In 46 BC, at just two years old, a young North African prince named Juba was paraded through the streets of Rome as part of Julius Caesar’s victory parade. This traumatic beginning, however, did not define his future. As a young man, Juba fought alongside Emperor Augustus and was sent back to rule over his birthplace in Mauretania as king.

Juba’s reign was marked not by tyranny, but by scholarship. A famed antiquarian, travel writer, and explorer, he discovered and named the Canary Islands, penned histories of Arabia and Libya, and led diplomatic missions to his fellow kings. Ruling alongside his wife, Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, these heirs to African dynasties were potent symbols of Romanisation.

Their dynasty would be cut dramatically short by the mad emperor Caligula, their history buried for centuries. In this ambitious work of historical recovery, Dr Andrew Kenrick pieces together clues etched in coin and stone to reveal a Roman civilization that flourished just as much in Africa as it did in Europe. By inviting us to shift our gaze to the southern shores of the Mediterranean, Rex Juba offers a surprising new perspective on the heyday of the ancient world.

“Colourful, engaging and timely, this portrait of a man caught between two worlds captures the full beauty and complexity of the ancient world.” – Paul M.M. Cooper, host of the Fall of Civilizations podcast and Sunday Times bestselling author

“Seventeen images of ancient artefacts introduce Juba, North African client king and Greek intellectual, and place him in the limelight of Roman history. With its striking arrangement, Rex Juba is a fine piece of storytelling, written with verve and style.” – Harry Sidebottom, bestselling author of the Warrior of Rome series

“Juba II of Mauretania and his wife, Cleopatra Selene – daughter of the famous Cleopatra – are astonishing figures of history, and far too little known. With so much focus on Rome and the beginnings of empire in Italy, there’s hardly any talk of these two gritty and powerful rulers who ruled in north Africa in the wake of the devastating wars of the Republic. In Rex Juba, Kenrick has penned a gripping read, packed with historical detail, that offers insights into an extraordinary ruler at an extraordinary period of history.” – Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica