Bocchus I

Bocchus, often referred to as Bocchus I for clarity, was king of Mauretania from c. 111 – 80 BCE. He was father-in-law to the Numidian king Jugurtha, with whom he initially allied against the Romans in the Jugurthine War, a lengthy and indecisive conflict.

King Bocchus eventually betrayed Jugurtha to the Romans in 105 BCE. Jugurtha was captured and imprisoned in Rome, while the Romans and Bocchus divided Jugurtha's Numidian kingdom between them.

A. Pellegrin suggests that the name Bocchus is only the Latin form of a Berber name, possibly Wekkus. This name may be related to the Touareg "Aweqqas", which means "lion", or, in the local Aokas dialect, "shark", and can be used as a male name. Several locations in North Africa bear etymologically related names, such as the city of Aokas in Algeria, and Djebel Ouekkas in Tunisia.

Very little is known about Bocchus I or his Mauretanian kingdom. He was probably the son or grandson of King Baga of Mauretania, a contemporary of King Massinissa of neighboring Numidia.

Bocchus's North African kingdom was bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Moulouya River (Latin: Mulucha). Roman historian Sallust in Bellum Jugurthinum (The Jurguthine War) notes:

All the Moors were ruled by King Bocchus, who knew nothing of the Roman people save their name and was in turn unknown to us before that time either in peace or in war.

— C. Sallustius Crispus, Chapter 19, Bellum Iugurthinum

According to Sallust, by custom Bocchus had many wives and four known children: his daughter (name unknown), who married Jugurtha of Numidia; his eventual heir Sosus/Mastanesosus; and two other sons, Bogud (not to be confused with king Bogud) and Volux.