Punicus

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Punicus
Native name
Púnico, Punicus
BornLusitania
Died153 BC
AllegianceLusitania
Years of service155–153 BC
Battles/warsLusitanian War

Punicus (known as Púnico in Portuguese and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He became their first military leader during the Lusitanian War, and also led their first major victories against Rome.[1][2]

Biography

Punicus's origin was placed by some authors in Herminius Mons (

mercenary in Phoenician or Punic territories in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, as Lusitanians and other Celtiberian tribes used to do.[1][2] He might have taken part in the war between Carthage and the Numidians led by Masinissa, an ally to Rome.[4]

In 155 BC, Punicus instigated a Lusitanian uprising and started sacking and pillaging through Roman territories. To crush the rebellion, Roman praetors

Terentius Varro.[1] However, Punicus's leadership ended abruptly in 153 BC when he was killed by a throwing stone. He was replaced by his lieutenant Caesarus, who continued his campaign.[2]

Etymology

The word Punicus comes from ''Punic, a Latin word for "Phoenician" borrowed from Ancient Greek Phonikeos.[7] It has been suggested that Punicus received this name not from birth,[2] but as a title after gaining military experience around the still culturally Punic southern Hispania.[1][8] Alternatively, it is also possible that he was a Phoenician by blood,[9] a Lusitanian of Phoenician ancestry,[10] or merely a Hispanic whose name sounded like Punicus to Roman chroniclers.[9]

An 18th-century chronicle gives Punicus the alternate name of "Appimanus".[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-84-895126-8-9
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-90-043540-5-0
    .
  3. ^ a b Juan Bautista Verdussen (1730). Historia del reyno de Portugal (in Spanish). Biblioteca Estatal de Baviera.
  4. ISBN 978-84-773715-4-0
    .
  5. ^ Narciso Santos Yanguas (1982). Viriato, terror de Roma (in Spanish). Historia 16.
  6. ^ José María Blázquez Martínez (2006). Roma y la explotación económica de la Península Ibérica (in Spanish). Instituto Español de Antropología Aplicada.
  7. ^ Etymology of Punicus
  8. ISBN 978-98-926095-9-1
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-84-150693-6-2
    .
  10. ISBN 978-84-916428-5-5
    .
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