Jugurtha
Jugurtha, (c. 160 –
104 BC)
Berber King of
Numidia.
Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather
Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other
Berbers in
North Africa. Masinissa established a kingdom (roughly equivalent to modern northern
Algeria) and became a
Roman ally in
206 BC. After a long reign he was succeeded in
148 BC by his son
Micipsa, Jugurtha's uncle. Jugurtha was so popular among the Numidians, that Micipsa was obliged to send him away to
Spain.
Unfortunately for Micipsa, instead of quietly keeping out of the way, Jugurtha used his time in Spain to make several influential Roman contacts. He served at the siege of
Numantia alongside
Gaius Marius and learned of Rome's weakness for bribes. He famously described
Rome as
"urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit" ("a city for sale and doomed to quick destruction, if it should ever find a buyer").
When Micipsa died in
118, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons
Hiempsal and
Adherbal. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which lead to open war with Adherbal. After Jugurtha defeated him in open battle, Adherbal fled to Rome for help. The Roman officials, allegedly due to bribes but perhaps more likely because of a desire to quickly end conflict in a profitable client kingdom, settled the fight by dividing Numidia into two parts. Jugurtha was assigned the western half. (Later Roman propaganda claimed that this half was also richer, but in truth it was both less populated and developed.)
By
112 Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal. He incurred the wrath of Rome in the process, by killing some Italic businessmen who were aiding Adherbal. After a brief war with Rome, Jugurtha surrendered and received a highly favourable peace treaty, which raised suspicions of bribery once more. The local Roman commander was summoned to Rome to face corruption charges brought by his political rival
Gaius Memmius. Jugurtha was also forced to come to Rome to testify against the Roman commander, where he was completely discredited once his violent and ruthless past became widely known.
War broke out between Numidia and the
Roman Republic and several legions were dispatched to North Africa under the command of the
Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus. The war dragged out into a long and seemingly endless campaign as the Romans tried to inflict a decisive defeat on Jugurtha. Frustrated at the apparent lack of action, Metellus' lieutenant
Marius returned to Rome to seek election as Consul. Successfully elected, Marius returned to Numidia and to take control of the war. He sent his
Quaestor Lucius Cornelius Sulla to neighbouring
Mauretania in order to eliminate their support for Jugurtha. With the help of
Bocchus I of Mauretania, Sulla was able to capture Jugurtha and bring the war to a conclusive end. Jugurtha was brought to Rome in chains and was placed in the
Tullianum.
Jugurtha was executed by the Romans in
104 BC, after being paraded through the streets in Marius'
Triumph.
*
Sallust,
De Bello Iugurthino.
*
Jugurthine War*
Battle of the Muthul
