King Zelalsen of Numidia

King Zelalsen (recorded as Zilalsan in ancient Libyco-Berber epigraphy) was one of the foundational monarchs of the Massylian kingdom of eastern Numidia in the third century BC. Ruling from the ancestral crags of Cirta (Constantine), he organized early Numidian confederacies and established dynastic alliances across North Africa.

Zelalsen fathered King Gaia (Gala) and King Oezalces, establishing the legendary royal house that would produce King Masinissa, the greatest unifier of Numidia. His name is preserved for eternity in the famous bilingual Libyco-Punic royal inscription on the Mausoleum of Dougga, identifying him as the great royal ancestor of the Numidian kings.