Battle of Leptis Parva
Battle of Leptis Parva | |
---|---|
Part of the Byzacium, in modern Tunisia | |
Result | Carthaginian victory |
Rebellious African towns
Hamilcar Barca
The Battle of Leptis Parva was fought in 238 BC between a
In 241 BC 20,000 foreign troops who had been employed by Carthage during the
In 238 BC Mathos and the remnants of the rebel army left the area around Carthage and marched 160 km (100 mi) south to the wealthy port city of Leptis Parva. Hanno reconciled with Hamilcar and with a larger Carthaginian army they pursued the rebels, harrying their march. After three months of manoeuvres, in which the rebels consistently came off worst, battle was given and the rebels were completely defeated. The remaining rebellious cities rapidly surrendered or were captured by the Carthaginians, ending the war.
Background
In 241 BC 20,000 foreign troops who had been employed by
War-weary Carthage fared poorly in the initial engagements of the war, especially under the generalship of
Meanwhile, the rebels under Mathos had blockaded the Carthaginian-supporting cities of
Battle
The Carthaginian Senate encouraged reconciliation between Hanno and Hamilcar, and they agreed to serve together. The pair marched after the rebels with an army totalling perhaps 25,000[21] including every Carthaginian citizen of military age.[22] On this occasion Hanno and Hamilcar cooperated well together and harassed the rebels on their march.[23] The rebels were forced into a succession of unsuccessful skirmishes in Byzacium as the Carthaginians attempted to wear them down.[23] Mathos, rather than wait to be besieged, decided to meet the Carthaginians in open battle in mid- to late 238 BC.[24] As the rebels were by now in extremis Mathos called in every available man, stripping all rebel-held towns of garrisons.[23] As the rebels' situation had worsened, they had increasingly suffered from desertions.[21] Few of the original mutineers remained, after the previous three years of fierce campaigning, to participate in this battle; most of the rebel army was made up of indigenous North Africans.[25] The Carthaginian army on the other hand, was steadily reinforced and had grown to over 30,000 men and a large number of war elephants.[note 2][21]
Battle was given eight to ten weeks after the two armies arrived in Byzacium, although the location is not known.
Aftermath
Most of the towns and cities which had not already come to terms with Carthage now did so, with the exceptions of Utica and Hippo, whose inhabitants feared vengeance for their massacre of Carthaginians. They attempted to hold out, but Polybius says that they too "quickly" surrendered, probably in late 238 or very early 237 BC.
Notes, citations and sources
Notes
- ^ Hamilcar Barca was the father of Hannibal[7]
- ^ North Africa had indigenous African forest elephants at the time.[26][27] These were typically about 2.5-metre-high (8 ft) at the shoulder, and should not be confused with the larger African bush elephant.[28] The sources are not clear as to whether they carried towers containing fighting men.[29]
Citations
- ^ Goldsworthy 2006, p. 133.
- ^ Bagnall 1999, pp. 112–114.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2006, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Hoyos 2000, p. 371.
- ^ Eckstein 2017, p. 6.
- ^ a b Bagnall 1999, p. 115.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2006, p. 147.
- ^ Scullard 2006, p. 567.
- ^ Miles 2011, p. 207.
- ^ Miles 2011, p. 209.
- ^ Miles 2011, p. 208.
- ^ Eckstein 2017, p. 7.
- ^ a b Hoyos 2000, p. 374.
- ^ Bagnall 1999, p. 119.
- ^ Warmington 1993, p. 188.
- ^ Bagnall 1999, pp. 121–122.
- ^ Hoyos 2007, pp. 146–150.
- ^ a b Bagnall 1999, p. 122.
- ^ Hoyos 2007, pp. 220–223.
- ^ Hoyos 2007, p. 237.
- ^ a b c Hoyos 2007, p. 240.
- ^ a b Miles 2011, p. 211.
- ^ a b c Hoyos 2007, p. 239.
- ^ Hoyos 2000, p. 380.
- ^ a b c d Hoyos 2007, p. 241.
- ^ Bagnall 1999, p. 9.
- ^ Lazenby 1996, p. 27.
- ^ Miles 2011, p. 240.
- ^ Sabin 1996, p. 70, n. 76.
- ^ Eckstein 2017, p. 8.
- ^ Scullard 2006, p. 568.
- ^ Hoyos 2007, pp. 241–242.
- ^ Hoyos 2000, p. 377.
- ^ Hoyos 2015, p. 210.
- ^ Collins 1998, p. 13.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2006, pp. 152–155.
Sources
- Bagnall, Nigel (1999). The Punic Wars: Rome, Carthage and the Struggle for the Mediterranean. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-0-7126-6608-4.
- Collins, Roger (1998). Spain: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285300-4.
- Eckstein, Arthur (2017). "The First Punic War and After, 264-237 BC". The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles. Wiley Online Library. pp. 1–14. ISBN 9781405186452.
- ISBN 978-0-304-36642-2.
- Hoyos, Dexter (2000). "Towards a Chronology of the 'Truceless War', 241–237 B.C.". Rheinisches Museum für Philologie. 143 (3/4): 369–380. JSTOR 41234468.
- Hoyos, Dexter (2007). Truceless War: Carthage's Fight for Survival, 241 to 237 BC. Leiden ; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-2192-4.
- Hoyos, Dexter (2015) [2011]. "Carthage in Africa and Spain, 241–218". In Hoyos, Dexter (ed.). A Companion to the Punic Wars. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley. pp. 204–222. ISBN 978-1-1190-2550-4.
- Lazenby, John (1996). The First Punic War: A Military History. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2673-3.
- Miles, Richard (2011). Carthage Must be Destroyed. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-141-01809-6.
- JSTOR 43767903.
- Scullard, H.H. (2006) [1989]. "Carthage and Rome". In Walbank, F. W.; Astin, A. E.; Frederiksen, M. W. & Ogilvie, R. M. (eds.). Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 7, Part 2, 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 486–569. ISBN 0-521-23446-8.
- Warmington, Brian (1993) [1960]. Carthage. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN 978-1-56619-210-1.