Battle of the Muthul The Battle of the Muthul was an episode of the Jugurthine War . This battle was fought in 108 BC between the Numidians led by King Jugurtha , and a Roman force under Caecilius Metellus . The Romans were victorious , and four years later Jugurtha was dead , executed by the Romans following his capture by Lucius Cornelius Sulla . The Roman historian Publius Rutilius Rufus distinguished himself during the battle , while Gaius Marius ' military genius shone through for the first time , saving the day for the Romans . The Muthul river can be identified as the Wäd Mellag ( Tissot " Géographie comparée " 1 . pp . 67 – 68 ) , and in this case Metellus would have started his campaign in south - east Numidia , with the aim of strengthening his communication links . Other views ( Mannert and Forbiger ) identify the Muthul with the river Ubus , with Metellus starting his campaign in western Numidia , and later returning to Zama . The battle . The objective of Metellus ' army was to reach the interior of Numidia . His army had to descend from the mountains and cross a desert plain , eighteen miles wide to reach the Muthul river where he could refill his water reserves . Jugurtha had deployed part of his infantry and all of his war elephants along the river , under Bomilcar , while all of his cavalry and the best part of his infantry was hidden in a short and bushy ridge along the path the Roman army had to follow . Descending from the mountain pass , Metellus noticed the ambush , but his army needed to refill its water reserves , and thus had to cross the desert without cavalry coverage and within sight of the enemy . So he detached a small force under the command of Rufus to set up a camp beside the river . The main part of the Roman army moved diagonally towards the Numidian force on the ridge to dislodge them . Jugurtha ordered his infantry to cut off the retreat of the Romans by occupying the mountain pass while the Numidian cavalry charged against the Romans scattering them into small detachments . The Romans were kept in small groups , unable to perform any coordinated movement . Each group was fighting for its own survival , and the Numidian cavalry had control of the battlefield . Bomilcar engaged the troops of Rufus , thus preventing him from aiding Metellus ' troops . At this point an officer who had raised from the ranks , Marius , re - organized a few detachments , and led a column of 2000 soldiers through the Numidians to free his commander Metellus . Marius then led the Roman column up the hill against the Numidian infantry , which retreated leaving the Romans with control of the hill . From this position , Marius led his men against the rear of the Numidian cavalry , uniting the separated Roman detachments into a single army . At the same time , Rufus had held the Numidian force on the river , and succeeded in killing or routing the Numidian elephants . At evening , the two armies met and rejoined . Despite the retreat of the Numidians , the retreat was well timed by the quick - thinking Jugurtha . As a result , Numidia suffered light casualties compared to the battered Romans . Therefore , the result was somewhat indecisive . The Romans primarily survived the battle thanks to the luck of the Roman scouts prior to the battle , and the inspirational leadership of Marius against the odds . After the battle . Jugurtha disbanded most of his troops and skilfully and successfully reverted to guerilla warfare . Metellus and Marius drove two columns against the Numidian cities , but Metellus ' defeat at Zama forced the Romans to return to Carthage . Marius returned to Rome , where he was elected to consulship with the support of the people and over the objections of the Senate . Since the Senate did not give him an army , he called for volunteers . He allowed citizen classes that had never been levied previously into the army . Marius thus reformed the Roman army , and went on to conquer Numidia and capture Jugurtha ( 106 BC ) . The Senate , disliked Marius and gave the title of " Numidicus " to Metellus , and recognized Marius ' lieutenant , Lucius Cornelius Sulla as the conqueror of Numidia . However , Marius retained the support of the people of Rome , and became consul six more times in the following years .