Jugurtha

Jugurtha (c. 160–104 BC) was a king of Numidia, the ancient North African kingdom of the Numidians. When his adoptive father, King Micipsa, died in 118 BC, the throne passed jointly to Jugurtha and Micipsa's two biological sons, Hiempsal and Adherbal. Jugurtha swiftly consolidated power by having Hiempsal assassinated in 117 BC, then waging civil war against Adherbal, whom he defeated and killed in 112 BC.

Adherbal's death, which violated Roman authority, combined with mounting outrage in Rome over Jugurtha's systematic bribery of senators to escape justice, ignited the Jugurthine War between Rome and Numidia. Following years of conflict across North Africa, Jugurtha was captured in 105 BC and displayed in chains during Gaius Marius' triumphal procession through Rome. He was imprisoned in the Tullianum, where he was executed by strangulation in 104 BC.