Battle of Hippo Regius

Coordinates: 36°52′57″N 07°45′00″E / 36.88250°N 7.75000°E / 36.88250; 7.75000
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Battle of Hippo Regius
Part of
Caesar's Civil War
Date46 BC
Location
Off Hippo Regius, Africa, Roman Republic
36°52′57″N 07°45′00″E / 36.88250°N 7.75000°E / 36.88250; 7.75000
Result Caesarian victory
Belligerents
Populares
Optimates
Commanders and leaders
Publius Sittius
Metellus Scipio Executed
L. Manlius Torquatus †
Publius Damasippus †
Plaetorius Rustianus †
Casualties and losses
Low Very High

The Battle of Hippo Regius was a naval encounter during

Optimate faction were fleeing the disastrous Battle of Thapsus when their fleet was intercepted and destroyed by Publius Sittius, a mercenary commander in the employ of the Mauretanian king Bogud, an ally of Gaius Julius Caesar's
. Scipio committed suicide and all of the other senators were killed during the battle.

Background

Further information:
Caesar's Civil War, Crossing the Rubicon, Battle of Pharsalus, Siege of Alexandria (47 BC), and Battle of Thapsus

Escalating tensions over the previous decade between

Optimate forces concentrated in the north of Africa
.

After landing in Africa, the Optimates gathered to confront Caesar as he besieged the city of

Metellus Scipio, who had taken this eminent position following the death of Pompey the Great. The ensuing battle
was a disaster for Scipio and his numerically superior army was completely routed by Caesar.

Prelude

Saburra after the king returned east, independently of Bocchus.[3][4]

Despite playing such a key role in the civil war by ensuring that Scipio and Juba were unable to concentrate their forces at the opportune moment, the degree of coordination that existed between Sittius and Caesar is unclear. Cassius Dio states that, in at least the early stages of his campaign, Sittius owed no loyalty to Caesar and that the latter had no knowledge of the former.[5]

Following Caesar's victory at the Battle of Thapsus, Sittius managed to capture the retreating Optimate commanders Lucius Afranius and Faustus Cornelius Sulla after thoroughly defeating their 1000 strong cavalry force.[6] These men were then either sent along to Caesar where they were either promptly executed at the demands of his men or murdered in Sittius' captivity by mutinous men.[7][4]

Many of the Optimate commanders who survived the Battle of Thapsus, including Caesar's one time lieutenant

senators Lucius Manlius Torquatus, Publius Damasippus and Plaetorius Rustianus.[8]

Battle

Denarius issued by Metellus Scipio while Imperator in Africa.

Scipio's fleet was sailing west when a strong headwind forced them to attempt to make port at the city of Hippo Regius on the north African coast.[9] It was here that Sittius' now large mercenary fleet chanced upon them and chose to attack. The larger and more numerous ships under the command of Sittius swiftly surrounded their much smaller counterparts and in the resulting battle all of the senators perished.[8] Upon being confronted by Sittius' men, and the outcome of the battle becoming clear, Scipio took his own life with his sword so as to avoid falling into enemy hands.[7] His final words are said to have been Imperator se bene habet ("Your general is just fine").[10]

Aftermath

The loss of so many notable senatorial supporters was a further blow to the Optimate cause following the devastating defeat at Thapsus.

Sextus Pompeius where they would face eventual defeat to Caesar at the Battle of Munda effectively bringing an end to the civil war.[7]

Scipio's dignity in death was greatly admired by many including the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger who likened Scipio's decision to "conquer death" to the conquests of his famous ancestor Scipio Africanus against Carthage in the Punic Wars.[12]

The lands in eastern

Italy and colonised the area. The settlement was later referred to as Cirta Sittianorum and the legionaries who controlled the region came to be known as "Sittians" (Sittiani).[13]

References

  1. ISBN 1-84603-002-1
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-300-12048-6
    .
  3. ^ De Bello Africo, 93
  4. ^
    doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.1775
    .
  5. ^ Dio, Roman History, XLIII, 3
  6. ^ De Bello Africo, 95
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-300-12048-6
    .
  8. ^ a b De Bello Africo, 96
  9. ^ Dio, Roman History, XLIII, 9
  10. ^ Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (9 August 2007). "Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  11. ISBN 978-0-300-12048-6
    .
  12. ^ Seneca, 24.1.1
  13. ^ Pliny, Natural History, V, 22
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