I wrote a novel about the history of Algeria because I liked it a lot and it contains many wonderful historical things. I started with the history of the Kingdom of Numidia. Everything you will see in this novel has a little bit of truth and the rest is all my imagination. I hope you enjoy reading it.
The sun was rising over the plains of Numidia, where the Berber tribes live in freedom and dignity. In the palace of the Basil, the tribal leader Gaia and his wife were waiting for their new baby. On that day, 238 BC, Masinissa was born, the son who would become king of the Numidians. Gaia looked at his son with pride and said: "This son will be a great leader, he will unite the tribes and protect our land." His mother said: "We will call him Masinissa, which means 'king' in the Berber language."
Masinissa's childhood was full of play and learning. He learned horsemanship, archery and bow shooting. He heard stories about his ancestors, who fought the Carthaginians and the Romans. He dreamed of becoming a great leader like his ancestors.
Although his parents cared a lot about him, this fact did not prevent him from taking responsibility. His village was suffering from poverty and diseases, and his life was very difficult due to the lack of culture and possibilities. They were only Berbers, and their tribes were scattered, so their forces and civilization were very weak compared to the great Carthage and Rome at that time.
Here comes the role of Masinissa:
How will he save his people from this suffering? His life was training, cultural education and learning a little philosophy from his teachers, although his teachers were not great scholars, they had a little knowledge.
And so Masinissa began to grow up, and the responsibility grew with him. One day, Gaia said to Masinissa: "My son, you will be the king of Numidia. You will unite the tribes and protect our land." Masinissa looked at his father with pride and said: "I am ready, father. I will fulfill your dream."
Thus began the journey of Massinissa, the son who would become king of the Numidians. Although he agreed to his father's dream, Massinissa knew that this dream was very difficult, because uniting the tribes is not an easy thing, especially since the tribes are scattered and the enemies are waiting for any opportunity to attack.
After reaching the age of twenty, Massinissa began to go hunting with his brothers and friends. When a young man goes hunting, it means that he must start to depend on himself. Massinissa, despite growing up in the main palace, this did not prevent him from learning various types of work, such as herding sheep, learning horsemanship, archery, swordsmanship and spear throwing. He learned all this at a young age, which was evidence of his great intelligence.
Massinissa learned all this when he was young, and he also learned war tactics and learned how to lead soldiers from his father. His father taught Massinissa everything he knew in order to make him a great leader, because he saw in his son the ambition and knew that he was the promised child who would unite the tribes, advance them and form a strong kingdom.
The Basil Palace was where Masinissa lived, and he had brothers and sisters who would gather when the leaders of other tribes came. Masinissa would go to them and tell them some stories and legends.
While everyone was gathered, they decided to discuss an urgent matter before they could talk. King Gaia called his son Masinissa, saying: "Come and sit by my side so that you can learn politics." After the
meeting was over, King Gaia called his son Masinissa and said: "You should get ready, you will go with us to witness the battle against the army of Carthage." Masinissa was excited and afraid at the same time, because this was his first battle.
Masinissa replied to his father and said: "Okay, father, I will go." Then Masinissa ran to his brothers and sisters and told them that he would go with his father to the battle. They were shocked!
"Are you really going?" they asked him.
He replied: "Yes, I will go. I have always been eager to go to the battle."
While the mother was walking around, she heard their conversation and was surprised and said: "What!!! Who is going to the battle?"
Masinissa answered: "I will go, mother."
The mother replied: "Why are you going to the battle now? You still have a lot to learn, and you have never fought in a war before, especially against strong enemies from Carthage."
Masinissa replied: "I have studied and trained in all the methods of battle, and I have trained with the sword and the spear, and also it is my time to enter the battle to gain experience. I have become an adult and must be ready to help my father."
The mother replied: "You have matured a lot, my son, but despite that, since it is your first battle, you should only watch it, not participate in it. Just watching it will gain you experience, especially with strong warriors, and you will learn new methods of war."
Masinissa replied: "I intended to participate, but as you said, mother, I still do not have enough experience, and this is a very decisive battle. If I intervene in it, I will only be a burden to them."
The mother replied: "Well done, I know you want to participate very much, but haste will destroy its owner."
After finishing talking to his mother, Masinissa went to his room to prepare well for the journey. After completing all his weapons and horse, Masinissa went to sleep very excited, and said to himself: "When will the morning come?"
Early in the morning, everyone woke up. While Masinissa was passing by with his weapons, he met his brothers and sisters and they bid him farewell, because it was a very dangerous mission.
Masinissa brought his horse and went to his father, the king. The king saw his son on his horse, and called him and said: "Come here to my side. Then tell him, are you ready for this journey? It is not like hunting or hiking. On this journey, anything can happen. You have to be very smart."
At this time, Masinissa was no longer his son, but a leader. Masinissa replied: "Okay, my leader."
Thus, an army led by King Gaia marched into the battlefield to face a very difficult opponent, the Carthaginian Kingdom, which is considered one of the greatest kingdoms in the world. How will the Berber tribes deal with them and what will their war be like?