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How did Lucius Cornelius Sulla capture Jugurtha?
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Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius on the Ruins of Carthage, engraving by John Vanderlyn, 1842.
In 105 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, serving as Gaius Marius’s quaestor, captured the Numidian king Jugurtha through a combination of diplomacy and trickery.123
Sulla successfully persuaded Bocchus I, the king of Mauretania and Jugurtha’s ally, to betray the Numidian leader. By convincing Bocchus to switch sides, Sulla was able to trap Jugurtha and take him into custody. This act of betrayal effectively ended the Jugurthine War, though it also sparked significant jealousy from Marius, as the credit for the capture went to Sulla rather than the commanding general. Sulla later commemorated the event by having the surrender engraved on his personal seal.1423