Rome had, in the earlier Punic Wars, gained large tracts of territory in Africa, which they consolidated in the following centuries. Much of that land had been granted to the kingdom of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria, in return for its past military assistance. The Jugurthine War of 111–104 BC was fought between Rome and Jugurtha of Numidia and constituted the final Roman pacification of Northern Africa, after which Rome largely ceased expansion on the continent after reaching natural barriers of desert and mountain. In response to Jugurtha's usurpation of the Numidian throne, a loyal ally of Rome since the Punic Wars, Rome intervened. Jugurtha impudently bribed the Romans into accepting his usurpation and was granted half the kingdom. Following further aggression and further bribery attempts, the Romans sent an army to depose him. The Romans were defeated at the Battle of Suthul but fared better at the Battle of the Muthul and finally defeated Jugurtha at the Battle of Thala, the Battle of Mulucha, and the Battle of Cirta (104 BC). Jugurtha was finally captured not in battle but by treachery, ending the war.