Beaten, chased, and eventually cornered, Jugurtha could have just given up and surrendered to Metellus at the end of 109 BC. But contrary to all expectations, he takes up arms again, well helped in his uphill struggle by the sudden rift between Metellus the nobleman and his second in command, Marius, the pleb.

                                       Marius and Metellus were friends… once. [Source]

Falling out between Marius and Metellus

A pleb, Caius Marius (157BC-86BC) was destined to be one of the most important man of the Roman republic but at the time of the Jugurthine War, he was still a client of the powerful Metellus and logically followed him to Africa. During the winter 109BC-108BC, inspired by a favourable augur, Marius, convinced of his own merit and of his destiny, asks for a leave of absence from Metellus – who refuses bluntly.

Enraged, Marius turns towards lobbying. He meets with the Roman merchants and locals and also with a Numidian upstart who wants to take up the throne from Jugurtha and manages to convince them that he, Marius, would do a better and quicker job than Metellus. He is so convincing that they start peтιтioning Rome in his favour, until Metellus finally gives up and grants the ambitious upstart his leave of absence.

Marius does not waste time in crossing back the Mediterranean. But now, Metellus knows that he has to act quickly and decisively to beat Jugurtha and claim the honour, before any counter-order can come from the capital.

Jugurtha finds allies

On the other side of the battlefront, the position of Jugurtha was basically hopeless. After losing his city of Thala, Jugurtha is once again forced to flee. Abandoned by most of his people, seeing his country in ruins, plundered by the Romans, Jugurtha finds refuge among the Getulians – whose only excuse in siding with him was (says Sallust) that they never had heard about the Romans. He manages to recruit a substantial part of them to form a new army but more importantly, he finds another ally in the kingdom of Mauretania.

He  also  gained  over  to  his  interest,  by  large  presents  and  larger  promises,  the  intimate  friends  of  king  Bocchus, and working upon the king by their means, induced him to commence  war  against  the  Romans. A daughter of Bocchus, too,  was married to Jugurtha.

An imaginary portrait of the Mauretanian King Bocchus [Source]

Once again, stuck in a wild-goose chase in spite of his superior troops and his military skills, Metellus sees the Numidian king rise from the ashes. But just when a new campaign seems on the point to start, the news reach him: Marius has been elected consul for the year 107 BC.

Metellus comes back to his winter quarters and basically gives up the war, and waiting to discharge himself of his duties on his former subordinate, so bitter and disappointed that he won’t even stand to see Marius in person:
The command of  the army  was  resigned  to  him  by  Publius  Rutilius,  Metullus’s  lieutenant‐general;  for  Metullus himself avoided the sight of Marius, that he might not see what he could  not even endure to hear mentioned. It must have been a tough blow for Metellus, who probably thought he had made all the heavy-lifting.

Marius attacks

Marius basically follows the same strategy as Metellus: a war to the death with no quarters to any fighting men. In his first campaign, he is successful at taking the town of Capsa, which is sacked, and burned to the ground, and all Numidians of adult age are put to the sword.

                                                                                             [Source]
After his success in this attempt, he proceeded against other towns; a few, where  they  offered  resistance,  he  took  by  force;  a  greater  number,  deserted  in  consequence of the wretched  fate of Capsa, he destroyed by  fire; and the whole  country was filled with mourning and slaughter. 

[Source]
Jugurtha and Bocchus meanwhile, retreat in the countryside, unable and unwilling to confront the mighty Romans head front. Jugurtha was probably suspicious about his inferior troops and clearly wanted to stretch as much as possible the lines of communications of the Romans in order to wear them down. As for Bocchus, as we shall see, his willingness to fight in favour of his reckless son-in-law was less than evident.

Kalaat Senan – the Table of Jugurtha [Source]

Eventually, Jugurtha eventually takes camp on a rocky hill at the border between Numidia and Mauretania, which can still be seen today and is know as the “table of Jugurtha”. The impressive cliffs make this a perfect defensive position which was even a challenge for the technologically advanced Romans.

Aerial view of the table of Jugurtha [Source]

In the fortress there were plenty of men and arms for its defense, as well as an abundant store of provisions, and a spring of water; while its situation was unfavorable for raising mounds, towers, and other works; and the road to it, used by its inhabitants, was extremely steep, with a precipice on either side.

The Roman soldiers find a way up the table of Jugurtha [Source]

After struggling for days, it seems that the ambitious Marius has finally found his match. However, Marius was also a very lucky man. When foraging, a Ligurian soldier of his found snails, and started climbing so high on a cliff that he managed to find a way on one of the rocky edge, a part of the hill which was not guarded. Informing his commander, a special detail was formed to climb that part and take the Numidian camp by surprise. The scheme was executed at the perfection, and the Numidians, seeing themselves surrounded, were butchered on the spot.

The last battle

Desperate, Jugurtha decided to request the help of his father-in-law and to make him an offer he could not refuse, promising to his ally…

a third part of Numidia, should either the Romans be driven from Africa, or the war brought to an end without any diminution of his own territories. Being allured by this offer, Bocchus joined Jugurtha with a large force.

The armies of Bocchus and Jugurtha therefore united and attacked Marius who was on his way to his winter quarters. This was a bold move which could well have succeeded. The Romans were probably exhausted after a long campaign, desirous to relax and enjoy the spoils they had taken from Jugurtha’s towns.

Jugurtha and Bocchus managed to catch up with the Romans and attacked them with impetuosity, confident in the superior numbers. Thanks to their discipline, the Romans managed to withstand the attacks until the night and to retreat and camp on two hills, where they spent the night while the enemy celebrated their “victory” a bit too overconfident.

When morning came, Marius broke out of his camp like a fury and the Moors and Getulians, surprised, were routed and put to flight. Marius immediately kept marching towards the town of Cirta, his objective, but before he could reach it, Jugurtha had another surprise for him.

Having rallied his troops once again, Jugurtha and his ally Bocchus caught up once again with the Romans and managed to envelop them from all sides. Jugurtha played a neat trick on the Romans by shouting to them that Marius had been killed, in Latin. This managed to shock the soldiers, who adored their commander and could not bear the idea that they were leaderless, but the balance shifted once more when the Roman cavalry managed to relieve the struggling infantry. Bocchus’ troops were the first to abandon the combat, followed closely by Jugurtha himself.

The spectacle on the open plains was then frightful; some were pursuing, others fleeing; some were being slain, others captured; men and horses were dashed to the earth; many, who were wounded, could neither flee nor remain at rest, attempting to rise, and instantly falling back; and the whole field, as far as the eye could reach, was strewed with arms and ᴅᴇᴀᴅ bodies, and the intermediate spaces saturated with blood. At length the consul, now indisputably victor, arrived at the town of Cirta, whither he had at first intended to go.