence, and political acumen, she initially married King Syphax of the Masaesyli to bind Numidia's western tribes to Carthage against Rome, swaying him from earlier Roman alliances.^[1] Following Masinissa's defeat of Syphax in 206 BC and his subsequent Roman alliance, Sophonisba wed Masinissa, leveraging her charms to potentially divert him toward Carthaginian interests, though Roman commander Scipio Africanus viewed her as a threat.^[1] Under pressure from Scipio, who demanded her extradition to prevent further intrigue, Masinissa reluctantly provided Sophonisba with a poisoned cup, enabling her to avert capture and enslavement by Rome; she drank it without hesitation, demonstrating resolve in the face of defeat.^[2] Her story, primarily preserved in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (Books 28–30), portrays her as a symbol of Carthaginian defiance, though the narrative's dramatic elements reflect Roman historiographical tendencies to dramatize foreign adversaries.^[1] Polybius, a more restrained contemporary source, alludes to the events but omits personal details, underscoring Livy's embellishments while affirming the core diplomatic maneuvers and her demise.^[1]

Origins and Early Life

Sophonisba was the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco, a Carthaginian general who commanded forces in Iberia against Roman incursions and represented the interests of Carthage's traditional aristocracy in opposition to the expanding influence of Hannibal's Barcid faction.^[3]^[4] Her birth occurred circa 235–225 BCE in Carthage, during a period when the city's elite navigated internal factional rivalries amid escalating conflicts with Rome.^[5] As a member of the Punic nobility, Sophonisba's lineage traced to the Phoenician founders of Carthage, embedding her family within a stratum that leveraged hereditary status for control over trade routes, mercenary armies, and suffete elections.^[5] This aristocracy prioritized collective oligarchic decision-making over monarchical rule, with power concentrated among approximately 700–800 prominent clans whose wealth derived from overseas commerce and colonial administration.^[4] Women of her class, while excluded from formal offices, held strategic value through arranged betrothals that cemented pacts with foreign potentates, as seen in broader Punic practices of dynastic diplomacy to secure military loyalties and territorial concessions.^[6] Such indirect influence aligned with a social structure where elite females managed household estates and patronized religious cults, bolstering familial prestige amid Carthage's reliance on alliance networks for survival.^[7]

Name Etymology and Cultural Context

The name Sophonisba, as recorded in Roman sources such as Livy, represents a Latinized transliteration of the Punic Ṣapanbaʿal (𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋), a theophoric compound likely meaning "Baʿal conceals" or "sheltered by Baʿal," derived from Phoenician roots ṣapan ("to hide" or "conceal") and baʿal ("lord" or the name of the chief Canaanite deity).^[8] ^[9] Alternative interpretations include "Baʿal has judged" or "my refuge is Baʿal," emphasizing divine protection or judgment, patterns evident in Punic onomastics where Baʿal invoked favor from Carthage's paramount god, Baal Hammon.^[9] This etymology underscores Carthage's Phoenician heritage, as the city-state's nomenclature preserved Semitic religious motifs amid North African influences, distinct from the Greco-Roman adaptations that rendered it as Sophonībē, potentially evoking Greek sophos ("wise") without altering its core Punic structure.^[8] In Carthaginian elite culture, women's names like Ṣapanbaʿal signified not only familial piety toward Baal but also strategic utility in alliances, as theophoric elements connoted divine endorsement for political marriages and inheritance claims, per comparative analyses of Punic inscriptions from sites like Carthage and Lepcis Magna.^[9] ^[10] Such naming practices highlighted gender roles where high-status females, often daughters of generals or suffetes, embodied clan prestige and religious continuity, integrating Phoenician astral and fertility cults with local Libyan elements, though Roman accounts later emphasized exotic allure over these indigenous implications.^[10] This contrasts with the more secular or heroic naming in contemporaneous Greek and Roman societies, revealing Carthage's identity as a Semitic outpost oriented toward divine patronage rather than anthropocentric individualism.^[9]

Role in the Second Punic War

Marriage to Syphax and Carthaginian Alliances

In 206 BCE, during the final phases of the Second Punic War, Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco orchestrated the betrothal of his daughter Sophonisba to Syphax, king of the Masaesyli Numidians in western Numidia, as a diplomatic maneuver to counter the pro-Roman orientation of Masinissa, ruler of the eastern Massylii Numidians. Previously promised to Masinissa to secure his allegiance, Sophonisba's redirection to Syphax addressed Carthage's need for reliable Numidian cavalry and territorial support amid Roman advances under Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. Syphax, who had earlier formed a treaty with Scipio in 205 BCE and hosted Roman envoys, reversed his stance upon the marriage, providing Carthage with access to his forces and ports for staging defenses against the anticipated Roman landing in Africa.^[11] The union was consummated rapidly at Syphax's capital of Siga, where ancient accounts emphasize Sophonisba's personal influence in binding the alliance through her charisma, eloquence, and physical allure, transforming a pragmatic arrangement into fervent loyalty. Hasdrubal expedited her dispatch to the court, and upon arrival, she reportedly captivated Syphax to the extent that the wedding occurred without delay, enabling coordinated Carthaginian-Masaesylian operations, including the fortification of key positions and joint maneuvers against Roman scouts. Polybius identifies her explicitly as Hasdrubal's daughter and Syphax's consort, underscoring the marriage's role in anchoring Carthaginian strategy in Numidia. While Roman-centric sources like Livy highlight her seductive agency—potentially exaggerating for dramatic effect to underscore Carthaginian perfidy—the tactical shift in Syphax's support is corroborated as a verifiable pivot that bolstered Carthage's African defenses temporarily.^[12]^[1] This alliance yielded immediate military dividends, with Syphax contributing thousands of Numidian horsemen to Hasdrubal's campaigns and hosting Carthaginian councils, thereby delaying Scipio's consolidation of eastern Numidian support. The marriage exemplified Punic realpolitik, leveraging familial ties over ideological affinity to neutralize internal African divisions and project unified resistance to Roman incursion, though its fragility would later manifest amid battlefield reversals.^[11]

Influence on Numidian Politics

Sophonisba wielded considerable sway over King Syphax of the Masaesyli, redirecting Numidian foreign policy to favor Carthage amid the intensifying Roman pressure in 206–205 BCE. Following her marriage, Syphax reversed preliminary agreements with Roman envoys, expelling them from his court and mobilizing forces against the pro-Roman Massylian leader Masinissa, thereby bolstering Carthaginian defenses in North Africa.^[11] Livy attributes this pivot directly to Sophonisba's persuasive counsel, portraying her as inducing Syphax to construct fortified settlements aligned with Punic interests and to conduct joint military operations that targeted Masinissa's territories.^[1] Her influence contributed causally to the prolongation of Carthaginian resistance, as Syphax's commitments under her guidance complicated Roman efforts to unify Numidian factions under Masinissa prior to Scipio Africanus's African campaign. In 204 BCE, upon Roman landing near Utica, Syphax's armies, coordinated with Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco, mounted effective counteroffensives, including arson attacks that temporarily lifted the Roman siege of the city and diverted Scipionic resources.^[1] This delay in Roman consolidation—extending through 203 BCE until Syphax's decisive defeat—stemmed from the stabilized Carthago-Numidian axis she helped maintain, independent of romantic embellishments in later accounts. Polybius, less inclined to personalize political shifts, nonetheless corroborates the marriage-alliance dynamic as pivotal in sustaining Syphax's anti-Roman stance. Such leverage through marital and advisory roles parallels alliance-building by other ancient women, as in the Hellenistic era where queens like Arsinoë II of Egypt influenced Ptolemaic diplomacy via kinship ties and strategic counsel, though without the gendered exoticism Roman historiography applied to Sophonisba to contrast Punic guile with Roman rectitude. Livy's emphasis on her agency, while potentially amplified to glorify Scipio's triumphs, aligns with empirical outcomes: the verifiable Carthaginian gains in Numidian loyalty disrupted Roman logistics, underscoring interpersonal influence as a pragmatic tool in tribal confederation politics where formal treaties often faltered absent personal bonds.^[11]

Transition to Masinissa and Defeat of Syphax

In 203 BC, during the Roman invasion of Africa in the Second Punic War, forces under Gaius Laelius—Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus's legate—combined with Masinissa's Massylian cavalry to defeat Syphax's Masaesylian army near Cirta, Syphax's capital. The battle resulted in heavy Carthaginian-Numidian losses, including the flight of Hasdrubal Gisco with only about 2,500 survivors, and culminated in Syphax's capture after his forces' camps were torched.^[12]^[13] This victory eliminated a major Carthaginian ally, exposing the fragility of Numidian confederations reliant on personal kingship rather than stable institutions. Amid the chaos of Cirta's fall, Sophonisba, Syphax's Carthaginian wife and daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco, was surrendered to Masinissa as a captive. Masinissa, reportedly captivated by her eloquence and beauty—echoing a supposed earlier betrothal—married her immediately, either in the captured city or en route, to consolidate his claim over western Numidia and incorporate her political networks. Appian recounts this union as a Carthaginian stratagem to leverage Sophonisba's influence and redirect Masinissa's loyalties back toward Carthage, despite his recent Roman pact.^[14]^[15] Livy similarly describes her persuasive appeal to Masinissa upon his entry into Cirta, framing the marriage as a hasty consolidation of spoils.^[13] This abrupt dynastic pivot illustrates the opportunistic realignments characteristic of Numidian politics, where tribal cavalry's mobility enabled rapid shifts between great powers based on battlefield outcomes rather than ideological commitment. Polybius's timeline positions the Cirta engagement shortly after the Battle of the Great Plains (also 203 BC), linking it causally to Carthage's escalating desperation as Roman-Numidian coordination eroded their African defenses.^[12] While Roman-centric sources like Livy and Appian embellish Sophonisba's role to depict Carthaginian intrigue—potentially exaggerating her agency to underscore Roman moral superiority—the core sequence of defeat and remarriage verifiably disrupted immediate Roman consolidation, briefly sustaining Carthaginian hopes by testing Masinissa's fidelity before Zama.^[16] Such volatility, rooted in Numidia's decentralized structure, prolonged the war by necessitating further Roman diplomacy to secure Masinissa's forces against resurgent Punic maneuvers.

Death and Roman Intervention

Demands by Scipio Africanus

Following the defeat of Syphax and the capture of Cirta in 203 BCE, Masinissa, having gained control over the city and its royal household, married Sophonisba shortly thereafter to secure her allegiance and prevent her transfer to Roman custody as a war captive.^[17] Scipio Africanus, recognizing Sophonisba's Carthaginian heritage and her demonstrated capacity to influence Numidian rulers through diplomacy and personal charisma—as evidenced by her prior marriage to Syphax—demanded her immediate surrender to Roman authorities. This ultimatum was driven by strategic necessity: Scipio viewed her continued presence at Masinissa's side as a potential vector for Carthaginian intrigue that could undermine the fragile Roman-Numidian alliance critical to operations against Hannibal.^[17] The demand underscored Roman military protocol regarding high-status enemy captives, who were often extradited to the commanding general to mitigate risks of disloyalty or subversion, paralleling treatments of figures like Hasdrubal's kin in prior engagements. Masinissa, newly elevated to kingship through Roman support, initially resisted yielding his recent bride, highlighting the tension between his personal obligations and dependence on Scipio's favor for consolidating power over unified Numidia.^[17]

Suicide and Its Circumstances

In the immediate aftermath of her marriage to Masinissa in 203 BCE, Sophonisba faced the prospect of handover to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus. To avert this fate and preserve her freedom, Masinissa provided her with a cup of poison, framing it as a final act of loyalty to her noble status.^[18] She accepted the poison without hesitation, drinking it swiftly to assert her agency against subjugation.^[19] Livy's account details that Sophonisba consumed the poison with remarkable poise, remarking to Masinissa that it served as her wedding gift from him, and she perished rapidly thereafter, before he exited the room.^[19] This act underscored her preference for death over the degradation of captivity, reflecting a deliberate choice grounded in personal honor amid military defeat. Appian corroborates the provision of poison by Masinissa, noting it offered her the option between self-destruction and imprisonment. Masinissa, deeply affected, mourned her intensely, having been captivated by her intellect and resolve; he honored her remains with royal funeral rites despite the circumstances.^[19] The swiftness of her death—occurring mere moments after ingestion—highlights the potency of the toxin, likely a fast-acting substance such as aconite or hemlock, common in ancient Mediterranean contexts for suicide.^[19]

Historical Sources and Evaluation

Primary Ancient Accounts

Titus Livius (Livy) furnishes the most extensive surviving account of Sophonisba in Ab Urbe Condita, Books 28–30, composed in the late 1st century BC. In Book 28, he introduces her as the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco, a leading Carthaginian commander, who orchestrates her marriage to Syphax, king of the Masaesylian Numidians, in 206 BC to counter Roman advances in North Africa. Livy details her subsequent influence over Syphax, portraying her as wielding persuasive eloquence that sways him toward Carthaginian interests, including the fortification of Cirta and opposition to Roman allies. Following Syphax's defeat and capture by Masinissa in 203 BC (Book 30), Livy describes her swift remarriage to the victorious Masinissa, her entreaties to avoid surrender to Scipio Africanus, and her self-administered poisoning via a cup provided by Masinissa, framing her as a clever, beautiful noblewoman whose agency precipitates both alliances and tragedy. Polybius of Megalopolis, writing his Histories in the 2nd century BC as a near-contemporary source (drawing from firsthand Roman and Carthaginian reports), offers a more concise military-oriented narrative in Book 14, without naming Sophonisba explicitly but referring to her as "the girl" or Syphax's wife. He attributes to her the role of dissuading Syphax from defecting to Rome after initial setbacks, emphasizing how her interventions prolonged Carthaginian resistance and complicated Roman strategy in Numidia, though he prioritizes tactical outcomes like the siege of Cirta over personal drama.^[12] Appian of Alexandria, in his Roman History: Punic Wars (2nd century AD), provides another succinct version in sections 27–30, aligning closely with Livy but adding the detail of a prior betrothal between Sophonisba and Masinissa, arranged by her father to secure Numidian loyalty before redirecting her to Syphax for immediate strategic needs. Appian focuses on the diplomatic maneuvers and her poisoning as a defiant act amid Masinissa's capitulation to Scipio, underscoring the Numidian civil strife's pivotal impact on the war's African theater. These Greco-Roman texts constitute the core primary evidence, with no extant Carthaginian records—such as inscriptions or annals from Punic archives—preserving an alternative viewpoint, leaving historians reliant on accounts shaped by Rome's triumphant historiography.

Reliability and Roman Biases

Roman historiographers, drawing from a victor’s perspective, frequently depicted Sophonisba as a cunning manipulator who wielded feminine allure to sway Numidian leaders, thereby casting her influence as a moral and existential threat that necessitated Roman intervention to restore order and virtue. This portrayal served to exalt figures like Scipio Africanus and Masinissa, framing their actions as triumphs over Carthaginian perfidy rather than routine geopolitical maneuvering. Such narratives aligned with broader Roman propaganda against Carthage, which emphasized enemy treachery to justify territorial expansion and cultural dominance during and after the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE).^[20] In contrast, evidence of Sophonisba's diplomatic efficacy emerges from the tangible outcomes of her alliances: her marriage to Syphax in circa 205 BCE secured Numidian forces for Carthage, enabling operations that contested Roman landings in North Africa until Syphax's defeat at Utica in 203 BCE. This success stemmed from structured political incentives—Numidian access to Carthaginian resources and territory—rather than unsubstantiated claims of personal seduction, which ancient sources like Livy amplify for rhetorical effect without corroborating detail. Polybius, whose Histories (composed circa 150 BCE) relied on eyewitness reports from participants including Scipio's circle, offers a drier account prioritizing strategic causation over character-driven drama, underscoring her role in Hasdrubal Gisco's coalition-building without undue emphasis on intrigue.^[21] Cross-verification across Polybius (Histories 14.1–12) and Livy (Ab Urbe Condita 30.12–15) reveals high consistency on verifiable core events: Sophonisba's betrothal to Masinissa's son (pre-205 BCE), her pivot to marrying the defecting Syphax, the rapid union with Masinissa following Cirta's fall (203 BCE), Scipio's demand for her extradition as a security measure, and her subsequent suicide by poison to avert captivity. These alignments suggest the factual skeleton withstands scrutiny, with discrepancies limited to Livy's later (circa 27–9 BCE) stylistic flourishes that heighten pathos and Roman exceptionalism, potentially distorting agency attribution but not the sequence or military context.^[22] Sophonisba's maneuvers, including the post-Cirta marriage to Masinissa, exemplify rational adaptation in a zero-sum contest where Carthage's survival hinged on Numidian neutrality or support amid Hannibal's Italian stalemate; arranged unions were normative instruments of alliance in ancient Mediterranean diplomacy, yielding leverage until overridden by Roman military superiority. Romanticized readings that inflate her as a singular femme fatale overlook this causal framework, privileging narrative embellishment over the empirical primacy of battlefield reversals—like Syphax's losses at the Great Plains (203 BCE)—in determining outcomes.^[23]

Modern Scholarly Perspectives

Modern scholars generally affirm Sophonisba's historical existence based on the convergence of accounts in Roman sources like Livy (Ab Urbe Condita 30.12) and Appian (Libyca 26–30), which detail her marriages and influence on Numidian kings during the Second Punic War's final phase (206–203 BCE), corroborated by Valerius Maximus (Facta et Dicta Memorabilia 2.7.1) without significant discrepancies. No archaeological evidence from Numidian sites such as Cirta (modern Constantine, Algeria) or Carthaginian epigraphy contradicts these events, as excavations confirm the shifting alliances between Masinissa, Syphax, and Carthage-Rome dynamics in that period.^[1] Interpretations of Sophonisba's agency draw on comparative evidence for gender roles in Punic and Numidian societies, where elite women held property rights and diplomatic leverage, as seen in Carthaginian votive inscriptions naming female donors and Numidian royal stelae depicting queens in advisory positions. However, Roman narratives emphasize her personal seduction over strategic politics, potentially exaggerating her role to rationalize Carthaginian diplomatic successes; scholars caution that without surviving Punic texts, her influence may reflect elite marriage customs common in Semitic and Berber contexts rather than exceptional autonomy.^[6] Post-2000 analyses, including Fabre-Serris (2021), frame Sophonisba as embodying Carthaginian ethnic identity in Livy's account, using her to explore hybrid alliances and resistance motifs amid Roman biases, yet stress the evidential gap from primary Punic sources, which limits claims of her as a deliberate symbol of anti-Roman defiance beyond interpretive reconstruction. This view balances her portrayal against the propagandistic tendencies in victor histories, prioritizing causal factors like geopolitical maneuvering over romanticized agency unsubstantiated by non-Roman records.^[6]

Cultural and Literary Legacy

Depictions in Classical Literature

Livy's account in Ab Urbe Condita (Book 30, chapters 12–15) provides the most detailed classical literary depiction of Sophonisba, portraying her as a cunning Carthaginian noblewoman whose beauty and political acumen nearly disrupted Roman alliances during the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE). She is shown marrying the Numidian king Syphax to bind him to Carthage, using persuasion and seduction to sway him against Rome, and later wedding Masinissa upon Syphax's defeat, extracting a promise from him not to surrender her to Scipio Africanus. Livy emphasizes her role as an agent of Carthaginian dolus (deceit), framing her suicide by poison as a desperate act to evade Roman captivity, thereby highlighting Roman clemency contrasted with Punic treachery.^[17]^[24] Other historians offer briefer, more factual treatments with less moral embellishment. Polybius, in his Histories (Book 14), records the events surrounding her marriages and death as part of Masinissa's defection to Rome but omits dramatic personal details, focusing on strategic implications without attributing intrigue to Sophonisba herself. Appian, in Punic Wars, largely follows Livy's narrative, depicting her as influential in Numidian politics through marriage but underscoring Scipio's demand for her handover as a measure to secure loyalty, portraying her end as a poignant rejection of subjugation. These accounts reflect Greco-Roman historiographical tendencies to use Sophonisba as an exemplum of foreign (especially Carthaginian) intrigue threatening Roman order, often amplifying her seductive power to caution against unchecked alliances.^[15] Plutarch references Sophonisba in his Parallel Lives and Moralia to explore ethical themes, such as the tension between passion and duty; he suggests Scipio's insistence on her delivery stemmed from concern for her safety amid Masinissa's potential vengefulness, framing the episode as a lesson in virtuous leadership over emotional entanglements. While not directly named in Virgil's Aeneid, Sophonisba's archetype echoes Dido's—both Carthaginian women wielding eros to influence North African rulers—serving in Roman literature as a cautionary figure of peregrina fraus (foreign guile), where personal allure undermines political fidelity, though Virgil prioritizes mythic forebears over historical figures like her.

Representations in Art and Later Works

Giangiorgio Trissino's Sofonisba (written 1514–1515), the first tragedy in Italian vernacular literature adhering to classical unities, centers on her internal conflict between loyalty to Carthage and successive marriages, culminating in her voluntary death to preserve honor.^[25] The play elevates her as a model of tragic dignity and patriotic resolve, drawing from Livy's account but amplifying emotional depth for Renaissance audiences.^[26] This dramatic portrayal influenced later works, such as John Marston's English tragedy The Wonder of Women, or The Tragedy of Sophonisba (1606), which similarly stresses her stoic acceptance of poison amid political betrayal.^[27] Visual representations from the Renaissance onward predominantly focus on her suicide, often romanticizing the moment of receiving or consuming the poisoned cup as an act of noble autonomy rather than desperation. Andrea Mantegna's circa 1490 engraving depicts her in a restrained classical style, holding the cup with composed defiance. Sixteenth-century engraver Georg Pencz portrayed her in flowing attire, emphasizing dramatic tension. Baroque artists intensified emotionality: Guercino's 1630 Dying Sophonisba shows her reclining nude, eyes upward in resignation, prioritizing aesthetic pathos over historical accuracy. Rembrandt's 1634 panel, initially misidentified as Artemisia or Judith, captures her receiving the cup from an attendant, with intricate light and shadow heightening psychological intensity, though the scene conflates motifs from multiple ancient tales.^[31] These works, while inspired by Livy and Appian, diverge by idealizing her as a virtuous heroine, downplaying ancient portrayals of her as a cunning diplomat who manipulated alliances through marriage.^[32] In the twentieth century, Sophonisba appeared in Giovanni Pastrone's silent epic Cabiria (1914), where actress Italia Almirante-Manzini embodies her as a seductive Carthaginian intriguer allying with Syphax against Roman forces, serving the film's proto-fascist glorification of ancient Rome and Italian heritage.^[33] This cinematic depiction projects modern nationalist anxieties onto her story, casting her as an exotic antagonist rather than a tragic figure, with lavish sets underscoring imperial spectacle over fidelity to sparse historical details. Modern literary engagements remain sparse, occasionally invoking her in discussions of ancient female agency but avoiding deep narrative revival due to evidential gaps in primary sources.^[34] Overall, post-classical treatments evolve her from a politically astute survivor in Roman historiography to an icon of sacrificial loyalty, often imputing stoic or romantic virtues unsubstantiated by empirical ancient evidence.

References

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Mar 26, 2020 · Sophonisba was the daughter of a Carthaginian nobleman named Hasdrubal, who is usually called "the son of Gesco" to distinguish him from his namesake and ...Missing: noblewoman primary Polybius
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Any exaggeration of Barcid ambition in Spain in the literary evidence is the result of an anti-Barcid tradition. ... and Hasdrubal Gisco had spread their forces ...
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Almost all that is known about the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco comes from. Diodorus Siculus (27.7), Livy (29.23; 30.12.11–15.11), Appian ( Hisp. 37; Pun . 10 ...Missing: Sophonisba primary
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Jacqueline Fabre-Serris, "Identities and Ethnicities in the Punic Wars ...
Furthermore the woman staged in this episode is not any woman: Sophonisba belongs to the Carthaginian elite. She is the wife of a king, formerly ally of the ...
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Meaning, origin and history of the name Sophonisba
From the Punic name 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 (Ṣapanbaʿl) probably meaning "Ba'al conceals", derived from Phoenician 𐤑𐤐𐤍 (ṣapan) possibly meaning "to hide, ...
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List of Carthaginian (Punic) names - Rick Heli
Halishat/Arishat/Elissa (f), fire of God or woman of God ; Hamilcar, brother of Melqart ; Hannabaal (m/f), Baal's grace ; Hannibal, favored by Baaal ; Hanno ...
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Oct 28, 2024 · Famous names from Carthage include Hannibal, meaning “Grace of Baal,” and Hasdrubal, meaning “Help of Baal.” These names not only reflected ...
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Sophoni(s)ba, daughter of the celebrated Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Son of Gesco, became Queen of Numidia twice over through marriage to two Numidian kings.
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Polybius describes Hannibal praying to the gods, which Livy omits, suggesting a narrative bias in Livy's portrayal. " Discrepancy 2: a prayer to the gods?Missing: Sophonisba | Show results with:Sophonisba<|separator|>
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Dec 6, 2024 · Sophonisba's tragic life story, her cruel fate, her magnanimity in adversity, her courage, lived up to the ethic and esthetic expectations of ...
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Italy's "first regular tragedy," Giangiorgio Trissino's Sofonisba (1514), for example, drew as much from Petrarch as it did from Euripides. So- fonisba has ...
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Prints and Drawings. Artist. Pieter Lastman. Title. Sophonisba Receiving the Poisoned Cup. Place. Holland (Artist's nationality:) Date Dates are not always ...
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Sophonisba has been alternately portrayed as virtuous and heroic, and as a vain, proud temptress, faithless to Syphax. Aldegrever's print suggests that both ...
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In order to keep his promise, Masinissa married Sophonisba. Scipio, who was afraid that she might succeed in turning Masinissa against the Roman cause, opposed ...<|separator|>