The enemies of Ancient Rome tried many different tactics to defeat them, from the ambushes of Arminius, to the legendary Parthian cavalry archers, who turned the sky black with their arrows. However Jugurtha, King of Numidia, had the most unique strategy of all. He tried to bribe every Roman he came into contact with, usually with remarkable success.

The Jugurthine War would undermine faith in the Roman Republic, while bringing to prominence ambitious and dangerous men such as Marius and Sulla. The seeds of their great rivalry would be sown in the sands of North Africa, eventually to engulf the state in the first of many civil wars. Rome would regret ever hearing the name Jugurtha.

#history #romanempire #militaryhistory #Romans #historynerd

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What was the worst riot in American History? Watts in 1965? Detroit in 1967? The LA riots in 1992 after the Rodney King beating? These were nothing compared to the mackdaddy of them all, the New York City Draft riots. The Big Apple in 1863 was a vast pressure cooker just waiting to blow, riven by racial and class tensions, combined with disillusionment towards the Civil War raging outside. When Abraham Lincoln introduced a draft to fill the depleted ranks of the Union Army, violence exploded on an almost unimaginable scale. As the city descended into bloody chaos, it would take the same US army regiments that had just been victorious at Gettysburg to retake the streets. #history #militaryhistory #america #newyork #civilwar

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The Cold War led to many crazy decisions and bizarre alliances, but the Ogaden War is up there with the best of them. As Ethiopia plunged into bloody red revolution, neighbouring Somalia spotted an opportunity to conquer the disputed Ogaden region. As the fighting raged, America and the Soviet Union swapped sides mid war, while Castro’s Cuba even got involved. It would all end with a destabilised East Africa, helping to set in motion events such as the collapse of the Somali state, the Black Hawk Down incident, and the piracy crisis in the Horn of Africa. #coldwar #history #militaryhistory #historynerd #america #eastafrica

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