The Battle of the Muthul was fought at the Muthul River in Numidia in 109 BC. The Numidians, led by their king Jugurtha, fought a Roman army commanded by the consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus. The battle was fought during the Jugurthine War, a war between King Jugurtha of Numidia and the Roman Republic. The battle was indecisive - it took the Romans four more years to defeat Jugurtha who was captured by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 105 and executed during Marius' Triumphal parade a year later (104). The Roman historian Publius Rutilius Rufus distinguished himself during the battle, while Gaius Marius' military genius shone through for the first time, saving the day for the Romans. The Muthul River ran through Adherbal's old kingdom in eastern Numidia. It has been identified as the Wäd Mellag, and in this case Metellus would have started his campaign in south-east Numidia, with the aim of strengthening his communication links. Other views (Mannert and Forbiger) identify the Muthul with the river Ubus, with Metellus starting his campaign in western Numidia, and later returning to Zama. The Battle The objective of Metellus' army was to reach the interior of Numidia. His army had to descend from the mountains and cross a desert plain eighteen miles wide to reach the Muthul River where he could refill his water reserves. Jugurtha had deployed part of his infantry and all of his war elephants along the river, under Bomilcar, while all of his cavalry and the best part of his infantry was hidden in a short and bushy ridge along the path the Roman army had to follow. Descending from the mountain pass, Metellus noticed the ambush, but his army needed to refill its water reserves, and thus had to cross the desert without cavalry coverage and within sight of the enemy. So he detached a small force under the command of Publius Rutilius Rufus to set up a camp beside the river. The main part of the Roman army moved diagonally towards the Numidian force on the ridge to dislodge them. Jugurtha ordered his infantry to cut off the retreat of the Romans by occupying the mountain pass while the Numidian cavalry charged against the Romans, scattering them into small detachments. The Romans were kept in small groups, unable to perform any coordinated movement. Each group was fighting for its own survival, and the Numidian cavalry had