Jugurtha

Jugurtha (jgûr`thə), c.156–104 B.C., king of Numidia, a grandson of Masinissa. On the death of Micipsa (118 B.C.), the royal power devolved upon his two sons and upon his adopted son Jugurtha. The latter ousted the other two heirs and united Numidia under his rule. In the process, however, some Italians were murdered, leading Rome to invade Numidia; peace was reestablished in 111 B.C. Jugurtha, on a visit to Rome to explain his acts, ordered a rival murdered. War was resumed, and the Romans under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus gained some notable successes. Under a new commander, Caius Marius, the Romans continued to apply pressure on Jugurtha, who was being supported by his father-in-law, Bocchus, king of Mauretania. Jugurtha was captured (106 B.C.) when Bocchus betrayed him, and he was put to death in prison in Rome.

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Jugurtha

(born c. 160 BC—died 104, Rome) Ruler of the North African kingdom of Numidia under the Romans (118–105 BC). After the death of his uncle Micipsa, then ruler of Numidia, Jugurtha shared rule with his two cousins. He had one killed and captured the capital city of the other. Rome intervened with troops, which Jugurtha successfully outwitted until he was captured in 105 BC. See also Gaius Marius; Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix.

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Jugurtha

died 104 bc, king of Numidia (?112--104), who waged war against the Romans (the Jugurthine War, 112--105) and was defeated and executed

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Jugurtha 

Born 160 B.C.; died 104 B.C. King of Numidia from 117. Military commander and diplomat. Grandson of Masinissa.

Jugurtha was educated in Rome. In 134 and 133 he fought in the Numantian War of 143–133. After the death in 118 of his uncle, King Micipsa of Numidia, he killed one of Micipsa’s sons and forced the other son, Adherbal, to flee. Adherbal appealed to the Roman Senate for aid, but by bribing Roman senators, Jugurtha attained a partition of Numidia that favored his interests; he received the fertile, western part of the country. In 112, Jugurtha captured the Numidian capital of Cirta, whereupon he executed Adherbal and all other men in the city, including Romans and other Italians. In response the Romans launched a war against Jugurtha—the Jugurthine War—in 111.

Jugurtha was defeated in 106 and fled to his father-in-law, King Bocchus of Mauretania, who turned him over to the Romans in 105. In 104, dressed in his royal robes, Jugurtha was presented to the Romans as a prisoner in the triumph of G. Marius; he was executed in prison.