Bocchus II, King of Mauretania

Kings of Mauretania, Bocchus II (or early Juba II) ŠMŠ mint Shemesh, circa 49-33 BC, Æ 16.00mm, 3.53 g

Obv: Bearded head left, neo-punic legent behind

Rev: Six-pointed star flanked by ear of wheat left, grape bunch to right, neo-punic letters ŠMŠ above.

Ref: Marion type D 47 variant. SNG Copenhagen 539 var.

This rare bronze coin comes from the time period where Rome was transitioning between Republic and Empire.

Bocchus II was the last king of Mauretania before it formally became a client kingdom to Rome. Bocchus II bequethed his kingdom to Rome upon his death. Augustus eventually installed the sone of defeated Numidian King, Juba II, as client king circa 25 BC.

It weighs just over 3.5 grams, and minted near the Atlantic coast of ancient Mauretania Tingitana — a place the Romans would consider the far edge of the known world. The bust on the obverse is thought to be a male figure possibly a local deity or a personification of the "People" or the "City".

Catalog Reference

It appears to be a variant of coin No. 47 in Jean Marion’s 1972 study Les monnaies de Shemesh et des villes autonomes de Maurétanie tingitane. This coin captures a critical moment when North Africa was shifting from its indigenous Berber kingdoms toward full incorporation into the Roman imperial system.

Ruins of Lixus (𐤋𐤊𐤔), an important ancient city founded by the Phoenicians c. 750 BC on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Layers of Phoenician, Mauretanian, and Roman ruins remain. (Image Source: Public Domain via Reddit)

The Mint

Shemesh, was a city associated with the great sanctuary of the sun god (now identified with the ruins at Lixus, near modern Larache), the coin shows a male figure facing left. The reverse displays a six-rayed star, a cluster of grapes, an ear of wheat, and a neo-Punic inscription reading Š-M-Š (Shemesh). Many of these coins were found inland at Volubilis, a growing agricultural center that would become one of Rome’s great African cities.

Morocco, the ruins of Volubis, photo by Subhros, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bocchus II & Rome

Around the time this coin was minted — the mid- to late 40s BCE — Mauretania was ruled by King Bocchus II. An astute political survivor, Bocchus II threw his support behind Julius Caesar during Rome’s civil wars.

The Battle of Thapsus was fought on 6 February 46 BCE near Thapsus (modern Ras Dimass, Tunisia) between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Pompeian-Numidian alliance led by Metellus Scipio and King Juba I of Numidia. Juba I was defeated by Julius Caesar ending Numidian independence and shifting the balance of power in North Africa permanently in favor of Rome. After his defeat, Juba I committed suicide rather than be captured​.

"Meanwhile P. Sittius and king Bochus had united their forces and, learning of king Juba’s departure, moved them closer to his kingdom. Sittius then attacked Cirta, the richest town of that kingdom, and after a few days’ fighting captured it, as well as two Gaetulian towns. When he offered them terms, proposing that they should evacuate the town and surrender it unoccupied to him, they refused the terms and were subsequently captured by Sittius and all put to death. Thereupon he advanced, ravaging both countryside and towns without ceasing."
-Caesar, The African War, 25

Bacchus gained from Juba’s fall by expanding Mauretanian territory under Roman patronage. Bocchus II (King of Mauretania) and Publius Sittius (a Roman adventurer and mercenary commander) invaded and occupied parts of Numidia. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, Mauretania enjoyed a precarious semi-independence, balancing local traditions and the pull of Romanization.

This was a turbulent era throughout the Mediterranean. In Rome, the collapse of the Republic gave rise to brutal power struggles: Mark Antony, Octavian (later Augustus), and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate, battling assassins like Brutus and Cassius and each other. Egypt, under the captivating Cleopatra VII, aligned with Antony against Octavian, a rivalry that would culminate at Actium in 31 BCE.

Trade in wheat, olives, and wine from Mauretania became vital to Rome. Local Punic and Berber traditions began blending with Roman architecture, language, and governance.

Volubilis, where coins of this type would have circulated, would soon thrive as a Roman municipium under Juba II, the learned son of the defeated Numidian king Juba I. Under Juba II, and later his son Ptolemy of Mauretania, cities like Volubilis became true Roman outposts — with forums, basilicas, aqueducts, and imperial temples.