JUGURTHA, a celebrated Numidian Prince, was the grandson of Masinissa, the faithful African ally of the Roman people, and appears to have been born about 152 years before the Christian xra, and 600 after the building of Rome. He was the illegitimate son of Manastabal, the youngest son of Masinissa ; and, after his father's death, was educated in the family of his uncle Micipsa, king of Numiffla. He was handsome in his person, endowed with great bodily strength, and superior to all his companions in every athletic and military exercise. He was possessed also of great natural talents, and by his gallant, yet modest, demeanour, rendered himself greatly beloved in his younger years. He was highly honoured at first by his uncle Mi cipsa, as promising to prove an ornament to his kingdom ; but became at length an object of his dislike, as too dan gerous a rival to his own sons in the affections of the Nu midian people. In this apprehension, the king was desir ous to put him privately to death, had he not been afraid that such an act might excite a sedition among his subjects ; and therefore contented himself with sending his nephew to command the Numidian auxiliaries in the Roman army, in the hope of his falling by the chance of war, and his own adventurous spirit. But this measure, devised for the de struction of Jugurtha, contributed to advance his reputation and influence. By his ability in council, his courage in bat tle, his strict obedience to order, and his success in every enterprize, he acquired the esteem of the Roman army, and returned to Micipsa with a high recommendation from the general under whom he had served, the younger Scipio Africanus. Micipsa, thus finding his former scheme less practicable than before, applied himself rather to gain the affections of his nephew, and to secure him as the friend and protector of his children. In this view he adopted him into his family, and left him, by his will, joint heir in the kingdom with his two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal. The latter of these, soon after the old king's death, expressed so openly his contempt of Jugurtha, and his displeasure on account of his being associated in the kingdom, that the most bitter enmity was excited between them, which speed ily led to the death of Hiempsal, who, according to Saliust, was secretly assassinated by order of Jugurtha; but, accord ing to the epitome of Livy, was vanquished and slain in battle. A civil war between Jugurtha and Adherbal was the consequnce of this event ; but the latter was soon oblig ed to yield in the struggle, and fled for protection and jus tice to Rome. Jugurtha, well acquainted with the venal character of the„Roman senators, easily succeeded, by am ple presents of money, in procuring a division of Numidia between himself and Adheibal, and in securing farther the best of its provinces for his share. Confident, from this success, that he should find ways and means to avert any serious interposition from Rome, he resolved to render himself sole master of the kingdom ; and, having put him self at the head of his army, compelled Adherbal, in a few days, to shut himself up in the town of Cella. By his for
mer arts, he contrived to prevent any actual interference from Rome till he got the unfortunate Adherhal into his hands, whom he instantly put to death by means of torture. A Roman army was forthwith dispatched to Africa, with orders to bring the perfidious Numidian, to answer for his conduct before the majesty of the Roman people ; but Jugurtha experienced little difficulty in rendering both the commissioners of the senate, and the commanders of the troops, favourable to his cause. Repairing afterwards to Rome, upon the assurance of safety to his person, and in obedience to a requisition from the senate, he found occa sion for all his intrigues to prevent the kingdom of Numi dia from being transferred to Massiva, another nephew of Micipsa; and, when all other means were likely to fail, he took care to have his rival removed by assassination. Per mitted to leave Italy, in consequence of the safe conduct which had been promised, he was followed into Africa by the Consul Albinus, whose brother, Aulus, having been en trusted with the command of the army, he artfully eircurn vented, in such a manner as to force him to conclude an ignominious treaty of peace, and to pass his soldiers under the yoke. The celebrated Roman commanders, Metellus and Marius, were successively employed against him ; but, for the space of three years, he baffled all their exertions, after reducing their armies to the greatest extremities, and returning more formidable after every defeat, proving him self their equal in military valour and skill, while they were not much his inferiors in duplicity and barbarity. When his Numidian adherents had either perished in his service, or deserted his interests, he still made head against the Roman legions, by assembling under his command the savage tribes of Gmtulia, with a few auxiliaries from Mauritania. Even at the last, he was betrayed by his allies, rather than conquered by his enemies. Having been in vited by his father-in-law, and confederate in arms, Bo•chus of Mauritania, to join with him in a friendly conference with the Roman generals, and having come unarmed, ac cording to agreement, his attendants were basely massacred in cold blood, and he himself delivered up bound into the hands of his implacable enemies. Being carried to Rome, he and his two sons were led through the city in chains, at the triumph decreed to Mathis for the conquest of Numi dia ; and, after the conclusion of the procession, was thrown into a dungeon, where he was starved to death. Sec Sal lust's Jugurthine War ; Epitome of Livy, book lxvii. ; Plu tarch's Lives of Marius and Sylla ; and Horns' History of Rome, book ii. (g)