After the Punic Wars, Carthage's holdings in northwest Africa were mostly given to Rome's local allies. Iol was given to Micipsa, the king of Numidia, who first established it as a royal court. It became an important city for the kingdom and was the primary capital for and II. The town minted its own coins and received new defensive works in the 1st centuryBC. Its Punic culture continued, but worship of Baal Hammon was notionally substituted with worship of his Roman equivalent Saturn.