The Masaesyli were a Berber tribe which inhabited western Numidia. Before the kingdom of Numidia was founded its people were divided in two Berber tribes – the Massylii and the Masaesyli. Both groups were skilled warriors, who regularly settled tribal and inter-tribal rivalries through combat. However, the Massylii also had strong relations with Carthage, which is one of the main reasons why the Masaesyli aligned themselves with Rome during the Second Punic War. The Masaesyli's chief desire was the union of all the Berber peoples, so that they might build a fortress-nation of fertile North Africa, but they were conquered by the Massylii under Masinissa in 203 BC.