The Senate’s second response wasn’t much better. They dispatched three junior senators who arrived in Numidia with instructions to order Adherbal and Jugurtha to resolve their quarrel peacefully. Jugurtha told these young senators his side of the story, spinning a tale that he had uncovered a nefarious plot by Adherbal and was only defending himself. But when the envoys requested they be allowed to enter Cirta and hear Adherbal’s side, Jugurtha refused. Flummoxed, the envoys returned to Rome to make their report. The Senate was not stupid, and given Jugurtha’s high-handed disdain for the envoys it was clear that he was most likely the aggressor in all this. But Jugurtha still had powerful friends in the Senate who killed any talk of sending legions to restore order.35
Instead, the Senate dispatched yet another commission, this one led by the princeps senatus Scaurus. Scaurus had been a consistent critic of Jugurtha and upon arrival in Africa sent orders for the wayward king to present himself at once. Jugurtha knew Roman politics well and knew Scaurus was a man to be feared. After one last failed attempt to take Cirta, Jugurtha gave up and presented himself to the Romans. But while enduring Scaurus’s admonishments, Jugurtha noticed he did not hear any firm threat to introduce the legions. It dawned on him that Scaurus was there to avoid a military entanglement, not provoke one. As it turned out there was not much to fear from the Romans—they wanted no part of a war in Numidia.36
With Scaurus in Africa negotiating a settlement, the Italian merchants in Cirta, who had been urging Adherbal to resist, now advised him to submit. They told him to surrender to Jugurtha and that both kings should swear to abide by whatever settlement the Senate decreed. Adherbal could demonstrate his own goodwill by demanding nothing more than his own life be spared. Adherbal agreed—which turned out to be a fatal error. After Adherbal walked out of the gates of Cirta, Jugurtha wasted no time dispensing with his troublesome younger brother. The unfortunate Adherbal was apprehended and tortured to death.37
Had Jugurtha stopped with the execution of Adherbal, the whole affair might have ended right there. The Senate likely would have recognized him as the sole king of Numidia and life would have gone on. But as soon as his forces entered Cirta, Jugurtha’s men took bloody vengeance on everyone in the city. The order went out that any “who were found with arms in their hands” were to be killed, but the order was interpreted loosely and led to a general massacre that consumed hundreds of people, including most of the Italian merchants. This was the moment that it all went wrong for Jugurtha. Even a Senate that did not want to get involved in Numidia could not ignore the slaughter of their countrymen.38
BACK IN ROME, the clear consensus was that Jugurtha had gone too far. But even more than that, public opinion now recognized that the Senate had been mismanaging Numidian affairs for years. The rumors of bribery and corruption had long been swirling in the Forum. When news hit of Jugurtha’s latest outrage—the sadistic massacre of Italians—the tribunes demanded the Senate take action. Real action. Military action.39
The Senate relented. That year’s consul, Lucius Calpurnius Bestia, was assigned to the province of Africa and ordered to raise legions. While he assembled his army, Bestia also selected an influential group of legati to serve as his senior advisers. Among those was Scaurus, who made sure he was placed on Bestia’s staff. Having failed once to keep the legions out of Numidia, Scaurus still sought a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The discussions between Bestia and Scaurus would have revolved around how much of a show of force was necessary to bring Jugurtha to heel.40
Jugurtha was surprised to find Rome now mobilizing for action. He believed that his money had been spread lavishly enough—and that the Romans disdained military intervention in Numidia enough—that he would never have to face them in battle. He could think of only one thing to do. Jugurtha dispatched one of his sons and two close friends to make the trip to Rome with even
