Bocchus II of Mauretania

“ The bestowal on Bocchus and Sittius is probably to be understood to the effect that, in the western part of the former Numidian kingdom otherwise left to Bocchus, the colony of Cirta to be founded by Sittius was to be regarded as an independent Roman town, like Tingi subsequently in the kingdom of Mauretania. ”

“ Marcus Scaurus himself took the post of a commander in the African army. In a short time a Roman army was on African ground, and marching upward along the Bagradas (Mejerdah) advanced into the Numidian kingdom, where the towns most remote from the seat of the royal power, such as Great Leptis, already voluntarily sent in their submission, while Bocchus king of Mauretania, although his daughter was married to Jugurtha, offered friendship and alliance to the Romans. Jugurtha himself lost courage, and sent envoys to the Roman headquarters to request an armistice. ”

“ The most eastern portion or region of Sitifis was united with the kingdom of Bocchus king of East Mauretania, (51) and the faithful king Bogud of Tingis was rewarded with considerable gifts. Cirta (Constantine) and the surrounding district, hitherto possessed under the supremacy of Juba by the prince Massinissa and his son Arabion, were conferred on the condottiere Publius Sittius that he might settle his half-Roman bands there ”

“ But there was no friendly portion of Numidia. The mercantile class had been wiped out, and though the Romans seem to have regained possession of Cirta at an early period of the war, [932] it is not likely that it ever resumed the industrial life, which might have supplied money and provisions, if not men; while the position of the town rendered it useless as a basis of operations for expeditions into that western portion of Numidia, from which the chief military strength of Jugurtha was drawn. In these regions a possible ally was to be found in Bocchus King of Mauretania ”

“ The expedition of Marius to Capsa was a venture as aimless, as that of Metellus to Thala had been judicious; but the expedition to the Molochath, which passed along the border of, if not into, the Mauretanian territory, was directly repugnant to sound policy. King Bocchus, in whose power it lay to bring the war to an issue favourable for the Romans or endlessly to prolong it, now concluded with Jugurtha a treaty, in which the latter ceded to him a part of his kingdom and Bocchus promised actively to support his son-in-law against Rome. ”

“ Embassy from Rome neglected by Jugurtha. Renewed appeal of Adherbal. Another commission sent by Rome. Surrender of Cirta and murder of Adherbal. Massacre of Italian traders. Its influence on the commercial classes at Rome; protest by Memmius. Declaration of war against Jugurtha. Command of Bestia in Numidia (B.C. III) . Attitude of Bocchus of Mauretania. ”

“ A still more important accession was that of Bocchus, king of Mauritania, who had been prevailed upon to raise an army, and advance to the support of Jugurtha. Metellus, however, having now relaxed his own efforts, from disgust at hearing that C. Marius had been appointed to succeed him in the command, remained on the defensive, while he sought to amuse the Moorish king by negotiation. The arrival of Marius (B.C. 107) infused fresh vigor into the Roman arms. ”

“ The former of these took part with Cæsar in the war, which terminated in the defeat of the Pompeian army at Thapsus, and the suicide of Juba I. King of Numidia. The infant son of that monarch was taken to Rome, where he graced the triumph of the great dictator; a part of the forfeited kingdom was given to Bogud, and subsequently the western province was added by Augustus, during the reign of his son Bocchus III. That prince reigned five years over the two Mauritanias, his capital being Jol, and died B.C. 33. ”

“ Along the plain, as far as the eye could reach, nothing was to be seen but swords, and javelins, and bucklers, amid the carcasses of the slain; and the earth died with human gore.
The consul, now undoubtedly conqueror, pursued his march to Cirta, as he at first intended. Here, five days after the defeat of the Barbarians, deputies arrived from Bocchus, requesting of him, in the name of the king their master, to despatch two persons in whom he could confide, that he might treat with them on matters which concerned his own interest and that of the Roman people. ”

“ To his three embassadors that went to Rome, when, after a deprecatory acknowledgment that their king had been in error, and had been led astray by the treachery of Jugurtha, they solicited for him friendship and alliance, the following answer was given: "The senate and people of Rome are wont to be mindful of both services and injuries; they pardon Bocchus, since he repents of his fault, and will grant him their alliance and friendship when he shall have deserved them." ”

“ Tingitania was not decidedly reduced to a Roman province till after the death of Bocchus. Augustus afterwards gave the two Mauritanias, and a part of Getulia, to the younger Juba, as a remuneration for the loss of his father's kingdom (Numidia) . ”

“ Besides he brings to his own interest the nearest relations of king Bocchus by great presents and greater promises, by whose assistance having prevailed upon the king, he induces him to take up arms against the Romans. This was for this reason more easy and ready, because Bocchus had at the commencement of this war sent ambassadors to Rome, to ask for alliance and friendship; which thing, although most serviceable in a war just begun, a few men had prevented, blinded by avarice, whose custom it was to make a traffic of all things both honourable and dishonourable. ”

“ He was a great general, and also a favourite of fortune, a circumstance on which he himself laid great stress, and which also drew the attention of the crowd upon him; nor is it a delusion, that some men are favoured by luck, either always, or for a long run. When still a very young man, being much under forty, he had distinguished himself in the war of Jugurtha, serving as quæstor under Marius; and he had had the good fortune to carry on the negotiations with Bocchus, so that he looked upon the ending of it as his own work. ”

“ At first the pride of Bocchus struggled against such a proposal; but a few interviews with Sylla reconciled him to this treacherous measure, and Jugur'tha was given up, being drawn into an ambuscade by the specious pretences of his ally, who deluded him by desiring a conference; and being made a prisoner, he was loaded with chains, and carried by Ma'rius to Rome, a deplorable instance of blighted ambition. 22. He did not long survive his overthrow, being condemned by the senate to be starved to death in prison, a short time after he had been made to adorn the triumph of the conqueror. ”

“ But Bocchus, if he wished to provide for them both, and that the peace should be confirmed, must do his best, that an interview should take place with all as if concerning peace, and there should betray Sulla to him. When he had so great a man in his power, then it would come to pass that a treaty would be made by the orders of the senate and Roman people, and that so noble a man, from no cowardice of his own but from serving the state, would not be left in the hands of the enemies. ”

“ But the inclinations of kings, as they are violent, are often fickle, and at variance with themselves. At last, after a time and place were fixed for coming to a conference about the treaty, Bocchus addressed himself at one time to Sylla and at another to the envoy of Jugurtha, treating them with equal affability, and making the same professions to both. ”

“ He pointed out that the offers made by Bocchus were scarcely needed by Rome. A power that possessed her military strength would not be likely to regard them in the light of favours. Something was expected which could be seen to subserve the interests of Rome far more than those of the king himself. The service was patent. He had Jugurtha in his power; if he handed him over to Rome, her debt would certainly be great, and it would be paid. The recognition of friendship, the treaty which he sought, and the portion of Numidia which he claimed—all these would be his for the asking. ”

“ King Bocchus, it is a great joy to us since the gods have advised you, so great a man, to prefer at length peace to war, and not to defile yourself, the best of all men, by uniting with Jugurtha, the worst man alive; and at the same time that you are removing from us the painful necessity of punishing alike you who are merely under a mistake, and him that most vile wretch. Besides, it has always seemed better to the Roman people from their low origin to procure friends rather than slaves, and they have always thought it safer to rule over willing than coerced subjects. ”

“ LXXXIII Discouraged, therefore, by such a mortification, and thinking it folly to promote another man’s success at his own hazard, he sent deputies to Bocchus, intreating him “not to become an enemy to the Romans without cause;” and observing “that he had a fine opportunity of entering into friendship and alliance with them, which were far preferable to war; that though he might have confidence in his resources, he ought not to change certainties for uncertainties ”

“ But it was Marius who in the end surprised Jugurtha, near the town of Cirta, and after a skirmish forced him to fly.
Bocchus, at no time an eager ally of his son-in-law, hearing that he was defeated, determined to forsake him and make peace with Rome. But Marius was too anxious to capture Jugurtha to pay much attention to the advances of King Bocchus.
As the kings had foreseen, Marius moved swiftly. He marched first to Capsa, a city in which Jugurtha kept many of his royal treasures. ”

“ The Romans, he pointed out, had been made by their lust for conquest the common enemies of the human race. One had only to look at their treatment of Perseus of Macedon, of Carthage, of himself. Who was Bocchus that he alone should be immune from such a danger? The mood of the king responded to Jugurtha's words, and without an instant's delay they took the field together. Jugurtha was insistent on despatch, for he knew the varying temper of his relative and feared that even a slight delay would cool his resolve for decisive action. ”

“ LXXXIII The two kings accordingly met with their armies at a place agreed on, where, after pledging their faith to each other, Jugurtha began to inflame the mind of Bocchus, by representing to him, “that the Romans were oppressive, insatiably covetous, and the common enemies of mankind; that they had the same cause for making war on Bocchus as on himself, and on other nations, namely, their lust of dominion, which made them look on all independent states as their enemies; that at present they pursued him as an enemy, as they had, a short time before, king Perses and the Carthaginians ”

“ At the end of the war, Caesar bestowed upon Bocchus part of the territory of Massinissa, Juba’s ally, which was recovered after Caesar’s murder by Massinissa’s son Arabion. Dio Cassius says that Bocchus sent his sons to support Sextus Pompeius in Spain, while Bogud fought on the side of Caesar, and there is no doubt that after Caesar’s death Bocchus supported Octavian, and Bogud Antony. During Bogud’s absence in Spain, his brother seized the whole of Numidia, and was confirmed sole ruler by Octavian. After his death in 33, Numidia was made a Roman province. ”

“ Bocchus had, some time before this, married a daughter of Jugurtha; but such an alliance is little regarded among the Numidians and Moors, who all have a plurality of wives, some ten, others more, according to their wealth, and their kings consequently possess a still greater proportion. Amid such a variety, the heart of man is distracted; so that no one is look on as the companion of her lord, but all equally neglected and despised. ”

“ Jugurtha might have everything to gain by massacring the Romans and seizing Sulla. The act would compromise Bocchus hopelessly in the eyes of the Roman government. There was hardly a man that would not believe in his treason, and from that time forth Bocchus would have no choice but to be the firm ally of Numidia against the vengeance of Rome. Yet, if Volux acted or spoke as though he believed in the possibility of this issue, he might seem to be incriminating his father and himself, he might seem to deserve the stern rebuke of Sulla and the order of expulsion from the Roman camp. ”

“ During this siege, Bocchus, either reflecting on his late defeats, or wrought on by some others of his confidants, whom Jugurtha had not already corrupted, resumed his former sentiments, and chose from among his friends five ambassadors, and chose from among his friends five ambassadors, of proved integrity and eminent abilities: these he ordered to go to Marius, and afterward, if he should think proper, to Rome; giving them full powers to negotiate affairs, and end the war on any terms. ”

“ Serf. 9) , and to whom it may be conjectured that Sallust's Leptasta (Hist. ii. 31 Kritz) and Cicero's Mastanesosus (In Vat. 5, 12) belong, may have been independent within certain limits or may have held from him as feudatories; just as Syphax already ruled over many chieftains of tribes (Appian, Pun. 10) , and about this time in the neighbouring Numidia Cirta was possessed, probably however under Juba's supremacy, by the prince Massinissa (Appian, B. C. iv. 54) . About 672 we find in Bocchus' stead a king called Bocut or Bogud (iv. 92; Orosius, v. 21, 14) , the son of Bocchus. ”