Jugurthine War
Encyclopedia
The Jugurthine War takes its name from the Berber
king Jugurtha
(Berber
: Yugrtn), nephew and later adopted son of Micipsa
, King of Numidia.
was a Berber kingdom located in North Africa
(roughly corresponding to northern modern day Algeria
) not far from Rome
's arch enemy, Carthage
. King Micipsa died in 118 BC
. He was survived by two natural sons, Adherbal
and Hiempsal
, and his adopted nephew, Jugurtha. It was Micipsa's wish that all three would share his kingdom after his death. After King Micipsa's death, Jugurtha proved to be a ruthless and unscrupulous man who would do anything to achieve what he wanted, including murder, bribery, treachery, and assassination. Jugurtha learned Roman ways and military tactics while commanding the Numidian army under Scipio Aemilianus at the Siege of Numantia
.
After Micipsa died, Jugurtha ordered Hiempsal assassinated and Adherbal fled to Rome for assistance against his half-brother. A Roman commission was sent to Numidia in 116 BC
to make peace and divide the country among the two brothers. However, Jugurtha bribed the Roman officials in the commission and the best regions of Numidia were given to Jugurtha. Nevertheless, it was accepted and peace was made. Shortly after, in 113 BC, Jugurtha provoked a war with his brother and cornered Adherbal in Adherbal's capital city of Cirta
. Adherbal along with the Italians living there resisted. A second Roman commission was sent and, after being bribed, allowed Jugurtha to take the city. Jugurtha then executed his brother, Adherbal, along with many of the Italians who helped Adherbal defend Cirta. This execution of Italians and Romans forced the Roman Senate
to declare war on Numidia in 112 BC.
led an army against Jugurtha but Jugurtha surrendered and was given unusually favorable terms. It appears that Bestia was bribed. So favorable were Jugurtha's terms of surrender that it led to an investigation in Rome. Jugurtha was summoned to Rome. Upon his arrival in Rome, Jugurtha bribed two Roman Tribune
s who in turn protected him and prevented him from testifying. Jugurtha then attempted to arrange for the assassination of a potential rival (his cousin Massiva, staying in Rome) and was expelled from the city. In late 110 or early 109 Jugurtha defeated a Roman army led by the praetor Aulus Postumius Albinus Magnus, brother of the consul of that year, apparently by using bribery, treachery, and trickery. He then demanded to be recognized as the rightful ruler of Numidia. The Senate refused.
was sent to North Africa to defeat Jugurtha. For his efforts Metellus was later given the title "Numidicus" although he accomplished precisely nothing in his time there. Quintus Caecilius Metellus was honest and able as a commander but was buying time in order to maximise his glory when he did actually defeat them. His successful war plan was to destroy Jugurtha's supply lines and this forced Jugurtha to guerilla tactics. An internal Roman struggle developed between Metellus and his subordinate commander (legate), Gaius Marius
. Metellus permitted Marius to return to Rome and Marius was elected consul in 107 BC. Metellus was fully aware of Marius' ambitions in Roman politics and refused for days to allow him to sail to Rome and stand for the consulship. Metellus was, however, unaware that Marius wanted his command in Numidia. Numidia was not an area designated to be protected by consul by the Roman Senate. However, the populares passed a law in its Tribal Assembly
which gave the command against Jugurtha to Marius in 107 BC. This was significant because the Assembly usurped the Senate's rights and powers in this matter and the Senate yielded.
arrived in Numidia, Jugurtha had joined forces with his father-in-law, Bocchus
, the King of Mauretania
. Marius continued Metellus's plan and won several victories, but, just like the earlier Fabian strategy
, Jugurtha's tactics prevented a Roman victory. It soon became evident that Rome could not defeat Jugurtha through war. Instead, Bocchus negotiated a peace with the Romans that included betraying and turning Jugurtha over to them and in return, Bocchus received part of the Numidian Kingdom. However, Bocchus was tempted to do the opposite to the lightly armed Sulla against the more well-armed Jugurtha. After a public display, Jugurtha was thrown into a pit under the Tullianum in Rome to die.
, who later came to rival Marius in the first of the great civil wars of the Late Republic. The beginning of this rivalry, according to Plutarch
, was purportedly Sulla's crucial role in the negotiations for and eventual capture of Jugurtha, which led to Sulla wearing a ring portraying the capture despite Marius being awarded the victory for it.
The Roman historian Sallust
wrote a monograph, Bellum Jugurthinum, on the Jugurthine War emphasising this decline of Roman ethics and placed it, along with his work on the Conspiracy of Cataline, in the timeline of the degeneration of Rome that began with the Fall of Carthage and ended with that of the Republic. He is one of our most valuable sources on the war, along with Plutarch's biographies of Sulla and Marius.
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
king Jugurtha
Jugurtha
Jugurtha or Jugurthen was a King of Numidia, , born in Cirta .-Background:Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other Libyans in North Africa...
(Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
: Yugrtn), nephew and later adopted son of Micipsa
Micipsa
Micipsa was the eldest legitimate son of Masinissa, the King of Numidia, in the Ancient Algerian Maghreb of North Africa. He became the King of Numidia.-Early life:...
, King of Numidia.
Jugurtha and Numidia
NumidiaNumidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
was a Berber kingdom located in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
(roughly corresponding to northern modern day Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
) not far from Rome
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
's arch enemy, Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. King Micipsa died in 118 BC
118 BC
Year 118 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cato and Rex...
. He was survived by two natural sons, Adherbal
Adherbal
Adherbal, son of Micipsa and grandson of Masinissa, was a king of Numidia between 118 BC and 112 BC. He inherited the throne after the death of his father, and ruled jointly with his younger brother Hiempsal, and Jugurtha, the nephew of Masinissa...
and Hiempsal
Hiempsal
Hiempsal, was the name of the two kings of Numidia*Hiempsal I, the son of Micipsa, was assassinated by Jugurtha.*Hiempsal II, the son of Gauda, the half-brother of Jugurtha....
, and his adopted nephew, Jugurtha. It was Micipsa's wish that all three would share his kingdom after his death. After King Micipsa's death, Jugurtha proved to be a ruthless and unscrupulous man who would do anything to achieve what he wanted, including murder, bribery, treachery, and assassination. Jugurtha learned Roman ways and military tactics while commanding the Numidian army under Scipio Aemilianus at the Siege of Numantia
Siege of Numantia
The Celtiberian oppidum of Numantia was attacked more than once by Roman forces, but the Siege of Numantia refers to the culminating and pacifying action of the long-running Numantine War between the forces of the Roman Republic and those of the native population of Hispania Citerior. The...
.
After Micipsa died, Jugurtha ordered Hiempsal assassinated and Adherbal fled to Rome for assistance against his half-brother. A Roman commission was sent to Numidia in 116 BC
116 BC
Year 116 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Geta and Eburnus...
to make peace and divide the country among the two brothers. However, Jugurtha bribed the Roman officials in the commission and the best regions of Numidia were given to Jugurtha. Nevertheless, it was accepted and peace was made. Shortly after, in 113 BC, Jugurtha provoked a war with his brother and cornered Adherbal in Adherbal's capital city of Cirta
Cirta
Cirta was the capital city of the ancient Kingdom of Numidia in northern Africa . Its strategically important port city was Russicada...
. Adherbal along with the Italians living there resisted. A second Roman commission was sent and, after being bribed, allowed Jugurtha to take the city. Jugurtha then executed his brother, Adherbal, along with many of the Italians who helped Adherbal defend Cirta. This execution of Italians and Romans forced the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
to declare war on Numidia in 112 BC.
Bestia
The Roman consul Lucius Calpurnius BestiaBestia
Bestia is the name of a family in ancient Rome, of which the following were the most distinguished.1. Lucius Calpurnius Bestia, tribune of the people in 121 BC, consul in 111. Having been appointed to the command of the operations against Jugurtha, he at first carried on the campaign energetically,...
led an army against Jugurtha but Jugurtha surrendered and was given unusually favorable terms. It appears that Bestia was bribed. So favorable were Jugurtha's terms of surrender that it led to an investigation in Rome. Jugurtha was summoned to Rome. Upon his arrival in Rome, Jugurtha bribed two Roman Tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
s who in turn protected him and prevented him from testifying. Jugurtha then attempted to arrange for the assassination of a potential rival (his cousin Massiva, staying in Rome) and was expelled from the city. In late 110 or early 109 Jugurtha defeated a Roman army led by the praetor Aulus Postumius Albinus Magnus, brother of the consul of that year, apparently by using bribery, treachery, and trickery. He then demanded to be recognized as the rightful ruler of Numidia. The Senate refused.
Metellus
The consul Quintus Caecilius MetellusQuintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was the leader of the conservative faction of the Roman Senate and a bitter enemy of Gaius Marius....
was sent to North Africa to defeat Jugurtha. For his efforts Metellus was later given the title "Numidicus" although he accomplished precisely nothing in his time there. Quintus Caecilius Metellus was honest and able as a commander but was buying time in order to maximise his glory when he did actually defeat them. His successful war plan was to destroy Jugurtha's supply lines and this forced Jugurtha to guerilla tactics. An internal Roman struggle developed between Metellus and his subordinate commander (legate), Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
. Metellus permitted Marius to return to Rome and Marius was elected consul in 107 BC. Metellus was fully aware of Marius' ambitions in Roman politics and refused for days to allow him to sail to Rome and stand for the consulship. Metellus was, however, unaware that Marius wanted his command in Numidia. Numidia was not an area designated to be protected by consul by the Roman Senate. However, the populares passed a law in its Tribal Assembly
Tribal Assembly
The Tribal Assembly of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman citizens. During the years of the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of thirty-five Tribes: Four Tribes encompassed citizens inside the city of Rome, while the other thirty-one Tribes encompassed...
which gave the command against Jugurtha to Marius in 107 BC. This was significant because the Assembly usurped the Senate's rights and powers in this matter and the Senate yielded.
Marius
When Gaius MariusGaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
arrived in Numidia, Jugurtha had joined forces with his father-in-law, Bocchus
Bocchus
Bocchus is the name of 2 kings of Mauretania.* Bocchus I* Bocchus II...
, the King of Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
. Marius continued Metellus's plan and won several victories, but, just like the earlier Fabian strategy
Fabian strategy
The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause...
, Jugurtha's tactics prevented a Roman victory. It soon became evident that Rome could not defeat Jugurtha through war. Instead, Bocchus negotiated a peace with the Romans that included betraying and turning Jugurtha over to them and in return, Bocchus received part of the Numidian Kingdom. However, Bocchus was tempted to do the opposite to the lightly armed Sulla against the more well-armed Jugurtha. After a public display, Jugurtha was thrown into a pit under the Tullianum in Rome to die.
Revelations
The Jugurthine War clearly revealed the problems of the Republic at that time. The fact that a man such as Jugurtha could rise to power by buying Roman military and civil officials reflected a Roman moral and ethical decline. Romans now sought individual power often at the expense of the state, also displayed by Marius's rise to power by ignoring Roman traditions. These events were also observed by Marius's quaestor, Lucius Cornelius SullaLucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
, who later came to rival Marius in the first of the great civil wars of the Late Republic. The beginning of this rivalry, according to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, was purportedly Sulla's crucial role in the negotiations for and eventual capture of Jugurtha, which led to Sulla wearing a ring portraying the capture despite Marius being awarded the victory for it.
The Roman historian Sallust
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
wrote a monograph, Bellum Jugurthinum, on the Jugurthine War emphasising this decline of Roman ethics and placed it, along with his work on the Conspiracy of Cataline, in the timeline of the degeneration of Rome that began with the Fall of Carthage and ended with that of the Republic. He is one of our most valuable sources on the war, along with Plutarch's biographies of Sulla and Marius.
External links
- SallustSallustGaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
's Conspiracy of Catiline and The Jurgurthine War at Project Gutenburg in plain text form.