Arabio

Arabio (or Arabion) was the last independent Numidian king, ruling the western region between 44 and 40 BC. According to Appian, he was a son of Masinissa II and probable grandson of Gauda, who had divided Numidia between his sons in 88 BC. He was of Massylian origin.

== Etymology == The etymology of the name Arabio is unknown, but it is undoubtedly of Semitic origin. It might be the same as that of "Arab" or else derive from the Punic word rab, meaning "leader". The same word existed in biblical Hebrew (chief) and in Aramaic (governor, head of a professional class). The initial A- likely represents a berberisation of the Punic root. This root is the equivalent of the Numidian root mess, "leader", which is in turn the root of the name of Arabio's father, Masinissa. It was first proposed by the numismatist Jean Mazard in 1955 that Arabio's given name was the same as that of his father and that Roman authors referred to him merely by the Punic form with which they were more familiar. The Numidian and Punic languages belong to the Berber and Semitic branches of the Afro-Asiatic language family, respectively.