Remarks on some of corruption cases in the « Bellum Iugurthinum » of Sallustius

Abstract

Among the errors and contradictions contained in the B.I, «Bellum Iugurthinum» is the phenomenon of corruption. Sallustius, the author of this historical work, directly and deliberately accuses the consuls and the leaders of the Roman armies who failed before Jugurtha of corruption and that Jugurtha had won the battles thanks to his money and especially because of the greed of the Roman senators and consuls. Sallustius often deals the subject of corruption in his works but more deeply into the “Bellum Iugurthinum” . The general issue is: how plausible are the cases of corruption cited by Sallust?. This article goes in the direction of seeking the historical realities of this phenomenon of corruption in this work of Sallustius, and it is not a temptation to deny the fact of corruption but rather to investigate its extent. It is not a question in this study only of uncovering all cases of corruption, but rather, of proposing other alternatives and reasons for Jugurtha’s success in his war on the Romans away from corruption If indeed this phenomenon of corruption existed of the magnitude that Sallustius wanted us to know, was it the only choice for Jugurtha in his war and that it was the only reason for his successes against Rome? For what reasons does Sallustius insist on this phenomenon and how did he manage to portray Jugurtha as a corruptor who had nothing to face Rome but his money? In what historical context and under what circumstances did Salluste write this account? and for what reasons?. These are the questions we will try to find answers to.