The Death of Sophonisba

The death of Sophonisba was a relatively common subject in art from the 17th century onwards. The literary source for this episode, which dates to the end of the Second Punic War, is Livy’s History
of Rome (XXX, 14–15). Sophonisba, who lived from 235 to 203BC, was Queen of Numidia and daughter of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal. She married one of the Numidian chiefs, Syphax, an ally of Rome, b…