The same word existed in biblical Hebrew (chief) and in Aramaic (governor, head of a professional class).
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.
In 46 BC, Caesar and his allies defeated Masinissa and Juba, who committed suicide, at the Battle of Thapsus.
He reclaimed his father's kingdom with relative ease, forcing Bocchus into exile, and then contrived to assassinate Sittius through a stratagem.
[3][2] His success is sometimes attributed to the Roman training of the forces he had brought with him back to Africa, but is more likely due to the allegiance of the population to one of their own.
The presence of some "Sittians" (Latin sittiani), former followers of Sittius, among the allied forces of Arabio and Cornificius suggests that they perhaps remained in control of the late mercenary's principality, including Cirta.
[3] After Arabio's death, western Numidia and Cirta were finally incorporated into the Roman republic, presumably into the province of Africa Nova.
The death of Arabio was convenient for the Sittians, since the land of Sittius was converted by Rome into the Respublica IIII Coloniarum Cirtensium, a special legionary autonomy within Africa Nova.