9.5), by tackling topics as diverse as Arabian geography and Augustan court culture. Although the book is focused on the career and scholarship of Juba II, son of Juba I of Numidia and king of Mauretania 25 BCE-23 CE, it is by no means a traditional biography: Roller clarifies the importance of this neglected figure, “the most learned of all kings” according to Plutarch (Sert. 1 Duane Roller’s study of the client kings of Mauretania - the first in English - is a welcome addition to the list: its judicious combination of material and literary evidence (not a feature of other recent books) makes for a rewarding exercise in cultural and political history. After decades of neglect, the last few years have seen a minor outbreak of monographs on Hellenistic and early Roman Africa.
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