Fall Of Jugurtha
"We need water!" One of them shouted. "We're dying of thirst." Jugurtha tried to ignore this complaint. He and his soldiers had been trudging through the desert for days without much food or water. Jugurtha knew that he must stay in the desert to avoid the Roman military. In a normal battle, Rome would have wiped out Jugurtha's Numidian soldiers easily, but in a desert, Jugurtha knew that he could avoid the Roman military if his men got in trouble.
"Alright, men. That's enough for the day. Let's pitch our camp here." Jugurtha wanted his men to be rested for the next day because they might have to fight. All of the men broke up in their contubernias and one man would tie up their mule as the others would pitch their tent. All eight men in each contubernia squeezed into their tents and almost passed out forgetting about their thirst. As Jugurtha watched his men retire for the night, he sat and watched the sun set. As he watched, his mind wondered onto the past. Jugurtha thought about how he had bribed his way out of many problems that he was faced with in the past, but now he believed that if he were caught, he would be executed for the embarrassment that he had put Rome through. A smile appeared on Jugurtha's face as he thought about his rise to becoming king of Numidia.
Jugurtha's opponent in this war was a man thought of as strange by Jugurtha because he had been exiled from his home and talked about having these unusual visions of eagles in the sky. Jugurtha knew that however strange Marius was, he had a tough army and was a terrible foe. Marius had taken over in the war against Jugurtha after Metellus was accused of not wanting the war to end. Jugurtha did not want the war to end either because he knew that he would probably be dead in the end.
Early the next day Jugurtha and his centurions woke up the soldiers and prepared for another long, tiring day. Each contubernia had to untie their mule, and pack up their belongings. After a shabby breakfast consisting of some bread and a sparse amount of water, the group continued to move. After an hour or so of traveling, the centurions on the front line called back to Jugurtha that there was a Roman century ahead. Jugurtha's men tried to get ready for the battle about to take place.
Heading up the Roman attack was Marius. His men had spotted Jugurtha's group the night before and had followed them this day. His plan was to catch them off guard. Jugurtha and his men tried to brace themselves for the oncoming Romans but were not really ready to fight. Marius' plan had worked.
After what seemed like an eternity for Jugurtha, the Romans charged. They formed many even lines each about four feet apart. The Roman century consisted of very well trained soldiers equipped with a sword, shield, and a pila. As the Romans charged, Jugurtha wanted his men to meet them so he sent his men in. The Roman men suddenly stopped and pulled out their sharp pila. Many of the men on Jugurtha's front line were not able to survive this onslaught of javelins. The Roman's drew their swords and continued their charge. As Jugurtha's men tried to regroup, they were met by a flood of Roman troops. As the Roman's charged, they lead with their swords and protected themselves with their shields. Jugurtha's soldiers were no match for the Roman century and Jugurtha called for his troops to retreat, but it was too late and if they retreated, they would easily be slaughtered. The man had to hold their posts and try to prevail.
After a few long hours of fighting, Jugurtha and his soldiers were captured. When they were caught, the Roman century decimated the brigade. Jugurtha could not bare to watch this. Some of his friends were being killed just for being the tenth man. Jugurtha heard the screams of his men who were being beaten to death by wooden clubs. Jugurtha could not understand why the Romans had not killed him. "They must have something much worse in store for me." He thought to himself.
As the joyous Roman soldiers took their human trophies back to Rome for a celebration, Jugurtha pondered what his punishment might be. Horrible thoughts crossed his mind and he could no longer bare to think about it.
Later as Jugurtha was reflecting about his life to himself, Marius visited him to have a few words with him. "You realize the embarrassment that you have caused our great city of Rome, don't you?" Without waiting for a response, Marius continued, "Have you been wondering why we have not killed you yet?" Marius spoke to him in a very serious voice that Jugurtha felt somewhat intimidated by even though he had no reason to be.
In a meek voice Jugurtha replied, "Well..........I figured that you must have something planned for me that is worse than the pain of death."
"You shall soon see." Without another word Marius departed leaving Jugurtha alone. Jugurtha's imagination raced through every possible torture he could think of, trying to figure out what his fate would be.
As the huge group started to approach Rome, Jugurtha's stomach felt like it were about to explode. Jugurtha felt extremely embarrassed, but this feeling would not come close to surpassing that embarrassment he was going to feel. In the city, the jeers coming from the crowds on the streets was incredible. Jugurtha's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach and he welcomed the cell that he was confined to. There at least nobody could see him. The guard that lead Jugurtha to his cell roughly escorted him into the tiny chamber and then said, "Rest up for tonight's events, hahaha." Jugurtha was enraged that people actually took pleasure in this.
Later that night, just as Jugurtha was watching one of his last sunsets through the cracks in the cell, the guard came to his chamber. "Get up, Jugurtha. It's time to have some real fun." In a mocking voice that bothered Jugurtha. The guard led him up through the thin stairway to the light at the top of the hall. Jugurtha was met by a few scorns from the other guards before he was taken outside. There Jugurtha was dressed u as a king with jewels and beautiful clothing. Jugurtha could not understand what was happening. Once Jugurtha was fully dressed, he was placed on a platform that was on wheels. The guards rolled Jugurtha out onto the main streets of Rome. Past the forum, by the market. The crowd that started to form around the cart was enormous. They all stared at Jugurtha in disbelief. Jugurtha wondered what was about to happen. For about thirty minutes Jugurtha was rolled through some major streets before two men climbed on top of the platform with Jugurtha. One of the men Jugurtha recognized to be Marius, but the other was unknown to him. The crowd along with Jugurtha was totally dumbfounded and did not know what to think. Jugurtha gazed out into the crowd at all of the anxious faces before he felt a viscous tug at the back of his tunic. He turned around and found Marius and the other man ripping the clothing right off of his back. The two men did not stop until everything was on the ground and Jugurtha was left naked on the platform. The roar from the crowd was incredible and the embarrassment that came over Jugurtha overwhelmed him.
After the his procession through the streets, Jugurtha was escorted back to his cell. There Jugurtha just sat and thought about what had happened. Jugurtha did not receive food that night or any of the following six nights. Jugurtha was left to die in his cold cell of starvation.
By Andy C. '03, Germantown Academy