tradition assigned them an Asiatic origin. They may be called generically
Arabs, who at a very ancient time had spread along the coast from Egypt to
Morocco. The Numidians at this period were civilized according to the
manners of the age. They had walled towns; they had considerable wealth;
their lands were extensively watered and cultivated; their great men had
country houses and villas, the surest sign of a settled state of society.
Among the equipments of their army they had numerous elephants (it may be
presumed of the African breed), which they and the Carthaginians had
certainly succeeded in domesticating. Masinissa, the king of this people,
had been the ally of Rome in the last Carthaginian war; he had been
afterward received as "a friend of the Republic," and was one of the
protected sovereigns. He was succeeded by his son Micipsa, who in turn had
two legitimate children, Hiempsal and Adherbal, and an illegitimate nephew
Jugurtha, considerably older than his own boys, a young man of striking
talent and promise. Micipsa, who was advanced in years, was afraid that if
he died this brilliant youth might be a dangerous rival to his sons. He
therefore sent him to serve under Scipio in Spain, with the hope, so his
friends asserted, that he might there perhaps be killed. The Roman army
was then engaged in the siege of Numantia. The camp was the lounging-place
of the young patricians who were tired of Rome and wished for excitement.
Discipline had fallen loose; the officers' quarters were the scene of
extravagance and amusement. Jugurtha recommended himself on the one side
to Scipio by activity and good service, while on the other he made
acquaintances among the high-bred gentlemen in the mess-rooms. He found
them in themselves dissolute and unscrupulous. He discovered, through
communications which he was able with their assistance to open with their
fathers and relatives at Rome, that a man with money might do what he
pleased. Micipsa's treasury was well supplied, and Jugurtha hinted among
his comrades that if he could be secure of countenance in seizing the
kingdom, he would be in a position to show his gratitude in a substantial