Jugurthine War - Bestia

Bestia

The Roman consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia led an army against Jugurtha but Jugurtha surrendered and was given unusually favorable terms. It appears that Bestia was bribed. So favorable were Jugurtha's terms of surrender that it led to an investigation in Rome. Jugurtha was summoned to Rome. Upon his arrival in Rome, Jugurtha bribed two Roman Tribunes of the Plebs who in turn protected him and prevented him from testifying. Jugurtha then attempted to arrange for the assassination of a potential rival (his cousin Massiva, staying in Rome) and was expelled from the city. In late 110 or early 109 Jugurtha defeated a Roman army led by the praetor Aulus Postumius Albinus Magnus, brother of the consul of that year, apparently by using bribery, treachery, and trickery. He then demanded to be recognized as the rightful ruler of Numidia. The Senate refused.