Jugurthine War

Carthage was a Phoenician colony on the northern coast of Africa. They came from the Syrian coastal city of Tyre. They were a Semitic people inclined to commerce, and Carthage, well situated to dominate trade in the Western Mediterranean, soon surpassed its homeland in wealth and power. However, the Carthaginians were strangers in a strange land. They occupied a thin strip of land along the coast, but everywhere inland they were surrounded by the native African state of Numidia. The Carthaginians had reduced the Numidians to a client state and paid the fierce Numidian cavalry to fight its wars. During the Hanniballic War, the Numidian cavalry in Spain was led by Massinissa, the greatest Numidian warrior. He first fought for Carthage, but later, he changed sides, became a loyal subject of Rome, and was paid handsomely for his service. The Romans set him up as king of Numidia. The defeated Carthage had no choice but to suffer Massinissa’s incursions or suffer renewed war with Rome. Eventually, the Carthaginians had no choice be to defend themselves, and Rome – that was spoiling for a fight – seized on the opportunity to destroy Carthage, once and for all, and turned Carthage’s remaining territory in Africa into a Roman province. Now, the Romans occupied the coast, everywhere surrounded by Numidia.

Massinissa lived until he was 92 and upon his death requested the Romans to divide his kingdom between his three sons. Two died eventually, and Micipsa became king of all of Numidia. Jugurtha was a prince of a dead king and Micipsa had two sons so it appeared that Jugurtha was locked out of the throne. However, Jugurtha was a competent soldier and a favorite of the Numidian people and the Romans. When Micipsa died, once again the kingdom was divided three ways between Micipsa’s two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and Jugurtha. Jugurtha had his own ideas, however. He started a civil war, killed Hiempsal and caused Adherbal to flee to Rome to seek the help of the Senate.

At this time, Rome had defeated Carthage, Macedonia, and Seleucid Syria. It was unrivaled across the known world. However, the Republic was dying. The rich were getting richer, buying vast plantations worked by abundant slave labor. The middle class had all but disappeared. Lower class citizens were much more expensive than slave labor, and they could find no work. The masses (freedmen, foreigners and worse) in Rome were dependent upon the free grain imported from Sicily and elsewhere. Twice the lower classes, led first by Tiberius Gracchus then his brother Gaius Gracchus, raised up to challenge the authority of the aristocratic oligarchy of the Senate. As tribune of the plebs, they proposed redistribution of land and other laws beneficial to recreating a middle class at the expense of the wealthy. In response, the nobles beat Tiberius to death with clubs and tossed his body into the Tiber. Gaius was later slaughtered with 3,000 of his supporters after the Senate for the first time declared martial law in Rome.

The oligarchs of the Senate were firmly back in control of the Republic and the spoils of the world flowed back to them, making them all fabulously wealthy. But greed, decadence and incompetence followed hand in hand.

When Adherbal came before the Senate, they were inclined to support Jugurtha, because it was easier. They appointed a commission that divided Numidia between the two cousins. Jugurtha had bribed the Senate commission, who gave Jugurtha all the fertile land, Adherbal the desert. Not satisfied, Jugurtha wasted little time and attacked Adherbal in his capital, Cirta. Adherbal surrendered after being promised safety, but Jugurtha murdered him anyway. Jugurtha pillaged Cirta and in the process killed several Italian merchants.

This offended the Roman people who demanded revenge. An army under proconsul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia was sent to Africa to exact that revenge. Jugurtha bribed him as well. Instead of fighting, Bestia agreed to a sweetheart treaty that allowed Jugurtha to get away with – murder. The people of Rome were upset and suspected foul play. So, a tribune of the plebs, Caius Memmius, guaranteed Jugurtha save conduct and demanded that he appear in Rome to answer questions concerning his dealings with the Roman aristocrats. He appeared, but just before he was about to answer Caius Baebius, the other tribune exercised his veto and demanded Jugurtha not to speak. Once again, Jugurtha was able to bribe his way out of trouble. On the ship back to Africa, Jugurtha is said to have said, “I would have bought the whole city if I had enough coin.”

Back in Numidia, there was another grandson of Massinissa claiming the throne. So, Jugurtha had him killed -- once again in defiance of Rome. Now, even the lazy Senate had had enough and sent an army to Africa under Consul Spurius Postumus Albinus. But Spurius returned early to organize elections back in Italy and left his incompetent brother, praetor Aulus Postumus Albinus in charge. Jugurtha easily defeated Aulus who concluded a treaty, but the Senate refused to confirm the treaty and send another army to Africa under Quintus Caecilius Metellus. Metellus did better, but was unable to track Jugurtha down. Rome was stuck in a quagmire hunting an allusive enemy across the desert. One of Metellus' officers, Caius Marius, returned to Rome and complained that Metellus was just as incapable as the other senatorial commanders had been. This was just a campaign speech, but the Roman electorate believed Marius and elected him consul. Marius assumed command, but he could do no better than Metellus at controlling the countryside. He too was caught in a quagmire. Finally, after seven years of inconclusive combat that humiliated the world’s only superpower, Marius sent his quaestor, Lucius Cornelius Sulla west to bribe the Mauritanian king Bocchus -- Jugurtha's father-in-law -- to betray Jugurtha. Jugurtha was captured, turned over to Sulla and brought back to Rome in chains. Jugurtha adorned Marius triumphal procession and then was promptly executed in jail.

The Jugurthine wars demonstrate that you can be immoral, incompetent and corrupt and still win.