NUMIDIA, an ancient kingdom of Africa, bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea; on the south by Gaetulia, or part of Libya Interior; on the west by the Mulucha, a river which separated it from Mauritania; and on the east by the Tusea, another river which formed its conterminous boundary with Africa Propria.

This country included two divisions, one inhabited by the Massyli, and the other by the Massaesyli ; the country of the latter being also called in after times Mauritania Caesariensis, and that of the former Numidia Propria. The country of the Massyli, or, as some call it, Terra Metagonitis, was separated from the territory of Carthage by its eastern boundary the river Tusea, and from the kingdom of the Massaesyli, or Mauritania Caesariensis, by the river Ampsaga; and it seems to have corresponded with that part of the province of Constantina lying between the Zaine and the Wed al Kcbeer, which is above 130 miles in length, and more than 100 in breadth. The sea-coast of this province is for the most part mountainous and rocky, answering to the appellation given to it by Abulfeda, who calls it El Edwaa, the high or lofty. It is far from being equal in extent to the ancient country of the Massaesyli, which, however, Strabo informs us, was inferior to the country of the Massyli. Its capital was Cirta, a place of very considerable note amongst the ancients.

Several learned writers have supposed that the tract extending from the isthmus of Suez to the lake Tritonis was chiefly peopled by the descendants of Mizraim, and that the posterity of his brother Put, or Phut, spread themselves all over the country between that lake and the Atlantic Ocean. And to this notion Herodotus gives some countenance; for he tells us that the Libyan Nomades, whose territories to the west were bounded by the Triton, agreed in their customs and manners with the Egyptians; but that the Africans, from that river to the Atlantic Ocean, differed from them in almost all points. Ptolemy mentions a city called Putea, near Adrametum, and Pliny a river of Mauritania Tingitana, known by the name of Fut, or Phut ; and the district adjacent to this river was called lìegio Pliutensis, which plainly involves in it the name of Phut. That word signifies scattered or dispersed; and this agrees very well with what Mela and Strabo relate of the ancient Numidians; so that we may, without any scruple, admit the aborigines of this country to have been the descendants of Phut.

The history of Numidia, during many of the early ages, is buried in oblivion. It is probable, however, that as the Phoenicians were masters of a great part of the country, their transactions had been recorded, and were generally known to the Carthaginians. King Jarbas probably reigned here as well as in Africa Propria, if not in Mauritania and other parts of Libya, when Dido began to build Byrsa∙ It appears from Justin, that about the age of Herodotus the people of this country were called both Africans or Libyans, and Numidians. Justin likewise intimates, that about this time the Carthaginians vanquished both the Moors or Mauritanians and the Numidians; in consequence of which they were excused from paying the tribute which had hitherto been demanded of them.

After the conclusion of the first Punic war, the African troops carried on a sanguinary contest against their masters the Carthaginians; and the most active in this rebellion, according to Diodorus Siculus, were a part of the Numidian nation named Micatanians. This so incensed the Carthaginians, that after Hamilcar had either killed or taken prisoners all the mercenaries, he sent a large detachment to ravage the country of those Numidians; and the commandant of that detachment executed his orders with the utmost cruelty, plundering the district in a terrible manner, and crucifying, without distinction, all the prisoners who fell into his hands. This filled the rest with such indignation and resentment, that both they and their posterity ever afterwards cherished an implacable hatred to the Carthaginians.

In the time of the second Punic war, Syphax, king of the Massaesyli, having entered into an alliance with the Romans, gave the Carthaginians a considerable defeat. This induced Gala, king of the Massyli, to conclude a treaty with the Carthaginians, in consequence of which his son Masinissa marched at the head of a powerful army to give Syphax battle. The contest ended in favour of Masinissa; thirty thousand of the Massaesyli were put to the sword, and Syphax driven into Mauritania; and a similar reverse attended Syphax in another engagement, where his troops were entirely defeated and dispersed.

Gala having died whilst his son Masinissa was acting at the head of the Numidian troops sent to the assistance of the Carthaginians in Spain, his brother Desalces, according to the established rules of succession in Numidia, took possession of the Massylian throne. That prince, however, died soon after his succession, and Capusa his eldest son succeeded him. But he did not long enjoy his high dignity; for one Mezetulus, a person of the royal blood, but an enemy to the family of Gala, found means to excite a great part of his subjects to revolt. A battle soon took place between him and Capusa, in which the latter was slain with many of the nobility, and his army entirely defeated. But though Mezetulus thus became possessed of the sovereignty, he did not think proper to assume the title of king, and only styled himself guardian to Lacumaces, the surviving son of Desalces, whom he graced with the royal title. To support himself in his usurpation, he married the widow of Desalces, who was Hannibal’s niece, and consequently of the most powerful family in Carthage; and in order to attain the same end, he sent ambassadors to Syphax, to conclude a treaty of alliance with him. In the mean time, Masinissa, having received advice of his uncle’s death, of his cousin’s slaughter, and of Mezetulus⅛ usurpation, immediately passed over to Africa, and went to the court of Bocchar king of Mauritania to solicit succours. Bocchar, sensible of the great injustice which had been done Masinissa, gave him a body of four thousand Moors to escort him to his dominions; and his subjects, being apprised of his approach, joined him upon the frontiers with a party of five hundred men. The Moors, in pursuance of their orders, returned home as soon as Masinissa reached the confines of his kingdom; notwithstanding which, and the small body that declared for him, having accidentally met Lacumaces at Thapsus, with an escort, going to implore the assistance of Syphax, he drove him into the town, which he carried by assault after a faint resistance. Lacumaces, however, with many of his men, found means to escape to Syphax. The fame of this exploit gained Masinissa great credit, insomuch that the Numidians flocked to him from all parts, and amongst the rest many of his father Gala’s veterans, who pressed him to make a speedy and vigorous effort to recover his hereditary dominions. Lacumaces having joined Mezetulus with a reinforcement of Massaesylians, which he had prevailed upon Syphax to send to the assistance of his ally, the usurper advanced at the head of a numerous army to offer Masinissa battle, which that prince, although much inferior in numbers, did not decline. An engagement accordingly ensued, and, notwithstanding the inequality of numbers, it ended in the defeat of Lacumaces. The immediate[7:16:303] consequence of this victory of Masinissa was the quiet and peaceable possession of his kingdom; Mezetulus and Lacumaces, with a few that attended them, having fled into the territories of Carthage. However, being apprehensive that he should be obliged to sustain a war against Syphax, he offered to treat Lacumaces with as many marks of distinction as his father Galahad Desalces, provided that prince would put himself under his protection. He also promised Mezetulus pardon, and the restitution of all the property forfeited by his treasonable conduct, if he would make his submission to him. Both of them readily complied with the proposal, and immediately returned home; so that the tranquillity and repose of Numidia would have been settled upon a solid and lasting foundation, had not this been prevented by Asdrubal, who was then at the court of Syphax. He insinuated to that prince, who was disposed to live amicably with his neighbours, “that he was greatly mistaken if be imagined Masinissa would be satisfied with his hereditary dominions; that he was a prince of much greater capacity and ambition than either his father Gala, his uncle Desalces, or any of his family; that he had discovered in Spain marks of rare and uncommon merit; and that, in fine, unless this rising flame was extinguished before it came to too great a head, both the Massaesylian and Carthaginian states would infallibly be consumed by it.” Syphax, alarmed by these suggestions, advanced with a numerous body of forces into a district which had long been a subject of dispute between him and Gala, but was then in possession of Masinissa. This brought on a general action between these two princes, wherein the latter was totally defeated, his army dispersed, and he himself obliged to fly to the top of Mount Balbus, attended by only a few of his horse. Such a decisive battle, before Masinissa had been firmly seated on his throne, could not fail to put Syphax into possession of the kingdom of the Massyli. Masinissa, in the mean time, made nocturnal incursions from his post upon Mount Balbus, and plundered all the adjacent country, particularly that part of the Carthaginian territory contiguous to Numidia. This district he not only thoroughly pillaged, but likewise laid waste with fire and sword, carrying off from thence an immense booty, which was purchased of him by some merchants, who had put into one of the Carthaginian ports for that purpose. In fine, he did the Carthaginians more damage, not only by committing such dreadful devastations, but by massacring and carrying into captivity vast numbers of their subjects on this occasion, than they could have sustained in a pitched battle, or a whole campaign of a regular war. Syphax, at the pressing and reiterated instances of the Carthaginians, sent Bocchar, one of his most active commanders, with a detachment of four thousand foot and two thousand horse, to reduce this pestilentgang of robbers; promising him a great reward if he would bring Masinissa either alive or dead. Bocchar, having watched an opportunity, surprised theMas-sylians as they were straggling about the country without any order or discipline; so that he took many prisoners, dispersed the rest, and pursued Masinissa himself, with a few of his men, to the top of the mountain where he had before taken post. Considering the expedition as ended, he not only sent many head of cattle, and the other booty that had fallen into his hands, to Syphax, but likewise all the force, except five hundred foot and two hundred horse. With this detachment he drove Masinissa from the summit of the hill, and pursued him through several narrow passes and defiles as far as the plains of Clupea, where he so completely surrounded him, that all the Massylians except four were put to the sword, and Masinissa himself, after having received a dangerous wound, escaped with the utmost difficulty. As this was effected by crossing a rapid river, in which attempt two of his four attendants perished in the sight of the detachment that pursued him, it was rumoured all over Africa that Masinissa also was drowned; news which gave inexpressible pleasure to Syphax and the Carthaginians. For some time he lived undiscovered in a cave, where he was supported by the robberies of the two horsemen who had made their escape with him. But having cured his wound by the application of some medicinal herbs, he began to advance boldly towards his own frontiers, giving out publicly that he intended once more to take possession of his kingdom. In his march he was joined by about forty horse, and, soon after bis arrival amongst the Massyli, so many people flocked to him from all parts, that out of them he formed an army of six thousand foot and four thousand horse. At the head of these forces he not only reinstated himself in possession of his dominions, but likewise laid waste the borders of the Massaesyli. This so irritated Syphax, that he immediately assembled a numerous body of troops, and encamped very commodiously upon a ridge of mountains between Cirta and Hippo. His army he commanded in person, and detached his son Vermina, with a considerable force, to make a detour, and attack the enemy in the rear. In pursuance of his orders, Vermina set out in the beginning of the night, and took post in the place appointed, without having been discovered by the enemy. In the mean time Syphax decamped, and advanced towards the Massyli, in order to give them battle. When he had possessed himself of a rising ground which led to their camp, and concluded that his son Vermina must have formed the ambuscade behind them, he began the fight. Masinissa" being advantageously posted, and his soldiers distinguishing themselves in an extraordinary manner, the dispute proved long and bloody. But Vermina having unexpectedly fallen upon their rear, and by this means obliged them to divide their forces, which were scarcely able before to oppose the main body under Syphax, they were soon thrown into confusion, and forced to betake themselves to a precipitate flight. All the avenues being blocked up, partly by Syphax, and partly by his son, such a dreadful slaughter was made of the unhappy Massylians, that only Masinissa himself, and sixty horse, escaped to the Lesser Syrtis. Here he remained, between the confines of the Carthaginians and the Garamantes, till the arrival of Laelius and the Roman fleet on the coast of Africa.

By the assistance of Laelius, Masinissa at last reduced Syphax’s kingdom. According to Zonaras, Masinissa and Scipio, before the memorable battle of Zama, deprived Hannibal, by a stratagem, of some advantageous posts; which, with a solar eclipse that happened during the heat of the action, and not a little intimidated the Carthaginian troops, greatly contributed to the victory obtained by the Romans. At the conclusion, therefore, of the second Punic war, he was amply rewarded by the Romans for the important services he had rendered them. As for Syphax, after the loss of his dominions, he was kept in confinement for some time at Alba; but being removed thence in order to grace Scipio’s triumph, he died at Tibur, in his way to Rome. Zonaras adds, that his corpse was decently interred; that all the Numidian prisoners were released; and that Vermina, by the assistance of the Romans, took peaceable possession of his father’s throne. However, part of the Massaesylian kingdom had before been annexed to Masinissa’s dominions, in order to reward that prince for his singular fidelity and firm attachment to the Romans.

Nothing further is requisite to complete the history of this famous prince, than to exhibit some points of his conduct towards the decline and at the close of life; the wise dispositions made after his death by Aemilianus for the regulation of his domestic affairs; and some particulars relating to his character, genius, and habit of body, drawn from the most celebrated Greek and Roman authors.

By drawing a line of circumvallation around the Cartha [7:16:304]ginian army under Asdrubal, posted upon an eminence, Masinissa cut off all manner of supplies, and thus introduced both the plague and famine into their camp. As the body of Numidian troops employed in this blockade was not nearly so numerous as the Carthaginian forces, it is evident, that the line here mentioned must have been extremely strong, and consequently the effect of great labour and art. The Carthaginians, finding themselves reduced to the last extremity, concluded a peace upon the terms which Masinissa himself dictated to them, viz. That they should deliver up all deserters; that they should recall their exiles, who had taken refuge in his dominions; that they should pay him five thousand talents of silver within the space of fifty years; and that their soldiers should pass under the yoke, each of them carrying off’only a single garment. As Masinissa himself, though between eighty and ninety years of age, conducted the whole enterprise, he must have been extremely well versed in fortification, and other branches of the military art; and he must likewise have retained his understanding to the last. This happened a short time before the commencement of the third Punic war.

Soon afterwards, the consuls landed an army in Africa, in order to lay siege to Carthage, without imparting their design to Masinissa. This not a little chagrined him, as it was contrary to the former practice of the Romans, who, in the preceding war, had communicated their intentions to him, and consulted him on all occasions. When, therefore, the consuls applied to him for a body of his troops to act in concert with their forces, he answered, “That they should have a reinforcement from him when they stood in need of it.” The reflection, that after he had extremely weakened the Carthaginians, and even brought them to the brink of ruin, his pretended friends should come to reap the fruits of his victory, without giving him the least intelligence of their design, must have been sufficiently galling to an old and faithful ally, who had done and suffered so much in their cause.

However, his mind soon returned to its natural bias, which was in favour of the Romans. Finding his end approaching, he sent to Aemilianus, then a tribune in the Roman army, to desire a visit from him. What he proposed by this visit, was to invest him with full powers to dispose of his kingdom and estate as he should think proper, for the benefit of his children. The high idea he had entertained of that young hero’s abilities and integrity, together with his gratitude and affection for the family into which he was adopted, induced him to take this step. But believing that death would not permit him to have a personal conference with Aemilianus upon this subject, he informed his wife and children, in his last moments, that he had empowered him to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all his possessions, and divide his kingdom amongst his sons; to which he subjoined, “I require, that whatever Aemilianus may decree, shall be executed as punctually as if I myself had appointed it by my will.” Having uttered these words, he expired, at a very advanced age.

Masinissa, before his death, gave his ring to his eldest son Micipsa, but left the distribution of all his other effects and possessions amongst his children entirely toAEmilianus. Of fifty-four sons who survived him, only three were legitimate, to wit, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal. Aemilianus arrived at Cirta after he had expired, and divided his kingdom, or rather the government of it, amongst these three, though to the others he gave considerable possessions. To Micipsa, who was a prince of a pacific disposition, and the eldest son, he assigned Cirta, the metropolis, for the place of his residence, in exclusion of the others. Gulussa, the next to him, being a prince of military genius, had the command of the army, and the transacting of all affairs relating to peace or war, committed to his care. And

Mastanabal, the youngest, had allotted him the administration of justice, an employment suitable to his education. They enjoyed in common the immense treasures Masinissa had amassed, and were all of them dignified by Aemilianus with the royal title. After he had made these various dispositions, he departed from Cirta, taking with him a body, of Numidian troops, under the conduct of Gulussa, to reinforce the Roman army which was then acting against the Carthaginians.

Mastanabal and Gulussa died soon after their father, as appears from the express testimony of Sallust; and we find nothing remarkable of these princes, besides what has been already related, except that the latter continued to assist the Romans in the third Punic war, and that the former was pretty well versed in the Greek language. Micipsa, therefore, became sole possessor of the kingdom of Numidia. In his reign, and under the consulate of Μ. Platius Hypsaeus and M. Fulvius Flaccus, according to Orosius, a great part of Africa was covered with locusts, which destroyed all the produce of the earth, and even devoured dry wood. But at last they were all carried by the wind into the African Sea, out of which being thrown in vast heaps upon the shore, a plague ensued, which swept away an infinite number of animals of all kinds. In Numidia alone eight hundred thousand men perished, and in Africa Propria two hundred thousand, including thirty thousand Roman soldiers quartered in and about Utica for the defence of the province. At Utica, in particular, the mortality raged to such a degree, that fifteen hundred dead bodies were carried out at one gate in a day. Micipsa had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, whom he educated in his palace, together with his nephew Jugurtha. That young prince was the son of Mastanabal; but his mother having been only a concubine, Masinissa had taken no great notice of him. However, Micipsa considering him as a prince of the blood, took as much care of him as he did of his own children.

Jugurtha possessed several eminentqualities, which gained him universal esteem. He was very handsome, endowed with great strength of body, and adorned with the finest intellectual endowments. He did not devote himself, as young men commonly do, to a life of luxury and pleasure. He used to exercise himself, with persons of his own age, in running, riding, hurling the javelin, and other manly exercises, suited to the martial genius of the Numidians; and although he surpassed all his fellow sportsmen, there was not one of them but loved him. The chase was his only delight; but it was that of lions and other savage beasts. Sallust, to finish the picture of his character, tells us, that he excelled in all things, and spoke very little of himself.

So conspicuous an assemblage of fine talents and perfections at first charmed Micipsa, who thought them an ornament to his kingdom. However, he soon began to reflect that he was considerably advanced in years, and his children in their infancy; that mankind naturally thirsted after power, and that nothing was capable of making men run greater lengths than a vicious and unlimited ambition. These reflections soon excited his jealousy, and determined him to expose Jugurtha to a variety of dangers, some of which, he hoped, might prove fatal to the aspiring youth. With this view he gave Jugurtha the command of a body of forces which he sent to assist the Bomans, who were at that time besieging Numantia in Spain. But Jugurtha, by his admirable conduct, not only escaped all those dangers, but likewise won the esteem of the whole army, and the friendship of Scipio, who sent a high character of him to his uncle Micipsa. However, that general gave him some prudent advice in relation to his future conduct; observing in him, no doubt, certain sparks of ambition, which, if lighted into a flame, he apprehended might one day be productive of the most fatal consequences.
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Before this last expedition, Micipsa had endeavoured to find out some method of taking him off privately; but the popularity of Jugurtha amongst the Numidians obliged that prince to lay aside all thoughts of this kind. After his return from Spain the whole nation almost adored him. The heroic bravery he had shown there; his undaunted courage, joined to the utmost calmness of mind, which enabled him to preserve a just medium between a timorous foresight and an impetuous rashness, a circumstance rarely to be met with in persons of his age; and, above all, the advantageous testimonials of his conduct given by Scipio, attracted universal esteem. Nay, Micipsa himself, charmed with the high opinion which the Roman general had entertained of his merit, changed his behaviour towards him; resolving, if possible, to win his affection by kindness. He therefore adopted him, and declared him joint heir with his two sons to the crown. Some few years afterwards, finding that his end approached, he sent for all the three to his bed side, where, in the presence of the whole court, he desired Jugurtha to recollect with what extreme tenderness he had treated him, and consequently to consider how well he had deserved at his hands. He then entreated him to protect on all occasions his children, who, being before related to him by the ties of blood, were now by their father’s bounty become his brethren. In order to fix him the more firmly in their interest, he likewise complimented him upon his bravery, address, and consummate prudence. He further insinuated, that neither arms nor treasures constitute the strength of a kingdom; but friends, who are neither won by arms nor gold, but by real services and an inviolable fidelity. “Now,” continued he, “where can we find better friends than in brothers? And how can that man who becomes an enemy to his relations repose any confidence in or place dependence on strangers?” Then addressing himself to Adherbal and Hiempsal, “And you,” said he, “I enjoin to pay always the highest reverence to Jugurtha. Endeavour to imitate, and if possible surpass, his exalted merit, that the world may not hereafter observe Micipsa’s adopted son to have reflected greater glory upon his memory than his own children.” Soon afterwards, Micipsa, who, according to Diodorus, was a prince of an amiable character, expired. Though Jugurtha did not believe that the king spoke his real sentiments in regard to him, yet he seemed extremely pleased with so gracious a speech, and made him an answer suitable to the occasion. However, that prince at the same time determined within himself to put in execution the scheme he had formed at the siege of Numantia, and which had been suggested to him by some factious and abandoned Roman officers, with whom he there contracted an acquaintance. The purport of this scheme was, that he should extort the crown by force from his two cousins, as soon as their father’s eyes were closed; which, they insinuated, might easily be effected by means of his own valour, and the venality of the Romans. Accordingly, a short time after the old king’s death, he found means to assassinate Hiempsal in the city of Thirmida, where his treasures were deposited, and to drive Adherbal out of his dominions. That unhappy prince found himself obliged to fly to Rome, where he endeavoured to engage the conscript fathers to espouse his quarrel; but, notwithstanding the evident justice of his cause, they had not virtue enough effectually to support him. Jugurtha’s ambassadors, by distributing vast sums of money amongst the senators, brought them so far over that ĭ majority palliated his inhuman proceedings. This encouraged the usurper’s ministers to declare that Hiempsal ιad been killed by the Numidians on account of his excessive cruelty; that Adherbal was the aggressor in the late roubles; and that he was only chagrined because he could ιot make that havock amongst his countrymen which he vould willingly have done. They therefore entreated the senate to form a judgment of Jugurtha’s behaviour in Africa from his conduct at Numantia, rather than from the suggestions of his enemies; upon which, by far the greater part of the senate discovered that they were prejudiced in his favour. A few, however, who were not lost to honour nor abandoned to corruption, insisted upon bringing him to condign punishment. But as they could not prevail, Jugurtha had the best part of Numidia allotted him, and Adherbal was forced to rest satisfied with the other.

Jugurtha, finding now by experience that every thing was venal at Rome, as his friends at Numantia had before informed him, thought he might pursue his towering projects without meeting any obstruction from that quarter. He, therefore, immediately after the final division of Micipsa’s dominions, threw off the mask, and attacked his cousin by open force. As Adherbal was a prince of a pacific disposition, and almost in all respects the reverse of Jugurtha, he was by no means a match for him. The latter therefore pillaged the territories of the former, stormed several of his fortresses, and overran a good part of his kingdom, without opposition. Adherbal, depending upon the friendship of the Romans, which his father in his last moments had assured him would be a stronger support to him than all the troops and treasures in the universe, despatched deputies to Rome to complain of these hostilities. But whilst he lost valuable time in sending thither fruitless deputations, Jugurtha overthrew him in a pitched battle, and soon afterwards shut him up in Cirta. During the siege of this city, a Roman commission arrived there, in order to persuade both parties to come to an accommodation; but finding Jugurtha untractable, the commissioners returned home without so much as conferring with Adherbal. A second deputation, composed of senators of the highest distinction, with Aemilius Scaurus, president of the senate, at their head, landed some time afterwards at Utica, and summoned Jugurtha to appear before them. That prince at first seemed to be under dreadful apprehensions, especially as Scaurus reproached him with his enormous crimes, and threatened him with the resentment of the Romans if he did not immediately raise the siege of Cirta. However, the Numidian, by his address, and the irresistible power of gold, as was afterwards suspected at Rome, so mollified Scaurus that he left Adherbal at his mercy. In fine, Jugurtha had Cirta at last surrendered to him, upon the condition only that he should spare the life of Adherbal. But the merciless tyrant, in violation of the laws of nature and humanity as well as the capitulation, when he had got possession of the town, ordered him to be put to a most cruel death. The merchants, likewise, and all the Numidians in the place capable of bearing arms, he caused to be put to the sword without distinction.

Every person at Rome inspired with any sentiment of humanity was stricken with horror at the news of this tragical event. However, all the venal senators still concurred with Jugurtha’s ministers in palliating his enormous crimes; notwithstanding which, the people, excited thereto by Caius Memmius their tribune, who bitterly inveighed against the venality of the senate, resolved not to let so flagrant an instance of villany go unpunished. This disposition in them induced the conscript fathers likewise to declare their intention to chastise Jugurtha. For this purpose, an army was levied to invade Numidia, and the command of it given to the consul Calpurnius Bestia, a person of good abilities, but rendered unfit for the expedition he was to be employed on by his insatiable avarice. Jugurtha being informed of the great preparations making at Rome to attack his dominions, sent his son thither in hopes of averting the impending storm. The young prince was plentifully supplied with money, which he had orders to distribute liberally amongst the leading men. But Bestia, proposing to himself great advantages from an invasion of Nu∙
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midia, defeated ail his intrigues, and got a decree passed, ordering him and his attendants to leave Italy in ten days, unless they were come to deliver up the king himself, and all his territories, to the republic, by way of surrender; which decree being notified to them, they returned without so much as having entered the gates of Rome, and the consul soon afterwards landed with a powerful army in Africa. For some time he carried on the war there very briskly, and having reduced several strongholds, took many Numidians prisoners. But upon the arrival of Scaurus, a peace was granted to Jugurtha upon advantageous terms. That prince having come from Vacca, the place of his residence, to the Roman camp, in order to confer with Bestia and Scaurus, the preliminaries of the treaty were immediately after settled between them in private conferences; and every body at Rome was convinced that the prince of the senate and the consul had sacrificed the republic to their avarice. The indignation of the people, therefore, displayed itself in the strongest manner. Memmius also fired them with his speeches; and it was consequently resolved to despatch the praetor Cassius, a person they could confide in, to Numidia, to prevail upon Jugurtha to come to Rome, that they might learn from the king himself which of their generals and senators had been seduced by the pestilent influence of corruption. Upon his arrival there, Jugurtha found means to bribe one Baebius Salca, a man of great authority amongst the plebeians, but of insatiable avarice, by whose assistance he escaped with impunity. Nay, by the efficacy of gold, he not only eluded all the endeavours of the people of Rome to bring him to justice, but likewise enabled Bomilcar, one of his attendants, to get Massiva, an illegitimate son of Micipsa, assassinated in the streets of Rome. That young prince was advised by many Romans of probity, wellwishers to the family of Masinissa, to apply for the kingdom of Numidia; which having come to the ears of Jugurtha, he prevented the application by this execrable step. However, he was obliged to leave Italy immediately.

Jugurtha had scarcely set foot in Africa, when he received advice that the senate had annulled the shameful peace concluded with him by Bestia and Scaurus. Soon afterwards, the consul Albinus transported a Roman army into Numidia, flattering himself with the hopes of reducing Jugurtha to reason before the expiration of his consulate. In this, however, he found himself deceived; for that crafty prince, by various artifices, so amused and imposed upon Albinus, that nothing of moment happened in that campaign. This rendered him strongly suspected of having betrayed his country, after the example of his predecessors, His brother Aulus, who succeeded him in the command of the army, was still more unsuccessful; for after raising the siege of Suthul, where the king’s treasures were deposited, he marched his forces into a defile, out of which he found it impossible to extricate himself. He was therefore obliged to submit to the ignominious ceremony of passing under the yoke, with all his men, and to quit Numidia entirely in ten days’ time, in order to deliver his troops from immediate destruction. The avaricious disposition of the Roman commander had prompted him to besiege Suthul, the possession of which place, he imagined, would make him master of all the wealth of Jugurtha, and consequently paved the way to the scandalous convention just mentioned. However, this was declared void as soon as known at Rome, from being concluded without the authority of the people. The Roman troops retired into Africa Propria, which they had now reduced into the form of a Roman province, and there took up their winter quarters.

In the mean time Caius Mamillius Limetanus, a tribune of the people, excited the plebeians to inquire into the conduct of those persons by whose assistance Jugurtha had found means to elude all the decrees of the senate. This threw the body of the people into a great ferment, and occasioned a prosecution of the guilty senators, which was carried on, for some time, with the utmost heat and violence. Lucius Metellus, the consul, during these transactions, had Numidia assigned him as his province, and consequently was appointed general of the army destined to act against Jugurtha. As he perfectly disregarded wealth, the Numidian found him superior to all his temptations; and to this contempt of money he joined all the other virtues which constitute the great captain, so that Jugurtha found him in all respects inaccessible. That prince, therefore, was now forced to regulate his conduct with the greatest caution, according to the motions of Metellus; and to exert his utmost bravery, in order to compensate for that expedient, hitherto so favourable, which now began to fail him. Marius, Metellus’s lieutenant, being likewise a person of uncommon merit, the Romans reduced Vacca, a large and opulent city, and the most celebrated mart in Numidia. They also defeated Jugurtha in a pitched battle; overthrew Bomilcar, one of his generals, upon the banks of the Muthullus; and, in fine, forced the Numidian monarch to take shelter in a place rendered almost inaccessible by the rocks and woods with which it was covered. However, Jugurtha signalized himself in a surprising manner, exhibiting all that could be expected from the courage, abilities, and attention of a consummate general, to whom despair administers fresh strength, and suggests new resources. But his troops could not make head against the Romans, and were again worsted by Marius, though they obliged Metellus to raise the siege of Zama. Jugurtha, therefore, finding his country everywhere ravaged, his most opulent cities plundered, his fortresses reduced, his towns burned, and vast numbers of his subjects put to the sword and taken prisoners, began to think seriously of coming to an accommodation with the Romans. His favourite, Bomilcar, in whom lie reposed the highest confidence, but who had been gained over to the enemy by Metellus, observing this disposition, found it no difficult matter to persuade him to deliver up his elephants, money, arms, horses, and deserters, in whom the main strength of his army consisted, into the hands of the Romans. Some of these last, in order to avoid the punishment due to their crime, retired to Bocchus, king of Mauritania, and enlisted into his service. But Metellus, having ordered him to repair to Tisidium, a city of Numidia, there to receive farther directions, Jugurtha refused to comply with that order, and hostilities were renewed with greater fury than ever. Fortune now seemed to declare in favour of Jugurtha, who retook Vacca, and massacred all the Roman garrison, except Turpilius the commandant. However, a Roman legion soon afterwards retook the place, and treated the inhabitants with the utmost severity. About this time, one of MastanabaΓs sons, named Gauda, whom Micipsa in his will had appointed to succeed to the crown in case his two legitimate sons and Jugurtha died without issue, wrote to the senate in favour of Marius, who was then endeavouring to supplant Metellus. That prince having his understanding impaired by a declining state of health, fell a more easy prey to the base and infamous adulation of Marius. The Roman, soothing his vanity, assured him, that as he was the next heirto the crown, he might depend upon being fixed upon the Numidian throne as soon as Jugurtha was either killed or taken; and that this must in a short time happen, when once he appeared at the head of the Roman army with an unlimited commission. Soon afterwards, Bomilcar and Nab-dalsa formed a design to assassinate Jugurtha, at the instigation of Metellus; but this being detected, Bomilcar and most of his accomplices suffered death. The plot, however, had such an effect upon Jugurtha, that he afterwards enjoyed no tranquillity or repose. He suspected [7:16:307] persons of all denominations, Numidians as well as foreigners, of some black designs against him; and perpetual terror sat brooding over his mind, insomuch that he never slept except by stealth, and often changed his bed in a low plebeian manner. Starting from his sleep, he would frequently snatch his sword, and break out into the most doleful cries; so strongly was he haunted by a spirit of fear, jealousy, and distraction.

Jugurtha having destroyed great numbers of his friends on suspicion of their having been concerned in this conspiracy, and many more of them having deserted to the Romansand Bocchus king of Mauritania, he found himself, in a manner, destitute of counsellors, generals, and all persons capable of assisting him in carrying on the war. This threw him into a deep melancholy, which rendered him dissatisfied with every thing, and made him fatigue his troops with a variety of contradictory movements. Sometimes he would advance with great rapidity against the enemy, and at others retreat from them with no small celerity. Then he resumed his former courage, but soon afterwards despaired either of the valour or fidelity of the forces under his command. All his movements, therefore, proved unsuccessful, and at last he was forced by Metellus to accept battle. That part of the Numidian army which Jugurtha commanded behaved with some resolution, but the other fled at the first onset. The Romanis, therefore, entirely defeated them, took all their standards, and made some prisoners. But few of them were slain in the action, since, as Sallust observes, the Numidians trusted more to their heels than to their arms for safety in this engagement.

Metellus pursued Jugurtha and his fugitives to Thala. His march to this place being through vast deserts, was extremely tedious and difficult; but being supplied with leathern bottles and wooden vessels of all sizes taken from the huts of the Numidians, which were filled with water brought by the natives who had submitted to him, he advanced towards the city. He had no sooner begun his march, than a most copious shower of rain, a thing very uncommon in these deserts, proved a great and seasonable refreshment to his troops; and this so animated them, that upon their arrival before Thala, they attacked the town with such vigour, that Jugurtha, with his family, and the treasures deposited therein, thought propet to abandon the place. After a brave defence, it was reduced; the garrison, consisting of Roman deserters, setting fire to the king’s palace, and consuming themselves, together with every thing valuable to them, in the flames. Jugurtha, being now reduced to great extremities, retired into Gaetulia, whence, having formed a considerable corps, he advanced to the confines of Mauritania, and engaged Bocchus, king of that country, who had married his daughter, to enter into an alliance with him; and having reinforced his Gaetulian troops with a powerful body of Mauritanians, he turned the tables upon Metellus, and obliged him to keep close within his intrenchments. Sallust informs us, that Jugurtha bribed Bocchus’s ministers, in order to influence that prince in his favour; and having obtained an audience, he insinuated that, should Numidia be subdued, Mauritania must be involved in its ruin, especially as the Romans seemed to have vowed the destruction of all the thrones in the universe. In support of what he advanced, he produced several instances very apposite to the point in view. However, the same author seems to intimate, that Bocchus was determined to assist Jugurtha against his enemies by the slight which the Romans had formerly shown him. That prince, at the first breaking out of the war, had sent ambassadors to Rome, to propose an offensive and defensive alliance to the republic, which, though of the utmost consequence at that juncture, a few of the most venal and infamous senators, who were abandoned to corruption, prevented from taking effect. This undoubtedly wrought niore powerfully upon Bocchus in favour of Jugurtha than the relation in which he stood to him; for both the Moors and Numidians adapted the number of their wives to their circumstances, so that some of them had ten, twenty, or more. Their kings, therefore, were unlimited in this particular, and of course all degrees of affinity resulting from marriage had but little force. It is observable, that amongst the posterity of those ancient nations the same custom prevails at this day.

Such was the situation of affairs in Numidia, when Metellus received advice of the promotion of Marius to the consulate. But, notwithstanding this injurious treatment, he generously endeavoured to draw off Bocchus from Jugurtha, although this would facilitate the reduction of Numidia for his rival. To this end ambassadors were despatched to the Mauritanian court, who intimated to Bocchus, “that it would be highly imprudent to come to a rupture with the Romans without any cause at all; and that he had now a fine opportunity of concluding a most advantageous treaty with them, which was much preferable to a war.” To this they added, “that whatever dependence he might place upon his riches, he ought not to run the hazard of losing his dominions by embroiling himself with other states, when he could easily avoid doing so; that it was much easier to begin a war than to end it, which it was in the power of the victor alone to do; that, in fine, he would by no means consult the interest of his subjects if he followed the desperate fortunes of Jugurtha.” To this Bocchus replied, “that for his part there was nothing he wished for more than peace, but that he could not help pitying the deplorable condition of Jugurtha; that if the Romans, therefore, would grant to that unfortunate prince the same terms which they had offered him, he would bring about an accommodation.” Metellus let the Mauritanian monarch know, that it was not in his power to comply with what he desired; but he nevertheless took care to keep up a private negotiation with him till the arrival of the new consul Marius. By this conduct he gained two important objects. First, he prevented Bocchus from corn ing to a general action with his troops; which was the very thing Jugurtha desired, hoping that this, whatever the event might be, would render a reconciliation between him and the Romans impracticable. Secondly, this inaction enabled him to discover something of the genius and disposition of the Moors, a nation of whom the Romans, till then, had scarcely formed any idea; and this, he imagined, might be of no small service, either to himself or his successors, in the future prosecution of the war.

Jugurtha, being informed that Marius, with a numerous army, had landed at Utica, advised Bocchus to retire, with part of the troops, to some place of difficult access, whilst he himself took post upon another inaccessible spot with the remaining corps. By this measure, he hoped the Romans would be obliged to divide their forces, and consequently be more exposed to his efforts and attacks. He likewise imagined, that seeing no formidable body appear, they would believe that the enemy were not in a condition to make head against them; which might occasion a relaxation of discipline, the usual attendant of too great security, and consequently produce some good effect. However, he was disappointed in both these views. For Marius, so far from suffering a relaxation of discipline to take place, trained up his troops, which consisted chiefly of new levies, in so perfect a manner, that they were soon equal in efficiency to any consular army that ever appeared in the field. He also cut off great numbers of the Gaetulian marauders, defeated many of Jugurtha’s parties, and had well nigh captured that prince himself near the city of Cirta. These advantages, though not of any great importance, intimidated Bocchus, who now made overtures for an accommodation[7:16:308]; but the Romans, not being sufficiently satisfied of his sincerity, paid no great attention to them. In the mean time Marius pushed on his conquests, and having reduced several places of less note, at last resolved to besiege Capsa. That this enterprise might be conducted with the greater secrecy, he suffered not the least hint of his design to transpire, even amongst any of his officers. On the contrary, in order to blind them, he detached A. Manlius, one of his lieutenants, with some light-armed cohorts, to the city of Lares, where he had fixed his principal magazine, and deposited the military chest. Before Manlius left the camp, that he might the more effectually amuse him, he intimated, that he himself with the army would take the same route in a few days; but instead of that, he bent his march towards the Tanais, and in six days’ time arrived upon the banks of that river. Here he pitched his tents for a short time, in order to refresh his troops; after which he advanced to Capsa, and made himself master of the place. As the situation of this city rendered it extremely commodious to Jugurtha, whose plan of operations, ever since the commencement of the war, it had exceedingly favoured, Marius levelled it with the ground after it had been delivered up to the soldiers to be plundered. The citizens, likewise, being more strongly attached to that prince than any of the other Numidians, on account of the extraordinary privileges he indulged them with, and of course bearing a more implacable hatred to the Romans, he put to the sword or sold for slaves. The true motive of the consul’s conduct on this occasion seems to have been that assigned; though we are told by Sallust, in conformity to the Roman genius, that neither avarice nor resentment prompted him to so barbarous an action, but only a desire to strike terror into the Numidians.

The Numidians, ever after this exploit, dreaded the very name of Marius; who now, in his own opinion, had eclipsed the glory of all the great achievements of his predecessor, particularly the reduction of Thala, a city in strength and situation nearly resembling Capsa. Following up this blow, he gradually presented himself before most of the places of strength in the enemy’s country, many of which either opened their gates or were abandoned at his approach, being terrified at what had happened to the unfortunate citizens of Capsa. Others taken by force he laid in ashes, and, in short, filled the greatest part of Numidia with blood, horror, and confusion. Then, after an obstinate defence, he reduced a castle which seemed impregnable, being situated not far from Mulucha, where Jugurtha kept part of his treasures. In the mean time, Jugurtha not being able to prevail upon Bocchus, by his repeated solicitations, to advance into Numidia, where he found himself greatly pressed, was obliged to have recourse to his usual method of bribing the Mauritanian ministers, in order to put that prince in motion. He also promised him a third part of his kingdom, provided they could either drive the Romans out of Africa, or get all the Numidian dominions confirmed to him by treaty.

So considerable a cession could scarcely fail to engage Bocchus to support Jugurtha with his whole power. The two African monarchs, therefore, having joined their forces, surprised Marius near Cirta as he was going into winter quarters. The Roman general was so hard pushed on this occasion, that the barbarians thought themselves certain of victory, and doubted not but they should be able to extinguish the Roman name in Numidia. But their want of caution, and too great security, enabled Marius to inflict on them a total defeat; which was followed four days afterwards by so complete an overthrow, that their numerous army, consistingof ninety thousand men, by the accession of a powerful corps of Moors, commanded by Bocchus’s son Volux, was entirely ruined. Sylla, the lieutenant of Marius, most eminently distinguished himself in the last action, which laid the foundation of his future greatness. Bocchus, now looking upon Jugurtha’s condition as desperate, and not being willing to run the risk of losing his dominions, showed a disposition to conclude a peace with Rome. However, the republic gave him to understand, that he must not expect to be ranked amongst its friends, until he had delivered up into the consul’s hands Jugurtha, the inveterate enemy of the Roman name. The Mauritanian monarch, having entertained a high idea of an alliance with that state, resolved to satisfy it in this particular; and was confirmed in his resolution by one Dabar, a Numidian prince, the son of Mas-sngrada, and descended by his mother’s side from Masinissa. Being closely attached to the Romans, and extremely agreeable to Bocchus on account of his noble disposition, he defeated all the intrigues of Aspar, the minister of Jugurtha. Upon Sylla’s arrival at the Mauritanian court, the affair there seemed to be entirely settled. However, Bocchus, who was continually projecting new designs, and, like the rest of his countrymen, in the highest degree perfidious, debated within himself whether he should sacrifice Sylla or Jugurtha, who were then both in his power» He was a long time fluctuating in uncertainty, and distracted by a contrariety of sentiments. The sudden changes which displayed themselves in his countenance, his air, and his whole person, evidently showed how strongly his mind was agitated. But at last he returned to his first design, to which the bias of his mind seemed naturally to lead him. He therefore delivered up Jugurtha into the hands of Sylla, to be conducted to Marius, who, by that important event, happily terminated this dangerous war. The kingdom of Numidia was now reduced to a new form. Bocchus, for his important services, had the country of the Massaesyli, contiguous to Mauritania, assigned him, and which, from this time, took the name of New Mauritania. Numidia Propria, or the country of the Massyli, was divided into three parts; one of which was given to Hiempsal, and another to Mandrestal, both descendants of Masinissa; and the third part the Romans annexed to Africa Propria, or the Roman province adjacent to it.

Jugurtha’s two sons survived him, but spent their lives in captivity at Venusia. One of them, however, named Oxyntas, was, for a short time, released from his confinement byAponius, who besieged Acerrae, in the war between the Romans and the Italian allies. That general brought this prince to his army, where he treated him as king, in order to draw off the Numidian forces from the Roman service. Accordingly, those Numidians no sooner heard that the son of their old king was fighting for the allies, than they began to desert by companies; a circumstance which obliged Julius Caesar the consul to part with all his Numidian cavalry, and send them back into Africa. Some few years after this event, Pompey defeated Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and Hiarbas one of the kings of Numidia, killing seventeen thousand of their men upon the field of battle; and, not satisfied with this victory, that general pursued the fugitives to their camp, which he soon forced, and, having put Domitius to the sword, took Hiarbas prisoner. He then reduced that part of Numidia which belonged to Hiarbas, who seems to have succeeded Mandrestal above mentioned, and gave it to Hiempsal, a neighbouring Nu∙ midian prince, descended from Masinissa, who had always opposed the Marian faction.

Suetonius informs us, that a dispute happened between Hiempsal and one Masintha, a noble Numidian, whom, it is Srobable, he had in some respect injured, at the time when ulius Caesar first began to make a figure in the world. The same author adds, that Caesar warmly espoused the cause of Masintha, and even grossly insulted Juba, HiempsaΓs son, when he attempted to vindicate his father’s conduct on this occasion. He pulled him by the beard, than which a more unpardonable affront could not be offered to an African. In short, he screened Masintha from the insults [7:16:309]and violence of his enemies; and from this cause a reason may be assigned for Juba’s adhering so closely afterwards to the Pompeian faction.

In consequence of the indignity Caesar had offered Juba, and the disposition it had occasioned, that prince did Caesar great damage in the civil wars between him and Pompey. By a stratagem he drew Curio, one of his lieutenants, into a general action, which it was his interest at that time to have avoided. He caused it to be given out over all Africa Propria and Numidia, that he had retired into some remote country at a great distance from the Roman territories. This coming to Curio’s ears, who was then besieging Utica, hindered him from taking the necessary precautions against a surprise. Soon afterwards, the Roman general receiving intelligence that a small body of Numidians was approaching his camp, put himself at the head of his forces in order to attack them, and, for fear they should escape, began his march in the night, looking upon himself as certain of victory. Some of their advanced posts he surprised asleep, and cut them to pieces, which still farther animated him. In short, about daybreak he came up with the Numidians, whom he attacked with great bravery, though his men were then fasting, and greatly fatigued by their forced and precipitate march. In the mean time, Juba, who immediately after the propagation of the rumour above mentioned had taken care to march privately, with the main body of the Numidian army, to support the detachment sent before to decoy Curio, advanced to the relief of his men. The Romans had met with a vigorous resistance before he appeared, so that he easily broke them; killed Curio, with a great part of his troops, upon the spot; pursued the rest to their camp, which he plundered; and took many of them prisoners. Most of the fugitives, who endeavoured to make their escape on board the ships in the port of Utica, were either slain by the pursuers, or drowned in the attempt. The remainder fell into the hands of Varus, who would have saved them; but Juba, who arrogated to himself the honour of this victory, ordered most of them to be put to the sword.

This victory infused new life and vigour into the Pompeian faction, who thereupon conferred great honours upon Juba, and gave him the title of king of all Numidia. But Caesar and his adherents declared him an enemy to· the state of Rome, adjudging to Bocchus and Bogud, two African princes entirely in their interest, the sovereignty of his dominions. Juba afterwards, uniting his forces with those of Scipio, reduced Caesar to great extremities, and would, in all probability, have totally ruined him, had he not been relieved by Publius Sittius. That general, having formed a considerable corps, consisting of Roman exiles, and Mauritanian troops sent him by Bocchus, according to Dio, or, as Caesar will have it, Bogud, made an irruption into Gaetulia and Numidia, whilst Juba was employed in Africa Propria. As he ravaged these countries in a dreadful manner, Juba immediately returned with the best part of his army, in order to preserve them from utter destruction. However, Caesar knowing that his horse were afraid of the enemy’s elephants, did not think proper to attack Scipio in the absence of the Numidian, till his own elephants, and a fresh reinforcement of troops, hourly expected, arrived from Italy. With this accession of strength, he imagined himself able to give a good account, both of the Roman forces with which he was to cope, and of the barbarians. In the mean time Scipio despatched reiterated expresses to J uba to hasten to his assistance, but could not prevail upon him to move out of Numidia, till he had promised him the possession of all the Roman dominions in Africa if they could expel Caesar from thence. This immediately put him in motion; so that, having sent a large detachment to make head against Sittius, he marched with the rest of his troops to assist Scipio. However, Caesar at last overthrew

Scipio, Juba, and Labienus, near the town of Thapsus, and forced all their camps. As Scipio was the first surprised and defeated, Juba fled into Numidia without waiting for Caesar’s approach; but the body of the Numidians detached against Sittius having been broken and dispersed by that general, none of his subjects there would receive him. Abandoned to despair, he sought death in a single combat with Petreius, and having killed him, caused himself to be despatched by one of his slaves.

After this decisive action, and the reduction of all Africa Propria, Caesar made himself master of Numidia, which he reduced to a Roman province, appointing Crispus Sallustius to govern it in quality of proconsul, with private instructions to pillage and plunder the inhabitants, and by these means put it out of their power ever to shake off the Roman yoke. However, Bocchus and Bogud still preserved a sort of sovereignty in the country of the Massaesyli and Mauritania; since the former of these princes, having deserted Caesar, sent an army into Spain to assist the Pompeians; and the latter, with his forces, determined victory in favour of Caesar at the memorable battle of Munda. Bogud, afterwards siding with Antony against Octavius, sent a body of forces to assist him in Spain; but at this time the Tingitanians having revolted from him, Bocchus, with an army composed of Romans in the interest of Octavius, who passed over from Spain into Africa, and his own subjects, possessed himself of Mauritania Tingitana. Bogud fled to Antony; and Octavius, after the conclusion of the war, honoured the inhabitants of Tingi with all the privileges of Roman citizens. He likewise confirmed Bocchus king of Mauritania Caesariensis, or the country of the Massaesyli, in the possession of Tingitana, which he had conquered, as a reward for his important services. In this he imitated the example of his great predecessor Juli us Caesar, who divided some of the fruitful plains of Numidia amongst the soldiers of Sittius, who had conquered the greater part of that country, and appointed Sittius himself sovereign of that district. Sittius, as has been intimated above, having taken Cirta, killed Sabura, Juba’s general, entirely dispersed his forces, and either cut off or taken prisoners most of the Pompeian fugitives who escaped from the battle of Thapsus, highly deserved to be distinguished in so eminent a manner. After the death of Bocchus, Mauritania and the Massaesylian Numidia were in all respects considered as Roman provinces.