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20-582: Indibilis , king or chief of the Ilergetes, resisted against the Carthaginian and Roman invasions. This article about an ethnic group in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Spanish history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Indibilis and Mandonius Indibilis and Mandonius (fl. 3rd century BC) were chieftains of

40-489: A formidable position, but concerned that the other two Carthaginian armies might take advantage of his inaction and join with Hasdrubal Barca , he took action on the third day. Before his main attack, Scipio sent one detachment to block the entrance to the valley separating the two armies and one to the road leading north to Baecula, thus providing security to his main force, while harassing any Carthaginian attempt to retreat. After these preliminary deployments were done,

60-553: A friendly association with the Romans. However, when a rumour spread in 206 BC that Africanus was seriously ill and possibly dead, they started a rebellion aimed at getting the Romans to leave Iberia. This rumour also started a mutiny at the military camp at the Sucro River , which involved some 8,000 soldiers. Indibilis and Mandonius sided with the mutineers. Africanus recovered and returned to good health and ultimately defeated

80-482: The Celtiberians . The Celtiberi were encouraged to collaborate with Scipio Calvus and invade New Carthage . On the way there, the combined armies took three fortified towns and fought two successful battles against Hasdrubal, Indibilis, and Mandonius. Scipio Calvus' combined armies killed 15,000 of the enemy and took 4,000 prisoners. As a result, Indibilis and Mandonius and their remaining tribesmen stayed out of

100-586: The Ilergetes , an ancient Iberian people based in the Iberian Peninsula . Polybius speaks of the brothers as the most influential and powerful of the Iberian chieftains in that period. Livy calls one of the chieftains of the Ilergetes "Indibilis". at the same time, Polybius gives "Andobales" for the same person. They agree that his brother chieftain was Mandonius. Indibilis fought against

120-644: The Iberians. The two brothers soon abandoned the Carthaginians and sided with the Romans. In 209 BC, they concluded a treaty of alliance with the Romans which involved most of the Iberian tribes. They then collaborated in a campaign against Hasdrubal Gisco which ended in a victory at the Battle of Baecula in 208 BC. Because of the presence of the Roman general Africanus, Indibilis and Mandonius maintained

140-407: The Roman approach, Hasdrubal shifted his camp to a strong defensive position – a high and steep plateau south of Baecula, protected by ravines on the flanks and the river to the front and rear. Moreover, the plateau was formed into two steps, on which Hasdrubal posted his light troops on the lower one and his main camp behind. After his arrival, Scipio was at first uncertain as to how to attack such

160-421: The Roman light troops advanced against their Carthaginian counterparts on the first step. Despite the steep slope, and under a shower of arrows, the Romans had little difficulty driving back the Carthaginian light troops once they got into hand-to-hand combat. After reinforcing his leading force, Scipio derived a pincer attack on the flanks of the Carthaginian main camp by ordering Gaius Laelius to lead half of

180-484: The Romans and sided with the Carthaginians at the Battle of Cissa in 218 BC, when Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus fought them. Indibilis and Carthaginian general Hanno were defeated at this battle and became a prisoner. In 217 BC, Indibilis regained his freedom and, with his younger brother Mandonius, decided to harass neighbouring Iberian tribes who were friendly to, or in alliance with, Rome. This harassment

200-442: The conduct of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco . He demanded money from them for his own benefit. He also required that the wife of Mandonius and the daughters of Indibilis be held at New Carthage in pledge for their fathers' fidelity. The hostages were part of the booty when Scipio Africanus captured New Carthage in 209 BC. Africanus treated them with much dignity and returned them to their rightful places, which impressed

220-447: The mutiny with the thirty-five ringleaders beheaded. He then fought the armies of Indibilis and Mandonius and defeated them. Indibilis and Mandonius surrendered to Africanus asking for mercy. Indibilis and Mandonius were subsequently released by Scipio on favourable terms. The next year, Africanus left Spain in the hands of his generals L. Lentulus and L. Manlius and returned to Rome to prepare for an attack on Carthage . Since Africanus

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240-485: The picture until 211 BC. At that time, they gathered 7,500 Suessetani and joined forces with Hasdrubal. Publius Cornelius Scipio , father to Scipio Africanus and younger brother of Scipio Calvus, decided to attack the Iberian chieftain brothers as they were moving across his line of retreat from his camp. Cornelius Scipio did not want to be trapped and surrounded by Carthaginians. He marched at midnight to meet them and skirmished with them at daybreak. Cornelius Scipio

260-400: The remaining heavy foot to the right of the enemy position, and he himself scaling the left. Hasdrubal, meanwhile, was under the impression that the Roman attack was only a skirmish (Scipio had hidden his main army in camp until the final attack) and failed to properly deploy his main force, thus his ill-prepared army was caught on three sides by the Romans. Despite being trapped, Hasdrubal

280-500: The three Carthaginian armies in Iberia remained separated, and their generals at odds with each other, thus giving the Romans a chance to deal with them one by one. Early in 208 BC, Scipio Africanus , with 30,000 Roman and Italian troops and 10,000 Spanish auxiliaries, moved against Hasdrubal Barca , whose 30,000-strong force had wintered at Baecula, on the upper reaches of the river Baetis (modern day Guadalquivir ). On learning of

300-554: The western passes of the Pyrenees into Gaul, and subsequently into Italy in an attempt to join his brother Hannibal . Scipio's failure to stop Hasdrubal's march to Italy was criticized by the Roman Senate . Scipio did not exploit his victory at Baecula to drive out the Carthaginians from Iberia, instead choosing to withdraw to his base at Tarraco . He secured alliances with many of the Iberian tribes, who switched sides after

320-468: Was able to retreat unmolested with his elephants, main baggage train, and some of his Carthaginian troops. It appeared that his main losses in the battle were the majority of his light troops and Iberian allies. This was largely due to the legionnaires' choice to plunder the Carthaginian camp rather than pursue Hasdrubal with any earnestness. After the battle, Hasdrubal led his depleted army (mainly formed by Celtiberian mercenaries and Gallic warriors) over

340-459: Was fended off by Scipio Calvus by counter measures that involved killing some of Indibilis' tribesmen, taking some prisoner, and disarming the others. When Hasdrubal Barca , who was in north-western Spain, heard of this, he returned to help out his Iberian allies south of the Ebro River . At this time, the tide of war took a turn because of unexpected intelligence received by Scipio Calvus from

360-516: Was given up by his tribesmen to the Romans; what became of him is unknown. Battle of Baecula 40,000 20,000 The Battle of Baecula was a major field battle in Iberia during the Second Punic War . Roman Republican and Iberian auxiliary forces under the command of Scipio Africanus routed the Carthaginian army of Hasdrubal Barca . According to Polybius , after Scipio ’s surprise attack and capture of Carthago Nova ,

380-559: Was speared with a lance and killed during the Battle of Castulo, part of the Battle of the Upper Baetis . Scipio Calvus was killed at the Battle of Ilorca, the other part of the battle of the Upper Baetis, a few days later. Even though the chieftains were generally pro-Carthaginian, for which they were rewarded by being given back their tribal territories after the death of the two Scipios in 211 BC, they soon changed their minds after

400-405: Was the only Roman general of whom Indibilis and Mandonius were afraid, they roused the Iberian tribes and assembled an army of 30,000 foot soldiers and 4,000 cavalry and decided to rebel again. In a battle with the Romans, the Iberians were all but destroyed. Indibilis was killed during the battle and Mandonius escaped with the remnants of his forces. As part of the peace terms dictated by Rome, he

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