The Jugurthine War

Term Paper # 103758

History > Greek and Roman

The Jugurthine War

A discussion of the Jugurthine war between the Romans and the Numidian Kingdom.

1,971 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the Jugurthine war fought between the Romans and the Numidian Kingdom, which was ruled by Jugurtha. The paper explains that the Jugurthine war took place in Numidia, which is located near the western coast of Africa where modern-day Algeria is. The paper also explains that Numidia was a kingdom made-up of mostly semi-nomadic Berber tribes that are closely related to the Moors and present-day Moroccans. The paper points out that this war inadvertently exposed the rampant corruption that occurred towards the end of the Roman Republic. The paper concludes that this war served to foreshadow Rome's change from a republic to an empire, and that these leaders squabbled for many years until Julius Caesar took control of Rome as its first emperor in 49 BC.

From the Paper:

"Numidia became united during the 2nd Punic War when Masinissa, the chief of the Massyli tribe, united it. They originally were allied with Carthage but ended it when the Romans offered land and money incentives in exchange for the loyalty of the Numidians. Masinissa accepted and the spent the next 50 years ruling over the people that lived on that land. He brought peace to the people and tried to convert them to farmers.
"His death in 148 BC marked the height of the Numidian Kingdoms. Around the same time as his death, the Romans invaded Carthage and essentially destroyed it during the Third Punic War. This left Numidia the largest empire in Northern Africa."

Sample of Sources Used:

MacKendrick, Paul. The North African Stones Speak. The University of North Carolina Press: USA, 1980
McDonald, A.H.. Republican Rome. Frederick Paeger, Inc: USA, 1966.
Perowne, Stewart. Death of the Roman Republic. Doubleday & Company: New York, 1968.
Sallust, Gaius Crispus. The Jugurthine War. Penguin Classics: USA, 1964.
Stone, Jon. The Routledge Dictionary of Latin Quotations: The Illiterati's Guide to Latin Maxims, Mottoes, Proverbs, and Sayings. New York: Routledge, 2005