While the land problems went largely unsolved, the near-constant wars continued. In 121 b. c., Rome added southern Gaul to its holdings. In 112 b. c., it marched against the kingdom of Numidia (noo-MID-ee-uh), located in what is now Algeria. Numidia, once an ally of Carthage, had allied itself with Rome, which had an interest in Numidia's political sta-
Bility. Therefore, when the Numidian prince Jugurtha (joo-GUHR-thuh; c. 160-104 b. c.) murdered his brothers and began making civil war with his cousins, Roman troops marched in.
Jugurtha was brought to Rome, where he was able to bribe his way out of trouble. “In Rome,” he said, “all things are for sale.” In the end, Roman troops returned to Numidia, where with the help of Mauretania (maw-reh-TAY-nee-uh), a kingdom that included parts of what is now Morocco and Algeria, they removed Jugurtha from power. Numidia would become a Roman province in 44 b. c., as would Mauretania in 25 B. C.
Marius (MAHR-ee-uhs; c. 157-86 b. c.), who led the Numidian campaign, also led a series of attacks on two barbarian tribes, the Teutons (TOO-t'nz) and the Cimbri (KIM-bree). Both tribes came from the north of Europe. Both groups looked quite different from the dark-haired and olive-skinned Italians. Eyewitness observers noted their blond hair—so blond, in fact, that the children's hair appeared white.
The cimbri would fade from memory after Marius's victory over them in 101 b. c. Not so with the Teutons, whom he had defeated in the previous year. They, along with the cimbri, were part of a much larger group from what is now called Scandinavia. The Romans called them by a Latin word that means “related”: Germanus. to Marius, they retreated, leaving in their wake massive devastation. But they would be back.
World History
