Editing Sulla (section)

=== Jugurthine War (107–106 BC) ===
[[File:Faustus Cornelius Sulla, AR denarius, 56 BC, RRC 426-1.jpg|thumb|Denarius minted by Sulla's son [[Faustus Cornelius Sulla (quaestor 54 BC)|Faustus]] in 56 BC. It features the head of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] on the obverse and the [[Bocchus I|Bocchus]] monument on the reverse, showing the moment of the capture of Jugurtha. The reverse was also a reproduction of Sulla's first signet ring.{{sfn|Crawford|1974|pp=449–451}}{{sfn|Harlan|1995|pp=100–106}}]]

The [[Jugurthine War]] had started in 112&nbsp;BC when [[Jugurtha]], grandson of [[Massinissa]] of [[Numidia]], claimed the entire kingdom of Numidia in defiance of Roman decrees that divided it among several members of the royal family. After the massacre of a number of Italian traders who supported one of his rivals, indignation erupted as to Jugurtha's use of bribery to secure a favourable peace treaty; called to Rome to testify on bribery charges, he plotted successfully the assassination of another royal claimant before returning home.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=11}} After the war started, several Roman commanders were bribed ([[Lucius Calpurnius Bestia (consul)|Bestia]] and [[Spurius Postumius Albinus (consul 110 BC)|Spurius]]); and one ([[Aulus Postumius Albinus (consul 99 BC)|Aulus Postumius Albinus]]) was defeated. In 109, Rome sent [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus|Quintus Caecilius Metellus]] to continue the war. [[Gaius Marius]], a lieutenant of Metellus, returned to Rome to stand for the consulship in 107&nbsp;BC. Marius was elected consul and, through assignment by tribunician legislation, took over the campaign.{{sfn|Evans|1995|pp=74 et seq}} Sulla was assigned by lot to his staff.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|pp=11–12}}

When Marius took over the war, he entrusted Sulla to organise cavalry forces in Italy needed to pursue the mobile Numidians into the desert. If Sulla had married one of the Julii Caesares, this could explain Marius' willingness to entrust such an important task to a young man with no military experience, as Marius too had married into that family.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=12}}{{sfn|Evans|1995|p=184}}

Under Marius, the Roman forces followed a plan very similar to that of Metellus, capturing and garrisoning fortified positions in the African countryside.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=13}} Sulla was popular with the men; charming and benign, he built up a healthy rapport while also winning popularity with other officers, including Marius.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=14}} Ultimately, the Numidians were defeated in 106&nbsp;BC, due in large part to Sulla's initiative in capturing the Numidian king. Jugurtha had fled to his father-in-law, King [[Bocchus I]] of [[Mauretania]] (a nearby kingdom); Marius invaded Mauretania, and after a pitched battle in which both Sulla and Marius played important roles in securing victory, Bocchus felt forced by Roman arms to betray Jugurtha.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=16}} After the Senate approved negotiations with Bocchus, it delegated the talks to Marius, who appointed Sulla as envoy plenipotentiary.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=18}} Winning Bocchus' friendship and making plain Rome's demands for Jugurtha's deliverance, Sulla successfully concluded negotiations and secured Bocchus' capture of Jugurtha and the king's rendition to Marius' camp.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|pp=19–21}} The publicity attracted by this feat boosted Sulla's political career. Years later, in 91&nbsp;BC, Bocchus paid for the erection of a gilded equestrian statue depicting Sulla's capture of Jugurtha.{{sfn|Keaveney|2005|p=38}}