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The purpose of the research paper is to study the circumstances of the decision to reinforce the Roman army (supplementum) in 107 BCE during the Jugurthine War. The scientific novelty of the work is in the fact that, for the first time, the problem of supplementum (reinforcement for an already operating army) is singled out for a separate study. Process of recruiting volunteer fighters against the background of the war with the Numidians of 112-105 BCE and the internal political struggle in Rome at the end of the 1st century BCE is uncovered using a comprehensive source base. The reasons for the supplementum, as well as its specificity, previous appeals to this type of recruitment, and the prerogatives of the Senate or a certain official regarding its implementation and conducting are analyzed. Conclusions. In the study, we have found out that the information about the supplementum for Marius is given only by Sallustius in his work 'Bellum Jugurthinum'. Also, by analyzing the sources, we prove that Marius violated the rule of recruitment under the supplementum only in the fact that he recruited representatives of the poorest strata of the society without threatening the existence of the state because there was no threat from Numidia at that time -- unlike from the northern borders. So, we cannot exclude the fact that at least half of the reinforcements recruited by Marius were citizens from among the assidui, even those who could be the evocati. Analyzing the works of J. Rich, P. Brunt, L. de Ligt, and F. Cadiou, it is proven that during that time there was no shortage of 'worthy, good people' (boni). This was primarily due to the gradual lowering of the minimum census for military service. Also, the involvement of the impoverished strata of the Roman population was a sporadic practice, because during the 1st century BCE, the traditional recruitment according to property qualifications still took place. Marius took advantage of the opportunity to recruit anyone who wanted to serve under his command. The accelerated supplementum was not something brand new for the Roman army. In the future, prolonged wars would require more and more frequent additional recruitments, but in the sources that describe the events after the Jugurthine War, we do not see passages with such condemnation of actions, as we can see it in the episodes related to the replenishment of the African army conducted by Gaius Marius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]