Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (died 211 BC ) was a Roman general and statesman during the third century BC. He played a major part in the Second Punic War , establishing Roman rule in the east of the Iberian peninsula and tying up several Carthaginian armies to keep them from reinforcing Hannibal.
162-497: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus ( / ˈ s k ɪ p . i . oʊ / , / ˈ s ɪ p -/ , Latin: [ˈskiːpioː] ; 236/235– c. 183 BC ) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War . Often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders and strategists of all time, his greatest military achievement
324-622: A bribe to secure favourable peace terms, which Africanus rejected. At the battle itself, he claimed illness, but was selected to present the Roman peace terms regardless. The credit for the victory accrued to his brother and commander, Lucius. The peace terms presented at Sardis were largely the Roman demands prior to the battle: Antiochus would cede all territory outside the Taurus line (eventually determined to be from Cape Sarpedon in Cilicia through to
486-403: A case that Scipio's successes resulted from good planning, rational thinking and intelligence, which he said was a higher sign of the gods' favour than prophetic dreams. Polybius suggested that people had only said that Scipio had supernatural powers because they had not appreciated the natural mental gifts which facilitated Scipio's achievements. The Roman historian Valerius Maximus , writing in
648-489: A city of great wealth and ruthless in the pursuit of war. Its name was Carthage, and Juno is said to have loved it more than any other place ... But she had heard that there was rising from the blood of Troy a race of men who in days to come would overthrow this Tyrian citadel ... [and] sack the land of Libya." Virgil describes Queen Elissa—for whom he uses the ancient Greek name, Dido, meaning "beloved"—as an esteemed, clever, but ultimately tragic character. As in other legends,
810-477: A decade later in 387 BC. After winning a naval battle off the coast of Catania, Himilco laid siege to Syracuse with 50,000 Carthaginians, but yet another epidemic struck down thousands of them. With the enemy assault stalled and weakened, Dionysius then launched a surprise counterattack by land and sea, destroying all the Carthaginian ships while its crews were ashore. At the same time, his ground forces stormed
972-599: A few days of each other; the Battle of Castulo and the Battle of Ilorca . As Publius neared Castulo, he was harassed day and night by Numidian light cavalry under Masinissa . When informed that Indibilis was moving across his line of retreat with 7,500 Iberians, Publius decided not to face Mago but to attack the Iberian chieftain. Leaving 2,000 soldiers in his camp under the legate Tiberius Fonteus, he marched out at night, to evade Masinissa's cavalry, and launched an attack on
1134-489: A grim struggle, broke and fled, leaving Publius and most of their comrades dead on the field. Mago gave the Numidians enough time to loot the dead before force marching the army towards Hasdrubal Barca's position. A handful of Roman survivors managed to reach Fonteus's camp. Gnaeus Scipio had arrived at his objective first. Hasdrubal Barca decided to refuse battle and stayed within his fortified camp, he then managed to bribe
1296-516: A large army at their back and observing that the Carthaginian commanders had deployed separately from each other the Scipio brothers decided to divide their forces. Publius led an army of Roman and allied soldiers to attack Mago Barca near Castulo, while Gnaeus took one-third of the Romans and all of the mercenaries to attack Hasdrubal Barca. This stratagem would lead to two battles which took place within
1458-526: A legate in the army of his younger brother Publius, who was consul at the outbreak of the war in 218 BC. From 218 BC until his death in 211 BC he fought against the Carthaginians in Spain. In 218, Gnaeus and his brother sailed with Publius' consular army to the allied Greek city of Massilia in southern Gaul. From there they planned to start operations against Hannibal and the Carthaginian holdings on
1620-571: A localised variety known as Punic. Like other Phoenician peoples, its society was urban, commercial, and oriented towards seafaring and trade; this is reflected in part by its notable innovations, including serial production , uncolored glass , the threshing board , and the cothon harbor. Carthaginians were renowned for their commercial prowess, ambitious explorations, and unique system of government , which combined elements of democracy , oligarchy , and republicanism , including modern examples of checks and balances . Despite having been one of
1782-586: A long and difficult expedition. Herodotus claims that the Tyrians refused to cooperate due to their affinity for Carthage, causing the Persian king to abort his campaign. Though it escaped reprisal, Tyre's status as Phoenicia's leading city was significantly circumscribed; its rival, Sidon, subsequently garnered more support from the Persians. However, it too remained subjugated, leading the way for Carthage to fill
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#17327795358611944-438: A magistracy with imperium . Scipio was elected unanimously to the consulship of 205 BC amid much enthusiasm; he was 31 and still technically too young to be consul. When he entered into office, he demanded that the senate assign him the province of Africa and threatened to take the matter to the popular assemblies if it refused to do so. Despite fierce opposition from the princeps senatus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus ,
2106-550: A monopoly on an area's natural resources, satisfying the demand for trade goods, and finding areas where they could trade freely without outside interference. Over time many Phoenicians also sought to escape their tributary obligations to foreign powers that had subjugated the Phoenician homeland. Another motivating factor was competition with the Greeks, who became a nascent maritime power and began establishing colonies across
2268-433: A mythical, fatalistic backdrop for a century of bitter conflict between Rome and Carthage. These stories typify the Roman attitude towards Carthage: a level of grudging respect and acknowledgement of their bravery, prosperity, and even their city's seniority to Rome, along with derision of their cruelty, deviousness, and decadence, as exemplified by their practice of human sacrifice. To facilitate their commercial ventures,
2430-503: A naval battle near the mouth of the Ebro River . The Carthaginian naval contingent of 40 warships facing him was totally defeated after a surprise attack by the Roman ships. The Carthaginians lost 29 ships and the control of seas around the Iberian peninsula. Furthermore, the victory enhanced Roman prestige among the warlike Iberians. In early 215 BC the Romans, under the joined command of the brothers Gnaeus and Publius Scipio, crossed
2592-475: A new city abroad. Upon landing in North Africa, she is greeted by the local Berber chieftain, Iarbas (also called Hiarbas) who promises to cede as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide. With her characteristic cleverness, Dido cuts the hide into very thin strips and lays them end to end until they encircle the entire hill of Byrsa . While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement,
2754-472: A peaceful and largely open interstate system in the aftermath of the Roman proclamation of Greek freedom. It did not help that the cities that he did take had to be taken by force. The consul of 191 BC, Manius Acilius Glabrio , arrived in the spring and promptly defeated Antiochus at the Battle of Thermopylae – Antiochus lost the battle and was forced back across the Aegean to Ephesus within six months of
2916-625: A plan to abandon the republic and go overseas to serve as mercenaries, Scipio stormed into the meeting and forced all of them at sword-point to swear to Jupiter and the Capitoline triad that they would never abandon Rome. This story is probably a late invention, as it does not appear in Polybius. The next year, in 213 BC, he was elected curule aedile and served with his cousin Marcus Cornelius Cethegus . His candidacy
3078-643: A rousing oration detailing his services to the republic and noting that the day is the anniversary of the Battle of Zama. At this notice, he then leads an impromptu procession to sacrifice at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus amid thunderous applause, leaving the prosecutors embarrassed. This story, however, "generates little confidence". The legal troubles proved little trouble for the Scipiones, as evidence by Asiagenes' lavish games in 186 and vigorous campaign for
3240-510: A special favourite of heaven and actually communicated with the gods. It is quite possible that he himself honestly shared this belief. However, the strength of this belief is evident, even a generation later when his adopted grandson, Publius Aemilianus Scipio , was elected to the consulship from the office of tribune. His rise was spectacular and letters survive from soldiers under his command in Hispania show that they believed that he possessed
3402-550: A spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury , to remind Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome . The Trojan departs, leaving Dido so heartbroken that she commits suicide by stabbing herself upon a funeral pyre with his sword. As she lies dying, she predicts eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own, proclaiming "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" in an invocation of Hannibal . Aeneas sees
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#17327795358613564-479: A treaty to keep their commercial planes separate from each other. Carthage focused on growing their population by taking in Phoenicians colonies and soon began controlling Libyan, African, and Roman colonies. Many Phoenician cities also had to pay or support the Carthaginian troops. Punic troops would defend cities and these cities had few rights. Unlike the existential conflict of the later Punic Wars with Rome,
3726-457: Is also credited with initiating, or at least expanding, the practice of recruiting subject peoples and mercenaries, as Carthage's population was too small to secure and defend its scattered colonies. Libyans , Iberians , Sardinians and Corsicans were soon enlisted for the Magonid expansionist campaigns across the region. By the beginning of the fourth century BC, the Carthaginians had become
3888-411: Is greeted by Iarbas , and after he offers as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide, she cuts the hide into very thin strips and encircles all of Byrsa . While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of a horse, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of
4050-588: Is said to have written his memoirs in Greek, but those are lost (perhaps destroyed) along with the history written by his elder son and namesake (adoptive father of Scipio Aemilianus) and his Life by Plutarch . As a result, contemporary accounts of his life, particularly his childhood and youth, are virtually non-existent. Even Plutarch's account of Scipio's life, written much later, has been lost. What remains are accounts of his doings in Polybius, Livy's Histories (which say little about his private life), supplemented with
4212-500: Is that the girl was freed by Aemilia Paulla after Scipio's death and married to one of his freedmen . This account is only found in Valerius Maximus (Memorable Deeds and Sayings 6.7.1–3. L) writing in the first century AD, some decades after Livy. Valerius Maximus is hostile to Scipio Africanus in other matters such as his frequent visits to the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus , which Maximus saw as "fake religion". Scipio
4374-490: Is unknown what factors influenced the citizens of Carthage, unlike those of other Phoenician colonies, to create an economic and political hegemony; the nearby city of Utica was far older and enjoyed the same geographical and political advantages, but never embarked on hegemonic conquest, instead coming under Carthaginian influence. One theory is that Babylonian and Persian domination of the Phoenician homeland produced refugees that swelled Carthage's population and transferred
4536-409: Is why its empire took the form of a hegemony based on treaties and political arrangements more than conquest. By contrast, the Romans focused on expanding and consolidating their control over the rest of mainland Italy, and would aim to extend its control well beyond its homeland. These differences would prove key in the conduct and trajectory of the later Punic Wars. By the third century BC, Carthage
4698-615: The Aeneid —written over a century after the Third Punic War—tells the mythical story of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his journey towards founding Rome, inextricably tying together the founding myths, and ultimate fates, of both Rome and Carthage. Its introduction begins by mentioning "an ancient city" that many readers likely assumed was Rome or Troy, but goes on to describe it as a place "held by colonists from Tyre, opposite Italy . ..
4860-700: The Oxford Classical Dictionary , prefer 183 BC. It is not clear where Scipio Africanus was buried. There are three main possibilities. The first is the Tomb of the Scipios in Rome. Nothing survives in the literary record documenting his burial there, however. The second is his villa at Liternum: it was later owned by Seneca the Younger , who in a letter expressed his belief that an altar there
5022-555: The Alps . Arriving at the deserted Carthaginian camp, Scipio learned that Hannibal was three days' march away and decided to send his army to the Iberian peninsula under the command of his elder brother Gnaeus, while he himself returned to Northern Italy to organize the defences. Gnaeus, with 20,000 infantry (2 Roman legions and 2 allied alae ), 2,200 cavalry and 60 quinqueremes, sailed from Massilia and landed in eastern Spain at Emporion . The Greek cities of Emporion and Tarraco welcomed
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5184-471: The Atlantic . The same year, the Iberian colonies seceded, cutting off Carthage from a major source of silver and copper . The loss of such strategically important mineral wealth, combined with the desire to exercise firmer control over shipping routes, led Hannibal Mago , grandson of Hamilcar, to make preparations to reclaim Sicily. In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily with his force. He captured
5346-494: The Balearic archipelago . Tripoli remained autonomous under the authority of local Libyco-Phoenicians , who paid nominal tribute. Among the ancient world's largest and richest cities, Carthage's strategic location provided access to abundant fertile land and major maritime trade routes . Its extensive mercantile network reached as far as west Asia and northern Europe , providing an array of commodities from all over
5508-519: The Gracchi brothers , Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus . None of his sons had legitimate issue. However, his son Publius adopted the son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, who became known as Scipio Aemilianus . Scipio's only descendants living through the late Republican period were the descendants of his two daughters. His younger daughter's last surviving child Sempronia , wife and then widow of Scipio Aemilianus – his adoptive grandson –
5670-499: The Greeks of Syracuse , who also sought control of the central Mediterranean. Founded in the mid seventh century BC, Syracuse had risen to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek city states, and the preeminent Greek polity in the region. The island of Sicily, lying at Carthage's doorstep, became the main arena on which this conflict played out. From their earliest days, both the Greeks and Phoenicians had been attracted to
5832-643: The Punic qrt-ḥdšt ( Punic : 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 , lit. 'New City'). Punic , which is sometimes used synonymously with Carthaginian, derives from the Latin poenus and punicus , based on the Ancient Greek word Φοῖνιξ ( Phoinix ), pl. Φοίνικες ( Phoinikes ), an exonym used to describe the Canaanite port towns with which the Greeks traded. Latin later borrowed
5994-717: The Roman treasury and distributed 400 asses each to his soldiers. His popularity among the plebs was also astonishing – the Scipionic legend, which in later forms depicted him a son of Jupiter – and heralded great political success. This success, however, turned many Roman aristocrats into his enemies, largely to oppose his further aggrandisement or out of jealousy. Even during his consulship, he had been opposed by Fabius Maximus and others, especially after stories circulated of his being saluted as king and god in Spain. His intended role in Roman politics, however, remained traditional. In
6156-636: The Spartan Kingdom (subject peoples serving as serfs for the Punic elite and state) and, to a lesser extent, the Roman Republic (allies contributing manpower and tribute for Rome's war machine). In 509 BC, Carthage and Rome signed the first of several treaties demarcating their respective influence and commercial activities. This is the first textual source demonstrating Carthaginian control over Sicily and Sardinia. The treaty also conveys
6318-423: The ancient world , in addition to lucrative exports of agricultural products and manufactured goods . This commercial empire was secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean , and an army composed heavily of foreign mercenaries and auxiliaries , particularly Iberians , Balearics , Gauls , Britons , Sicilians , Italians , Greeks , Numidians , and Libyans . As
6480-461: The river Tanais ), pay a war indemnity of 15,000 talents to Rome with a separate 400 talents to Eumenes, all exiles and enemies of Rome would be handed over (including Hannibal) along with twenty hostages (including Antiochus' youngest son). The 190s BC saw a re-emergence of attempts by the aristocratic elite to put limits on individual ambitions. The return of the Scipiones to Rome saw claims over Lucius Scipio's triumph disputed: critics thought
6642-412: The siege of Agrigentum , Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, which claimed Hannibal Mago himself. His successor, Himilco, managed to extend the campaign, capturing the city of Gela and repeatedly defeating the army of Dionysius of Syracuse. But he, too, was struck with plague and forced to sue for peace before returning to Carthage. By 398 BC, Dionysius had regained his strength and broke
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6804-401: The western Mediterranean . By 300 BC, through its vast patchwork of colonies , vassal states , and satellite states , held together by its naval dominance of the western and central Mediterranean Sea, Carthage controlled the largest territory in the region, including the coast of northwest Africa , southern and eastern Iberia , and the islands of Sicily , Sardinia , Corsica , Malta , and
6966-451: The "New City" Carthage. In just seven years since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians build a successful kingdom under Dido's rule. She is adored by her subjects and presented with a festival of praise. Virgil portrays her character as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who had recently escaped from Troy . The two fall in love during a hunting expedition, and Dido comes to believe they will marry. Jupiter sends
7128-474: The "superior power" of the western Mediterranean , and would remain so for roughly the next three centuries. Carthage took control of all nearby Phoenician colonies, including Hadrumetum , Utica , Hippo Diarrhytus and Kerkouane ; subjugated many neighboring Libyan tribes, and occupied coastal North Africa from Morocco to western Libya . It held Sardinia, Malta , the Balearic Islands , and
7290-441: The Carthaginians were forced to withdraw a considerable portion of their forces to handle a revolt by Syphax of Numidia . Through the seven years from 218, the brothers had successfully extended Roman control deep into Carthaginian territory. However, disaster struck in 211 BC when the brothers divided their forces to attack three separate Carthaginian armies were defeated in detail . The brothers fell in separate battles against
7452-457: The Carthaginians who had overrun his makeshift camp during the battle of Ilorca. His death did not end the Scipios’ war against the Carthaginians. His nephew Publius would play an even greater part in bringing down Hannibal and in establishing Roman rule over the Iberian peninsula. His son was Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica (nicknamed Nasica for his pointed nose), who was consul in 191 BC. He
7614-454: The Carthaginians, who were led by Hasdrubal Barca , Mago Barca , and Hasdrubal Gisco ; the two Barcas were Hannibal's brothers. Initially, Gaius Claudius Nero – who was praetor in 212 BC – was sent to contain the situation. But in 210 BC, the assembly elected Scipio to take command. Modern scholars dismiss the Livian narrative of senatorial indecision and have instead suggested that
7776-547: The Celt-Iberian mercenaries to desert Gnaeus. This led to Hasdrubal's army outnumbering that of Gnaeus. Still Hasdrubal bided his time, avoiding any battles with the Romans. Gnaeus, having lost his numerical advantage, decided to withdraw north after Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their armies. The Romans moved out of their camp, leaving their camp fires burning, and made for the Ebro at night. The Numidians located them
7938-520: The Ebro River. Hasdrubal marched north with his field army, and after some maneuvering the two armies faced of on the south bank of the Ebro River across from the town of Dertosa . The armies were about similar in size with the Scipio brothers having 30,000 infantry and 2,800 cavalry against Hasdrubal's 25,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 20 elephants. Hasdrubal tried to emulate his brother Hannibal's envelopment tactic (see: Cannae ) but failed because
8100-675: The Elder , who hated him deeply. In 187 BC, he was tried in a show trial alongside his brother for bribes they supposedly received from the Seleucid king Antiochus III during the Roman–Seleucid War . Disillusioned by the ingratitude of his peers, Scipio left Rome and retired from public life at his villa in Liternum . Scipio Africanus was born as Publius Cornelius Scipio in 236 BC to his then-homonymous father and Pomponia into
8262-539: The European mainland, in what are today Genoa and Marseilles . Foreshadowing the later Sicilian Wars, settlements in Crete and Sicily continually clashed with the Greeks, and Phoenician control over all of Sicily was brief. Nearly all these areas would come under the leadership and protection of Carthage, which eventually founded cities of its own, especially after the decline of Tyre and Sidon . The site of Carthage
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#17327795358618424-670: The Greek term a second time as phoenix , pl. phoenices . Both Punic and Phoenician were used by the Romans and Greeks to refer to Phoenicians across the Mediterranean; modern scholars use the term Punic exclusively for Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, such as the Carthaginians. Specific Punic groups are often referred to with hyphenated terms, like "Siculo-Punic" for Phoenicians in Sicily or "Sardo-Punic" for those in Sardinia. Ancient Greek authors sometimes referred to
8586-581: The Greeks with respect to Sicily , and the Romans over dominance of the western Mediterranean. Inevitably, foreign accounts of Carthage usually reflect significant bias, especially those written during or after the Punic Wars, when the interpretatio Romana perpetuated a "malicious and distorted view". Excavations of ancient Carthaginian sites since the late 19th century has brought to light more material evidence that either contradict or confirm aspects of
8748-534: The Iberian peninsula. Publius was informed Hannibal was to the north in Gaul, so he sent a cavalry force north up the eastern bank of the Rhone River , which clashed with a similar force of Numidian light cavalry. After a hard-fought skirmish, they managed to drive off the Numidians. Publius then marched his entire force north intending to do battle with Hannibal in Gaul. Meanwhile, Hannibal had marched east towards
8910-539: The Iberians and all of the Cartiginian territory north of the Ebro if he waited any longer, marched and attacked the Romans just north of Tarraco, near a place called Cissa or Kissa. He fought a pitched battle, in which there were no brilliant maneuvers or ambushes; the armies just formed up and faced off. Being outnumbered two to one, Hanno was defeated relatively easily, losing 6,000 soldiers in battle. Furthermore,
9072-492: The Iberians in the early morning. He caught Indibilis and his men by surprise and, with a numerical superiority, began to gain the upper hand in the ensuing action. The Iberians managed to hold off the Romans just long enough for Masinissa to arrive. With the Numidian horse attacking their flank, the Roman assault on the Iberians began to slacken. Then Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their combined armies. The Romans, after
9234-649: The Insubres at Clastidium. After Acerrae fell, Scipio marched towards Mediolanum , drawing the Gauls out and routing them. He took that city and thereby forced the Gauls to submit to the Romans. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus fought in the Second Punic War. Though he never faced Hannibal himself, he played a major part in defeating him. At the start of the Second Punic War Gnaeus served as
9396-557: The Mediterranean and beyond, limit her rights to expand in Africa, recognize Massinissa's kingdom, give up all but twenty of her ships, and pay a war indemnity. However, during the negotiations, the Carthaginians – suffering from starvation – attacked a Roman food convoy, leading to protests to be sent and envoys exchanged. Amid further attempts to remove him from command – one of the consuls of 203 BC, Gnaeus Servilius Caepio , attempted to substitute himself for Scipio to claim credit for
9558-494: The Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The first Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean grew up on the two paths to Iberia's mineral wealth: along the northwest African coast and on Sicily , Sardinia , and the Balearic Islands . As the largest and wealthiest city-state among the Phoenicians, Tyre led the way in settling or controlling coastal areas. Strabo claims that the Tyrians alone founded three hundred colonies on
9720-444: The Phoenicians established numerous colonies and trading posts along the coasts of the Mediterranean. Organized in fiercely independent city-states, the Phoenicians lacked the numbers or even the desire to expand overseas; most colonies had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and only a few, including Carthage, would grow larger. Motives for colonization were usually practical, such as seeking safe harbors for their merchant fleets, maintaining
9882-665: The Punic Wars, and to varying degrees were shaped by the hostilities. Popular and scholarly attitudes towards Carthage historically reflected the prevailing Greco-Roman view, though archaeological research since the late 19th century has helped shed more light and nuance on Carthaginian civilization. The name Carthage / ˈ k ɑː r θ ɪ dʒ / is the Early Modern anglicisation of Middle French Carthage /kar.taʒ/ , from Latin Carthāgō and Karthāgō (cf. Greek Karkhēdōn ( Καρχηδών ) and Etruscan *Carθaza ) from
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#173277953586110044-474: The Punic-speakers in North Africa called themselves Chanani (Canaanites), but it has recently been argued that this is a misreading. Numismatic evidence from Sicily shows that some western Phoenicians made use of the term Phoinix. Compared to contemporaneous civilizations such as Rome and Greece, far less is known about Carthage, as most indigenous records were lost in the wholesale destruction of
10206-594: The Roman cavalry held out and he could not close the trap. The Scipio brothers continued with their policy of subjugating the Iberian tribes and raiding Carthaginian possessions. After losing most of his field army, Hasdrubal had to be reinforced with the army that was to sail to Italy and reinforce Hannibal. Thus, by winning this battle, the Scipios had indirectly prevented the situation in Italy from getting worse in addition to improving their own situation in Iberia. In 212 BC,
10368-422: The Roman elite; more than a century later, even the conservative Cato Uticensis (great-grandson of the elder Cato) espoused Greek philosophy. Ancient Carthage French Algeria (19th–20th centuries) Algerian War (1954–1962) 1990s– 2000s 2010s to present Ancient Carthage ( / ˈ k ɑːr θ ɪ dʒ / KAR -thij ; Punic : 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 , lit. ' New City ' )
10530-406: The Roman toga, raised much opposition among some Senators of Rome, led by Cato the Elder who felt that Greek influence was destroying Roman culture. Cato, as a loyalist of Fabius Maximus , had been sent out as quaestor to Scipio in Sicily circa 204 BC to investigate charges of military indiscipline, corruption, and other offence against Scipio; none of those charges was found true by the tribunes of
10692-441: The Romans managed to capture the Carthaginian camp, along with 2,000 soldiers and Hanno himself. The camp contained all the baggage left by Hannibal. The prisoners also included Indibilis , an influential Iberian chieftain. The Romans also stormed the town of Cissa, though to the frustration of the Romans it did not contain any valuable booty. In spring 217 BC Gnaeus commanded a fleet of 55 warships (probably quinqueremes ) during
10854-501: The Romans, and Gnaeus began to win over the Iberian tribes north of the Ebro. Hannibal had left a certain Hanno with 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to garrison the newly conquered territory north of the Ebro, he was seriously outnumbered so Hasdrubal Barca , who had been left in command of the Carthaginian army in southern Spain, decided to reinforce him and marched north with 8,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Hanno, afraid he would lose
11016-421: The Scipio brothers captured Castulo, a major mining town and the home of Hannibal's wife Imilce. They then wintered at Castulo and Ilugia. Over the last couple of years the strength of the Scipios army had been reduced by losses and the need to garrison their recently conquered territories Therefore, the brothers had hired around 20,000 Celt-Iberian mercenaries to supplement their field army to 40,000 men. With
11178-565: The Scipiones had been fighting a weak enemy and that the war had actually truly been won a year earlier at Thermopylae. His triumph, however, was approved regardless. Lucius' attempt to secure from the senate a prorogation to oversee the settlement of Asia also was rejected; no exception would be made to the general post-Hannibalic war rule against promagistrates. Lucius Scipio adopted the cognomen Asiagenes and at his triumph brought some 137,420 pounds of silver, 224,000 tetradrachms , 140,000 gold coins, 234 gold crowns, 1231 ivory tusks, and more into
11340-460: The Scipiones' legal troubles are recorded in the ancient sources. Scipio Asiagenes was in fact indicted. He was not alone, his successor in Asia – Gnaeus Manlius Vulso – also was brought up on charges. Regardless, the trial forced a full accounting of cash paid by Antiochus to Manlius and Asiagenes. After Asiagenes was fined – either by a special court or by tribunician legislation – he refused to pay
11502-404: The Scipios arrived, the Romans had an army in Asia minor. Antiochus offered terms – a war indemnity to cover half the cost of the war and abandonment of his claims to Smyrna, Lapsacus, Alexandria Troas, and other towns – but the Scipiones rejected the offer based on the Roman war aim of reshaping to their benefit the Aegean balance of power. They responded by demanding Antiochus cede all territory to
11664-640: The Scipios). Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio was nicknamed Calvus (the bald) to distinguish him from his uncle, another Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio , who was nicknamed Asina (donkey) and who had been consul twice during the First Punic War . Gnaeus Cornelius was elected consul for 222 BC with Marcus Claudius Marcellus as his co-consul. Both consuls led their armies against the Insubres of Cisalpine Gaul . Scipio laid siege to Acerrae , while Marcellus engaged
11826-544: The Second Punic War, but was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC after the Third Punic War . The Romans later founded a new city in its place. All remnants of Carthaginian civilization came under Roman rule by the first century AD , and Rome subsequently became the dominant Mediterranean power, paving the way for its rise as a major empire . Despite the cosmopolitan character of its empire, Carthage's culture and identity remained rooted in its Canaanite heritage, albeit
11988-420: The Taurus mountains and pay an indemnity covering the entire cost of the war; the demands were so extreme he immediately broke off negotiations. Late in the year, around mid-December, Antiochus' forces engaged the Romans at Magnesia ; even though they outnumbered the Romans and allies by at least two to one, Antiochus' army of some 60,000 men was routed. Shortly before Magnesia, Antiochus offered Scipio Africanus
12150-597: The Tyrian colony of Cadiz in southern Spain, which supplied raw materials for manufacturing in Tyre, and the other between North Africa and the northern Mediterranean, namely Sicily, Italy, and Greece. In contrast to most Phoenician colonies, Carthage grew larger and more quickly thanks to its combination of favorable climate, arable land, and lucrative trade routes. Within just one century of its founding, its population rose to 30,000. Meanwhile, its mother city, which for centuries
12312-581: The Tyrians discover the head of an ox, an omen that the city would be wealthy "but laborious and always enslaved". In response they move the site of the city elsewhere, where the head of a horse is found, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of Carthage, derived from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht , meaning "New City". The city's wealth and prosperity attracts both Phoenicians from nearby Utica and
12474-488: The account-books from his brother, he waved them before the senators and then tore them up, asking the rhetorical question as to how the senate could be concerned with a mere 3,000 talents when he had brought 15,000 into the treasury by conquering Spain, Africa, and Asia. One story, given by Valerius Antias , indicates that one of the tribunes at the urging of Cato the Elder brought charges against Scipio Africanus alleging bribery and theft. Antias then has Scipio respond with
12636-478: The alleged embassy, Scipio is apocryphally said to have discussed the best generals with Hannibal at Ephesus. In 192 BC, Rome declared war on Antiochus, who – after a cold war with the Romans starting from the close of the Second Macedonian War through to 193 BC – had invaded Greece. Antiochus' initial push into Greece was met with little enthusiasm by the locals, who were well-treated in
12798-611: The ancient western and central Mediterranean Sea . Following the Punic Wars , Carthage was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, who later rebuilt the city lavishly. Carthage was settled around 814 BC by colonists from Tyre , a leading Phoenician city-state located in present-day Lebanon . In the 7th century BC , following Phoenicia's conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire , Carthage became independent, gradually expanding its economic and political hegemony across
12960-487: The army destroyed and Hasdrubal slain. The following year, Hasdrubal was replaced by a certain Hanno, who was captured by Junius Silanus in Celtiberia . Following the army under Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, which retreated to Gades (modern Cádiz ), Scipio's brother took Orongis (modern Jaén ) before a decisive victory in 206 BC at the Battle of Ilipa , north of modern Seville , forced the Carthaginians to withdraw from
13122-522: The battle, several Spanish tribes defected to the Romans. The next year, 208 BC, Scipio fought Hasdrubal north of the river Baetis , near Baecula. While Scipio was victorious, the battle was indecisive and Hasdrubal escaped north with most of his army across the Pyrenees for Italy; Hasdrubal and his army reached Italy in 207, where they were eventually defeated in the Battle of the Metaurus with
13284-551: The besiegers' lines and routed them. Himilco and his chief officers abandoned their army and fled Sicily. Once again, the Carthaginians were forced to press for peace. Returning to Carthage in disgrace, Himilco was met with contempt and committed suicide by starving himself. Notwithstanding consistently poor luck and costly reversals, Sicily remained an obsession for Carthage. Over the next fifty years, an uneasy peace reigned, as Carthaginian and Greek forces engaged in constant skirmishes. By 340 BC, Carthage had been pushed entirely into
13446-450: The birthplace of the emperors, Trajan , Hadrian , and Theodosius I . With a general victory across the peninsula, Scipio then returned to Rome to stand for the consulship of 205 BC, leaving Lucius Cornelius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus in command. He returned to Rome late in the year; according to Livy he was denied a triumph, on the grounds that he was privatus – that is, sine magistratu – and had never been elected to
13608-458: The censorship of 184 (he was unsuccessful). Friends of the Scipiones continued to win consular elections. Scipio himself retired to Liternum; "the idea that he retired in semi-exile or ignominy is pure romance". Scipio retired to his country seat at Liternum on the coast of Campania , where he died. There are multiple dates reported for his death. Polybius and Rutilius , who both lived shortly after his death, report that he died in 183 BC;
13770-621: The city after the Third Punic War. Sources of knowledge are limited to ancient translations of Punic into Greek and Latin, Punic inscriptions on monuments and buildings, and archaeological findings of Carthage's material culture. The majority of available primary sources about Carthage were written by Greek and Roman historians , most notably Livy , Polybius , Appian , Cornelius Nepos , Silius Italicus , Plutarch , Dio Cassius , and Herodotus . These authors came from cultures that were nearly always in competition with Carthage;
13932-481: The city by sending a wading party across the lagoon to the city's north when it reached low tide, he told the troops that he had a vision in which the god Neptune had promised aid; this alleged vision played a role in the rapid development of a Scipionic legend around him and his family. Storming the city rapidly and with little ability to tell combatants and civilians apart, Scipio ordered his men to massacre all they encountered and pillage any structures; Polybius viewed
14094-446: The city. His soldiers were granted bonuses of 25 denarii each, with more to officers and cavalry. These enormous amounts of plunder triggered moral panic at Rome about the possible diversion of those funds to extravagant private use. These troubles related to the broader matter of charting the boundaries of power that magistrates could exercise abroad, especially in relation of monies obtained in war. A confusing mess of stories related to
14256-480: The coast to Himera, making camp before engaging in battle against the forces of Syracuse and its ally Agrigentum . The Greeks won a decisive victory, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians, including their leader Hamilcar, who was either killed during the battle or committed suicide in shame. As a result, the Carthaginian nobility sued for peace. The conflict proved to be a major turning point for Carthage. Though it would retain some presence in Sicily, most of
14418-495: The colonies, the Carthaginians appointed magistrates to directly control their own (a policy that would lead to a number of Iberian towns siding with the Romans during the Punic Wars ). In many other instances, Carthage's hegemony was established through treaties, alliances, tributary obligations, and other such arrangements. It had elements of the Delian League led by Athens (allies shared funding and manpower for defense),
14580-630: The common people. By 410 BC, Carthage had recovered from its serious defeats in Sicily. It had conquered much of modern-day Tunisia and founded new colonies across northern Africa. It also extended its reach well beyond the Mediterranean; Hanno the Navigator journeyed down the West African coast, and Himilco the Navigator had explored the European Atlantic coast. Expeditions were also led into Morocco and Senegal , as well as
14742-502: The conflict between Carthage and the Greeks centered on economic concerns, as each side sought to advance their own commercial interests and influence by controlling key trade routes. For centuries, the Phoenician and Greek city-states had embarked on maritime trade and colonization across the Mediterranean. While the Phoenicians were initially dominant, Greek competition increasingly undermined their monopoly. Both sides had begun establishing colonies, trading posts, and commercial relations in
14904-539: The consulship of 194 BC. During his second consulship, he wanted to succeed Titus Quinctius Flamininus in Greece and advocated for a stronger Roman presence in the Aegean to guard against Antiochus III , but was unsuccessful. He instead fought the Boii and Ligurians in northern Italy, against whom the Romans had been continuously campaigning since 201 BC. Scipio let his co-consul, Tiberius Sempronius Longus , take
15066-452: The culture, wealth, and traditions of Tyre to Carthage. The threat to the Phoenician trade monopoly—by Etruscan and Greek competition in the west, and through foreign subjugation of its homeland in the east—also created the conditions for Carthage to consolidate its power and further its commercial interests . Another contributing factor may have been domestic politics: while little is known of Carthage's government and leadership prior to
15228-569: The dominant power of the western Mediterranean, Carthage inevitably came into conflict with many neighbours and rivals, from the Berbers of North Africa to the nascent Roman Republic . Following centuries of conflict with the Sicilian Greeks , its growing competition with Rome culminated in the Punic Wars (264–146 BC), which saw some of the largest and most sophisticated battles in antiquity. Carthage narrowly avoided destruction after
15390-567: The earlier work of Trogus . Princess Dido is the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre, who upon his death bequeaths the throne jointly to her and her brother Pygmalion. After cheating his sister out of her share of political power, Pygmalion murders her husband Acerbas (Phoenician: Zakarbaal), also known as Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart , whose wealth and power he covets. Before her tyrannical brother can take her late husband's wealth, Dido immediately flees with her followers to establish
15552-537: The extent to which Carthage was, at the very least, on equal terms with Rome, whose influence was limited to parts of central and southern Italy. Carthaginian dominance of the sea reflected not only its Phoenician heritage, but an approach to empire-building that differed greatly from Rome. Carthage emphasized maritime trade over territorial expansion, and accordingly focused its settlements and influence on coastal areas while investing more on its navy. For similar reasons, its ambitions were more commercial than imperial, which
15714-478: The faculty of inspiring his soldiers with confidence. Livy reports that, as a Roman commissioner to Ephesus following the defeat of Antiochus III , on meeting the exiled Hannibal , Scipio took the opportunity to ask Hannibal's opinion of the "greatest commander", to which Hannibal named Alexander the Great as the first and Pyrrhus as the second. Livy continues, "On Scipio's again asking him whom he regarded as
15876-623: The family of the Cornelii Scipiones . His family was one of the major still-extant patrician families and had held multiple consulships within living memory: his great-grandfather Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and grandfather Lucius Cornelius Scipio had both been consuls and censors . His father had held the consulship of 218 BC, his uncle was consul in 222 BC, and his mother's brothers – Manius Pomponius Matho and Marcus Pomponius Matho – were both consuls in 233 and 231, respectively. The Second Punic war started in
16038-455: The father was encircled by enemy horsemen. Other sources, however, credit an unnamed Ligurian slave. Two years later, in 216 BC, Scipio served as military tribune . He survived the disastrous Battle of Cannae – his father-in-law, the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus , was there slain – and, after the battle, rallied survivors at Canusium . According to Livy, when he heard that Lucius Caecilius Metellus and other young nobles were discussing
16200-508: The final blow against Carthage; the consuls of 202 BC coveted the African command for the same reason – Scipio refused peace terms at a parley with Hannibal in 202 BC. With the support of Masinissa's Numidian cavalry, the Battle of Zama was fought shortly after; the Romans won and Carthage then again sued for peace. In the new year, 201 BC, Scipio remained in Africa to conclude negotiations, which saw Carthage's territory kept to
16362-496: The fine, claiming poverty, and was only saved from prison when one of the plebeian tribunes, usually identified as Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus , interceded. Africanus was around the same time challenged in the senate. A senator demanded that he produce his account-books for the Antiochene campaign and account for the monies allotted to pay his troops. He responded with indignation and declared that he owed no reckoning. Securing
16524-466: The first century AD, alleged that Scipio Africanus had a weakness for beautiful women, and knowing this, some of his soldiers presented him with a beautiful young woman captured in New Carthage. The woman turned out to be the fiancée of an important Iberian chieftain and Scipio chose to act as a general and not an ordinary soldier in restoring her, virtue and ransom intact, to her fiancé. This episode
16686-400: The following day; their attacks forced the Romans to take position for the night on a hilltop near Ilorca. The combined Carthaginian armies arrived during the night. As the ground was too stony for digging the Romans tried to create a defensive wall with baggage and saddles. The Carthaginians easily overran these makeshift fortification, destroying Gnaeus's army. Gnaeus died in battle, fighting
16848-731: The foreign subjugation of the Phoenician homeland, led to its supplanting of Sidon as the supreme Phoenician city state. Carthage's empire was largely informal and multifaceted, consisting of varying levels of control exercised in equally variable ways. It established new colonies, repopulated and reinforced older ones, formed defensive pacts with other Phoenician city states, and acquired territories directly by conquest. While some Phoenician colonies willingly submitted to Carthage, paying tribute and giving up their foreign policy , others in Iberia and Sardinia resisted Carthaginian efforts. Whereas other Phoenician cities never exercised actual control of
17010-460: The impetus for her escape is her tyrannical brother Pygmalion, whose secret murder of her husband is revealed to her in a dream. Cleverly exploiting her brother's greed, Dido tricks Pygmalion into supporting her journey to find and bring back riches for him. Through this ruse she sets sail with gold and allies secretly in search of a new home. As in Justin's account, upon landing in North Africa, Dido
17172-542: The indigenous Libyans, whose king Iarbas now seeks Dido's hand in marriage. Threatened with war should she refuse, and also loyal to the memory of her deceased husband, the queen orders a funeral pyre to be built, where she commits suicide by stabbing herself with a sword. She is thereafter worshiped as a goddess by the people of Carthage, who are described as brave in battle but prone to the "cruel religious ceremony" of human sacrifice, even of children, whenever they seek divine relief from troubles of any kind. Virgil's epic poem
17334-505: The invasion of Africa. He captured Locri on the toe of Italy that year, and left one Pleminius in command there. After Pleminius assumed command, he robbed the city's temple and tortured and killed two military tribunes. For these crimes, the senate had Pleminius placed under arrest; Scipio was also implicated but was cleared the next year. His imperium was prorogued into 205 BC and in that year, he crossed with his men into Africa and besieged Utica before withdrawing and pretending in
17496-502: The island would remain in Greek (and later Roman) hands. The Carthaginians would never again expand their territory or sphere of influence on the island to any meaningful degree, instead turning their attention to securing or increasing their hold in North Africa and Iberia. The death of King Hamilcar and the disastrous conduct of the war also prompted political reforms that established an oligarchic republic. Carthage would henceforth constrain its rulers through assemblies of both nobles and
17658-442: The king of Tyre who gave tribute to Shalmaneser III in 841 BC, with 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤏𐤑𐤅𐤓 Ba‘al-'azor (Phoenician form of the name) or Baal-Eser/Balazeros (Greek form of the name), Dido's grandfather. The Nora Stone , found on Sardinia, has been interpreted by Frank Moore Cross as naming Pygmalion as the king of the general who was using the stone to record his victory over the local populace. On paleographic grounds,
17820-429: The kingdom. The Carthaginians reacted to the defeat by recalling their generals Hannibal and Mago from Italy and launching their fleet against Scipio's to cut off their supply lines. Scipio was forced into a naval battle near Utica, but was able to avert disaster, losing only some sixty transport ships. Another set of peace negotiations occurred, with the Carthaginians eventually agreeing to abandon all territorial claims in
17982-401: The large, centrally-located island, each establishing a large number of colonies and trading posts along its coasts; battles raged between these settlements for centuries, with neither side ever having total, long-term control over the island. In 480 BC, Gelo , the tyrant of Syracuse , attempted to unite the island under his rule with the backing of other Greek city-states . Threatened by
18144-493: The later historian Valerius Antias reported that he died in 187 BC. Livy , arguing against both dates in his history, believed Scipio died c. 185 BC , rejecting both dates with the argument that if Scipio lived to 183 he would be noted as princeps senatus and that Scipio had to have lived to 185 BC to have been prosecuted by the Naevius who was tribune in that year. However, most modern sources, such as
18306-452: The leading role in the fighting and returned to Rome to hold the consular elections. In 193 BC, Scipio is said to have taken part in two embassies. The first was to Africa, where he was one of three sent to arbitrate a boundary dispute between Carthage and Masinissa: the commission left the matter undecided, possibly on purpose. The second embassy is said to have been to Asia and, on the basis of travel time, could not have happened. During
18468-431: The main hub for trade between Africa and the rest of the ancient world, it also provided a myriad of rare and luxurious goods, including terracotta figurines and masks, jewelry, delicately carved ivories, ostrich eggs, and a variety of foods and wine. Carthage's growing economic prominence coincided with a nascent national identity. Although Carthaginians remained staunchly Phoenician in their customs and faith, by at least
18630-632: The massacre as intended to terrorise the Spanish population into rapidly surrendering and included an anecdote of Romans being so thorough as to cut even the dogs and other animals in half. He then forced the surrender of Mago in the citadel and rapidly switched his tune, sparing the remaining citizens and only enslaving the town's non-citizens. He then took the three hundred Spanish hostages into his custody, giving them gifts, guaranteeing their safety and that of their families, and promising them freedom if their respective communities would ally with Rome. After
18792-463: The middle of the 6th century BC. It had grown into a fully independent thalassocracy , embarking its own colonization efforts across the western Mediterranean. It nonetheless maintained amicable cultural, political, and commercial ties with its founding city and the Phoenician homeland; it continued to receive migrants from Tyre, and for a time continued the practice of sending annual tribute to Tyre's temple of Melqart, albeit at irregular intervals. By
18954-541: The mixed Punic inhabitants of North Africa ('Libya') as 'Liby-Phoenicians'. It is unclear what term, if any, the Carthaginians used to refer to themselves. The Phoenician homeland in the Levant was natively known as 𐤐𐤕 ( Pūt ) and its people as the 𐤐𐤍𐤉𐤌 ( Pōnnim ). Ancient Egyptian accounts suggest the people from the region identified as Kenaani or Kinaani , equivalent to Canaanite . A passage from Augustine has often been interpreted as indicating that
19116-493: The most influential civilizations of antiquity, Carthage is mostly remembered for its long and bitter conflict with Rome, which threatened the rise of the Roman Republic and almost changed the course of Western civilization . Due to the destruction of virtually all Carthaginian texts after the Third Punic War, much of what is known about its civilization comes from Roman and Greek sources, many of whom wrote during or after
19278-431: The ordinary run of military captains as an incomparable commander." Metellus Scipio , a descendant of Scipio, commanded legions against Julius Caesar in Africa until his defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in 49 BC. Popular superstition was that only a Scipio could win a battle in Africa, so Julius Caesar assigned a distant relative of Metellus to his staff in order to say that he too had a Scipio fighting for him. Scipio
19440-492: The peace so that he could continue the war in Scipio's place, the peace terms were ratified by the assembly in Rome, bringing the war to a final close. On his return, Scipio celebrated a triumph over Hannibal, the Carthaginians, and Syphax. There, he took the agnomen Africanus ('the African'), for his victories. By this point, Scipio's career reached far beyond his peers even though he was only in his early thirties. On his return, he deposited some 123,000 pounds of silver into
19602-438: The peace treaty, striking at the Carthaginian stronghold of Motya in western Sicily. Himilco responded decisively, leading an expedition that not only reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messene (present-day Messina). Within a year, the Carthaginians were besieging Syracuse itself, and came close to victory until the plague once again ravaged and reduced their forces. The fighting in Sicily swung in favor of Carthage less than
19764-422: The peninsula. In mopping-up operations, Scipio captured Ilourgeia and Castulo, inflicting severe punishment on the former for having killed refugees from his army. Other Roman commanders captured other towns in Spain, including Astapa, whose inhabitants committed mass suicide. After a quickly-suppressed revolt by Spanish tribes when false rumours of Scipio's death from illness spread, he crossed into Africa to solicit
19926-454: The plebs accompanying Cato (it may or may not be significant that years later, as censor , Cato degraded Scipio's brother Scipio Asiaticus from the Senate. It is certainly true that some Romans of the day viewed Cato as a representative of the old Romans, and Scipio and his like as Graecophiles). He often visited the temple of Jupiter and made offerings there. There was a belief that he was
20088-514: The potential power of a united Sicily, Carthage intervened militarily, led by King Hamilcar of the Magonid dynasty. Traditional accounts, including by Herodotus and Diodorus, number Hamilcar's army at around 300,000; though likely exaggerated, it was likely of formidable strength. While sailing to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (modern-day Palermo ), he spent three days reorganizing his forces and repairing his battered fleet. The Carthaginians marched along
20250-429: The same abilities as his grandfather. The elder Scipio was a spiritual man as well as a soldier and statesman, and was a priest of Mars . The ability which he is supposed to have possessed is called by the old name, "second sight", and he is supposed to have had prescient dreams in which he saw the future. Livy describes this belief as it was perceived then, without offering his opinion as to its veracity. Polybius made
20412-664: The senate bowed to his pressure and he received Sicily with permission to cross into Africa if he wished. Fabius' opposition may have been related to jealousy of Scipio's popularity, but also was likely informed by the failed African campaign c. 255 BC under Marcus Atilius Regulus during the First Punic War , which saw the Carthaginians' war efforts renewed. The senate, regardless, assigned Scipio no additional soldiers, leading him to recruit an army of volunteers; Livy reports that from his clients and supporters in Italy, he mustered some 30 warships and 7,000 men. He spent most of his consulship preparing his troops in Sicily for
20574-462: The senate chose Scipio but forced a popular vote to legitimise an irregular command. Giving Scipio command was an extraordinary act, as he at this point had never held a praetorship or consulship, but was regardless granted imperium pro consule , taking command on his arrival to Spain in the early autumn. He was the first person to have been given proconsular imperium without having held consular office. He went to Spain with some 10,000 reinforcements and
20736-511: The seventh century BC, they had developed a distinct Punic culture infused with local influences. Certain deities became more prominent in the Carthaginian pantheon than in Phoenicia; into the fifth century BC, the Carthaginians were worshiping Greek deities such as Demeter. These trends most likely precipitated the colony's emergence as an independent polity. Though the specific date and circumstances are unknown, Carthage became independent in
20898-429: The sixth century BC, Tyre's power declined further still after its voluntary submission to the Persian king Cambyses ( r. 530–522 BC), which resulted in the incorporation of the Phoenician homeland into the Persian empire. Lacking sufficient naval strength, Cambyses sought Tyrian assistance for his planned conquest of Carthage, which may indicate that the former Tyrian colony had become wealthy enough to warrant
21060-444: The smaller cities of Selinus (modern Selinunte ) and Himera —where the Carthaginians had been dealt a humiliating defeat seventy years prior—before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war. But the primary enemy, Syracuse, remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition to claim the rest of the island. This time, however, he met with fiercer resistance as well as misfortune. During
21222-697: The smoke from the pyre as he sails away, and though he does not know the fate of Dido, he identifies it as a bad omen. Ultimately, his descendants go on to found the Roman Kingdom , the predecessor of the Roman Empire. Like Justin, Virgil's story essentially conveys Rome's attitude towards Carthage, as exemplified by Cato the Elder 's famous utterance, " Carthago delenda est "—"Carthage must be destroyed". In essence, Rome and Carthage were fated for conflict: Aeneas chose Rome over Dido, eliciting her dying curse upon his Roman descendants, and thus providing
21384-444: The southwest corner of the island. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus was a member of the patrician family of the Cornelii Scipiones . His father was Lucius Cornelius Scipio , consul of 259 BC, the son of the patrician censor of 280, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus . His younger brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio , consul of 218 and father of the famous Scipio Africanus (the most famous of
21546-430: The spring of 218 BC when the Roman ultimatum to Carthage demanding that Hannibal withdraw from Saguntum in Spain was rejected. Scipio's father was consul that year and the younger Scipio joined him in the campaign to stop Hannibal's march on Italy. In a short cavalry engagement between Scipio's father and Hannibal at the river Ticinus near modern Pavia , Polybius claims that the son saved his father's life after
21708-480: The status quo ante bellum, Carthage restore to the Romans all captured goods and persons, Carthaginian disarmament of all but ten triremes, and Carthage needing to ask for Roman permission to make any war. Massinissa's territory in Numidia was to be confirmed; and a war indemnity of 10,000 talents was to be paid over the next fifty years. Although the consul of 201 BC, Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus attempted to oppose
21870-601: The stone is dated to the 9th century BC. (Cross's translation, with a longer discussion of the Nora stone, is found in the Pygmalion article). If Cross's interpretation is correct, this presents inscriptional evidence substantiating the existence of a 9th-century-BC king of Tyre named (in Greek) Pygmalion. The Roman historian Justin , writing in the second century AD, provides an account of the city's founding based on
22032-477: The support of Syphax and thence into western Hispania to meet Massinissa for the same purpose. Syphax pledged loyalty but eventually joined with the Carthaginians; Massinissa, however, joined with the Romans with a small contingent when Syphax expelled him the kingdom of Massylii . Meanwhile, Gades surrendered to the Romans. Some time c. 206 BC , Scipio also founded the town of Italica (located about 9 km northwest of Seville), which later became
22194-498: The surviving histories of Appian and Cassius Dio , and the odd anecdote in Valerius Maximus. Of these, Polybius was the closest to Scipio Africanus in age and in connections, but his narrative may be biased by his friendship with Scipio's close relatives and that the primary source of his information about Africanus came from one of his best friends, Gaius Laelius . Scipio is considered by many to be one of Rome's greatest generals. Skillful alike in strategy and in tactics, he had also
22356-466: The third century BC, the reign of Mago I ( c. 550–530), and the political dominance of the Magonid family in subsequent decades, precipitated Carthage's rise as a dominant power. Justin states that Mago, who was also general of the army, was the first Carthaginian leader to "[set] in order the military system", which may have entailed the introduction of new military strategies and technologies. He
22518-456: The third, Hannibal, without any hesitation, replied, 'Myself.' Scipio smiled and asked, 'What would you say if you had vanquished me?' 'In that case,' replied Hannibal, 'I should say that I surpassed Alexander and Pyrrhus, and all other commanders in the world.' Scipio was delighted with the turn which the speaker had with true Carthaginian adroitness given to his answer, and the unexpected flattery it conveyed, because Hannibal had set him apart from
22680-406: The traditional picture of Carthage; however, many of these findings remain ambiguous. The specific date, circumstances, and motivations concerning Carthage's founding are unknown. All surviving accounts of the city's origins come from Latin and Greek literature, which are generally legendary in nature but may have some basis in fact. The standard foundation myth across all sources is that the city
22842-407: The vacuum as the leading Phoenician political power. Although the Carthaginians retained the traditional Phoenician affinity for maritime trade and commerce, they were distinguished by their imperial and military ambitions: whereas the Phoenician city-states rarely engaged in territorial conquest, Carthage became an expansionist power, driven by its desire to access new sources of wealth and trade. It
23004-479: The war's start. The consul of 190 BC was Scipio Africanus' brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio , who was assigned by the senate to Greece with permission to cross into Asia. He appointed his older brother, Scipio Africanus, as one of his legates. While en route, Roman armies and fleets quickly overwhelmed Antiochus' defences, forcing him to retreat from the Hellespont and Abydos ; by October 190 BC, when
23166-654: The west African coast; though clearly an exaggeration, many colonies did arise in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iberia , and in Libya. They were usually established as trading stations at intervals of about 30 to 50 kilometres along the African coast. By the time they gained a foothold in Africa, the Phoenicians were already present in Cyprus , Crete , Corsica , the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as on
23328-459: The western Mediterranean roughly contemporaneously, between the ninth and eighth centuries. Phoenician and Greek settlements, the increased presence of both peoples led to mounting tensions and ultimately open conflict, especially in Sicily. Carthage's economic successes, buoyed by its vast maritime trade network, led to the development of a powerful navy to protect and secure vital shipping lanes. Its hegemony brought it into increasing conflict with
23490-420: The western half of Sicily, where coastal fortresses such as Motya and Lilybaeum secured their possessions. The Iberian Peninsula , which was rich in precious metals, saw some of the largest and most important Carthaginian settlements outside North Africa, though the degree of political influence before the conquest by Hamilcar Barca (237–228 BC) is disputed. Carthage's growing wealth and power, along with
23652-500: The winter to negotiate with the Carthaginians. During those pretended negotiations, Scipio mapped out the enemy camps and launched a night attack that was successful in destroying them and killing a large number of the enemy. The armies then fought in the Battle of the Great Plains some time early in the new year (his imperium was prorogued until the war's completion) and after capturing Syphax of Numidia, restored Massinissa to
23814-464: The year 199 BC, Scipio was elected censor with Publius Aelius Paetus as his colleague. Their censorship was largely unremarkable, but saw Scipio named as princeps senatus , a title which he retained for the next two lustra . After this point, the classicist Howard Hayes Scullard believed that Scipio's political position entered an eclipse. This is disputed. After the required ten years between consulships had elapsed, Scipio secured election to
23976-406: Was alive as late as 102 BC. Scipio was a man of great intellect and culture who could speak and read Greek , wrote his own memoirs in Greek and became also noted for his introduction of the clean shaven face fashion among the Romans according to the example of Alexander the Great instead of wearing the beard . This man's fashion lasted until the time of emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138), then
24138-716: Was Africanus' tomb. The third is the pyramidal Meta Romuli which was ahistorically dubbed the Sepulcrum Scipionis during the Renaissance. Scipio married Aemilia Tertia , daughter of the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus who fell at Cannae. She was also the sister of another consul, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus . Scipio's marriage was fruitful. They had three sons: They also had two daughters. Both were named Cornelia. The elder married Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum . The younger Cornelia married Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and became mother to
24300-616: Was an ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa . Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia , it later became a city-state and then an empire . Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropoleis in the world. It was the centre of the Carthaginian Empire , a major power led by the Punic people who dominated
24462-483: Was built on a hilly, triangular peninsula backed by the Lake of Tunis, which provided abundant supplies of fish and a place for safe harbor. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, which combined with the rough surrounding terrain, made the city easily defensible; a citadel was built on Byrsa, a low hill overlooking the sea. Finally, Carthage would be conduit of two major trade routes: one between
24624-456: Was founded by colonists from the ancient Phoenician city-state of Tyre , led by its exiled princess Dido (also known as Queen Elissa or Alissar). Dido's brother, Pygmalion (Phoenician: Pummayaton) had murdered her husband, the high priest of the city, and taken power as a tyrant. Dido and her allies escaped his reign and established Carthage, which became a prosperous city under her rule as queen. Several scholars have identified Baa‘li-maanzer,
24786-463: Was frequently depicted by painters of the Renaissance and early modern era as the Continence of Scipio. According to Valerius Maximus, Scipio had a relationship from c. 191 BC with one of his own serving girls, which his wife magnanimously overlooked. The affair, if it lasted from circa 191 BC to Scipio's death 183 BC, might have resulted in issue (not mentioned); what is mentioned
24948-419: Was joined by another commander, Marcus Junius Silanus , who was dispatched pro praetore and soon assumed command of Nero's army. Seeking to defeat the three Carthaginian armies in detail, the next year, 209 BC, saw Scipio's first major campaign: he besieged Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena), which was a major Carthaginian logistics hub and of substantial strategic importance. In the battle , he captured
25110-458: Was likely chosen by the Tyrians for several reasons. It was located in the central shore of the Gulf of Tunis, which gave it access to the Mediterranean sea while shielding it from the region's infamously violent storms. It was also close to the strategically vital Strait of Sicily, a key bottleneck for maritime trade between the east and west. The terrain proved as invaluable as the geography. The city
25272-405: Was opposed by one of the plebeian tribunes on the grounds that he had not yet reached the minimum age, but the voters expressed such enthusiastic support for Scipio that the tribune desisted. From the start of the war through to 211 BC, Scipio's father, Publius Cornelius Scipio, and uncle – Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus – were in command of Rome's armies in Spain. They made some headway when
25434-511: Was revived by Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) and lasted until the reign of emperor Phocas (r. 602–610) who again introduced the wearing of the beard among Roman emperors. He also enjoyed the reputation of being a graceful orator , the secret of his sway being his deep self-confidence and radiant sense of fairness. To his political opponents, he was often harsh and arrogant, but towards others singularly gracious and sympathetic. His Graecophile lifestyle, and his unconventional way of wearing
25596-641: Was the center of a sprawling network of colonies and client states. It controlled more territory than the Roman Republic, and became one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean, with a quarter of a million inhabitants. Carthage did not focus on growing and conquering land, instead, it was found that Carthage was focused on growing trade and protecting trade routes. The trades through Libya were territories and Carthage paid Libyans for access to this land in Cape Bon for agricultural purposes until about 550 BC. In around 508 BC Carthage and Rome signed
25758-490: Was the defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. This victory in Africa earned him the honorific epithet Africanus , literally meaning 'the African', but meant to be understood as a conqueror of Africa . Scipio's conquest of Carthaginian Iberia culminated in the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC against Hannibal's brother Mago Barca . Although considered a hero by the Roman people, primarily for his victories against Carthage, Scipio had many opponents, especially Cato
25920-473: Was the first Roman general to expand Roman territories outside Italy and islands around the Italian mainland. He conquered the Carthaginian territory of Iberia for Rome, although the two Iberian provinces were not fully pacified for a couple of centuries. His defeat of Hannibal at Zama paved the way for Carthage's eventual destruction in 146 BC. His interest in a Graecophile lifestyle had tremendous influence on
26082-598: Was the first Scipio Nasica and founded the Nasica branch of the Scipiades. Scipio Nasica's son, another Scipio Nasica (nicknamed Corculum, with his full name being Publius Cornelius P.f. G.n. Scipio Nasica Corculum ), married his second cousin Cornelia Africana Major, the eldest daughter of Scipio Africanus, and thus united the two lines. Their descendants in the male line continued until at least 46 BC, in
26244-571: Was the preeminent economic and political center of Phoenician civilization, saw its status begin to wane in the seventh century BC, following a succession of sieges by the Babylonians . By this time, its Carthaginian colony had become immensely wealthy from its strategic location and extensive trade network. Unlike many other Phoenician city-states and dependencies, Carthage grew prosperous not only from maritime commerce but from its proximity to fertile agricultural land and rich mineral deposits. As
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