Jugurthine War

112–105 BCE

The Jugurthine War was fought between Rome and Jugurtha of Numidia from 112 BC to 105 BC. Jugurtha used diplomacy, bribery, mobility, and knowledge of North African terrain to frustrate Roman efforts. The war became as much a scandal inside Roman politics as a military campaign abroad.

The conflict mattered because it damaged confidence in senatorial leadership and helped elevate Gaius Marius. It exposed corruption, class resentment, and the growing appeal of commanders who promised competence over pedigree. The war was one of the important steps toward the personal military politics of the late republic.

Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome gives this world particular importance through Marius, Sulla, and the military-political system that shaped the late republic. The war brings together North Africa, senatorial bribery, military reform and reputations made far from Rome.

Related people for Jugurthine War

Catilinec. 108–62 BCE Cicero107 BCE–44 BCE Gaius Marius158 BCE–87 BCE Gnaeus Mallius Maximusfl. 105 BCE Julius Caesar101 BCE–45 BCE Quintus Sertorius124 BCE–73 BCE Quintus Servilius Caepio151 BCE–c. 2nd century BCE Sallust87 BCE–36 BCE Sullac. 138–78 BCE

Books

2 Best Novels About the Jugurthine War

The First Man in Rome

by Colleen McCullough

First published 1990 · Masters of Rome · 4.3(1,340)

The Man with Two Names

by Vincent B. Davis II

First published 2017 · The Sertorius Scrolls · 4.3(5,688)

1 Best Non-Fiction Book About the Jugurthine War

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.

Catiline’s War, the Jugurthine War, Histories

by Sallust

4.4(108)