On an early morning in 106 BC, mist surrounded the Romans quartering nearby the Numidian city
of Cirta. Their campaign season had ended, and they looked back on a fruitful, though
perhaps a bit quiet campaign. The Roman commander, Marius, wanted to get his soldiers to their winter
quarters as soon as possible. He told a few scouts to ensure there weren't any significant
dangers heading towards them. He was aware his adversary, Numidian King Jugurtha, concluded an
alliance with the neighbouring King of the Mauri, Bocchus. It doubled hostile forces in the region.
Suddenly, he heard his scouts shouting as they ran towards the Roman camp. In the distance, Marius
saw a sight that terrified him, and he hastily began shouting orders at his men. Jugurtha and
Bocchus rode at the head of an army which dwarfed his. There was no time to prepare appropriately.
As the first arrows hit the ground before him, he knew the battle would soon commence.
[After Muthul]
The war against Numidian King Jugurtha had been waging on since 112 BC. Several armies sent by
Rome tried and failed to defeat the rogue King. After finally earning a victory at Muthul River,
commander Metellus continued capturing towns and fortresses to prevent Jugurtha from having
a solid strategic footing in his lands. He left behind small Roman units to maintain
control wherever his main army wasn't. Jugurtha understood if he could not beat them in battle,
he would have more success harassing and ambushing small Roman contingents.
So Metellus split his army into two, with Marius commanding one half.
Both armies shadowed each other, preventing Jugurtha from ambushing any stray Roman units.
In response, Jugurtha burned crops and poisoned water sources. Metellus did not feel for fighting
a prolonged battle against an invisible enemy and laid siege to Zama to lure Jugurtha out. A group
of Roman deserters warned the rogue King, who was preparing the defence of Zama. Duly warned,
he retreated into the hills with his cavalry. A minor skirmish between Jugurtha and Marius
followed later that month. As the campaigning season ran to an end, there was no end in sight
for the war. Metellus tried to use diplomacy to broker peace between Jugurtha, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, Metellus' popularity in Rome ensured him to lead another year
of campaigning in Africa. However, his own ranks weren't too enthusiastic about the commander.
Despite many deserters at the lower level, the main danger was personified by his deputy,
Gaius Marius. Marius was convinced he could do a better job and quickly wrap up the war. In winter,
Marius requested Metellus to return to Rome to stand for consul. Metellus initially refused,
but after multiple intrigues, he allowed Marius to depart to get rid of him.
He wouldn't stand a chance to get elected anyway. He wasn't even of Roman noble origin, but Italian.
As the campaign season began in 108 BC, the Romans once again invaded Numidia. Though
no comprehensive sources survive, it is clear Metellus’ army besieged the fortress of Thala,
capturing it together with most of Jugurtha’s treasury.
Besides this disaster, there are barely any details available of this campaign.
As the season ended, things did not look good for Jugurtha.
But when he was at his lowest point, did things turn around. He managed to attain an alliance
with the Mauri and Gaetulians to the west and south. These supplied ample soldiers. Especially
King Bocchus of the Mauri felt Jugurtha was a less threatening neighbour than the Romans. The fact
Jugurtha promised him a portion of his Kingdom for his help probably influenced his decision.
This alliance of two kings re-invaded Numidia and laid siege to the capital Cirta. But this new
alliance was the least of Metellus' worries. As he camped nearby Cirta, he received news from Rome.
Marius was elected consul but also elected as the commander against Jugurtha. To Metellus,
this felt nothing short of betrayal. Unfortunately, sources do not reveal
what happened next. What is for sure is that their siege of Cirta did not end in victory.
When Marius returned to Roman Africa and assumed command of the army.
Metellus refused to meet with him to hand over command, counter to Roman tradition.
Marius brought over a sizeable army from Italy, increasing the Roman numbers significantly.
Perhaps ironically, Marius continued with a strategy very similar to that of Metellus.
He laid sieges to cities, towns and forts, capturing Jugurtha’s primary treasury house
located near the Mauretanian border. Bocchus and Jugurtha separately roamed around Numidia,
actively avoiding Marius' army. As the population became alienated and Marius' army continued
seizing strategic objectives, Jugurtha desperately required Bocchus' aid. The Mauri King avoided the
Romans even more than Jugurtha, mainly because he wasn't sure which outcome of the war would
benefit him most. However, when Jugurtha offered him ⅓ of his Kingdom, he was sure.
In response, Bocchus marched a large army of Mauri cavalry into Numidia from the west. Jugurtha's
main force was able to link up with them. Here is where ancient sources conflict a little.
Orosius claims Marius was laying siege for Cirta preceding the battle. However, as Sallust agrees,
it is highly unlikely around this time of the war, Cirta was still in Jugurthan hands.
Mainly because he had been evading the Romans for most of the campaigns,
and the Romans made it their goal to capture as many strongholds. Both accounts agree on the
location of the battle, close-by Cirta, however. As Marius and his Roman army quartered
close-by Cirta, he deployed scouts to keep an eye on potential ambushes by Jugurtha. He wanted to
get to his winter quarters as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there are no numbers available
for the size of the Roman army, although it likely numbered between 30 and 40.000 men, both cavalry
and infantry. As soon as a few of his scouts informed the commander a Jugurthine army indeed
was closing in on them, screams arose from the distance. The enemy was closer than anticipated.
Before the Roman commanders could order their troops in formation, the combined Mauri and
Gaetulian cavalry charged at the Romans. This army outnumbered the Romans at least two to one.
Instead of a frontal charge, many horsemen maintained their distance from the Roman camp
pelting the legionaries with javelins. The Romans, in turn, quickly took to arms and
rushed to take their formations. The Roman cavalry mounted their horses to launch a counter-charge.
Meanwhile, some Mauri cavalry charged into the Romans, although they harnessed the typical lack
of strategy the Romans became accustomed to from their enemies. But even though the Romans were a
disciplined army, a real formation to counter the ambush had not yet been taken. Sallust describes:
"The combat was more like an attack of brigands than a battle. Without standards and in disorder,
horse and foot massed together; some gave ground, others slew their opponents;
many who were bravely fighting against the enemy were surrounded from the rear. Valour and arms
were not sufficient protection against a foe who was superior in numbers and attacked every side.
At last, the Romans, both the raw recruits and the veterans, who as such were skilled in warfare,
if the nature of the ground brought any of them together, formed a circle, thus protecting
themselves on every side and presenting an orderly front to the attacks of the enemy."
The soldiers who did not see direct combat rushed to parts of the line which required reinforcement.
The battleground was scattered, as was customary whenever the Romans engaged Jugurtha's army.
Some soldiers threw rocks at the Romans, others pelted them with javelins, and yet
others charged at them. Marius and his bodyguard moved behind Roman legionaries fighting, shouting
encouraging words and motivating the men to fight. When his shouts were drained out, instead,
Marius simply joined the fight to lead by example. The fighting went on for several hours like this.
By the time the day ended, the Romans were unpleasantly surprised by Jugurtha's army not
slowing down their attack one bit. Likely, this was caused by Jugurtha convincing his soldiers
the darkness would be advantageous to them. Understanding their adversaries were willing
to continue the fight throughout the night, Marius rapidly adapted his battle plan.
There were two hills close by the battleground. Marius ordered his deputy Lucius Cornelius Sulla
and the cavalry to seize the hill with a spring on top. Then, together with his infantry, he made
an effort to reach the other hill. The bulwark of Romans pushed through their adversaries, climbing
the hill while fending off attacks. Having seized the hills, Jugurtha's army understood their
unfavourable position and the immense costs of attacking the Romans. Finally, the night
turned quiet as Jugurtha's army set up camp on elevated ground in front of the two Roman hills.
Scattered tents and fires illuminated the plain. Jugurtha's army could not defeat the Romans,
but meanwhile, the Romans were trapped on their hills, unable to break out.
Marius ordered his men to keep completely quiet throughout the night. Usually, night watches
used audible signals to communicate, but even they were forbidden from making noise. Then,
around a fire, Marius and his commanders planned the counterattack to launch at sunrise.
Throughout the night Jugurtha's soldiers kept a close look at the encamped Romans.
Finally, at dawn, as the sun rose, they noticed movement. Exhausted from a long
day of fighting and a night of being on high alert, they were anything but in formation.
But the Romans were. The Roman horn blowers gave the signal to launch an all-out attack.
The cavalry and legions shouted their battle cry and burst down the hill. The Mauri and
Gaetulians were scattered in their encampments, not expecting a sudden coordinated rush.
According to Sallust: "The Mauri and Gaetulians, being suddenly awakened by this strange and
terrible sound, were incapable of feeling or of arming themselves, or indeed taking any action
at all. Their enemy was upon them and no help was at hand. The shouting and din, the confusion
and the terror had made them frantic with fear. In the end, they were completely routed.
Most of their arms and standards were taken, and more were killed than in any previous battle;
for they were too tired and too much dazed by the surprise to make good their escape."
[Aftermath]
The result of the battle was inconclusive. Although Sallust implies Marius obliterated a
large part of Jugurtha's army, what happened next contests this claim. Only a few days later an even
larger ambushed the Romans, resulting in the decisive Second Battle of Cirta.
The end of the war was coming closer, and both Marius and Jugurtha felt it.
There would be just one more final, decisive battle.
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