Jugurtha or
Jugurthen (ca. 160 – 104 BC) was a
Berber King of
Numidia, born in
Cirta (
Constantine currently). The name
Jugurthen is actually a Libyan name and phrase meaning
(he) is greater than them.
Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other Libyans 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, Micipsa's adopted son (and Masinissa's illegitimate grandson), was so popular among the Numidians that Micipsa was obliged to send him away to Spain.[1] 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 Jugurtha and his two sons (Jugurtha's half-brothers) Hiempsal and Adherbal. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to open war with Adherbal. After Jugurtha defeated him in open battle, Adherbal fled to Rome for help. The Roman officials settled the fight by dividing Numidia into two parts, probably in 116, but this settlement was tainted by accusations that the Roman officials accepted bribes to favor Jurgurtha. Among the officials found guilty was Lucius Opimius (who, as consul in 121, had presided over events which lead to the death of Gaius Gracchus).[2] 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.[citation needed]
By 112 Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal, penning the latter up in his capital of Cirta. Adherbal was encouraged to hold out by a corps of Italian residents, in expectation of military aid arriving from Rome. However, Roman troops were engaged in the Cimbrian War and the Senate merely sent two successive embassies to remonstrate with Jugurtha who delayed until he had captured Cirta. His troops then massacred many residents including the Italians.[3] This brought Jugurtha into direct conflict with Rome, who sent troops under the Consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia. Although the Romans made significant inroads into Numidia, their heavy infantry was unable to inflict any significant casualties on Jugurtha's army which included large numbers of light cavalry.[3]
