Featured Article Summary #192

Hamilcar’s victory with Naravas happened in 240 BC in what is now north-west Tunisia, during the Mercenary War. A Carthaginian force led by Hamilcar Barca defeated the rebels led by Spendius and Autaritus, after 2,000 Numidian cavalry under Naravas switched sides to Carthage. The exact battlefield location is not known, but the war involved mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities against Carthage. Hamilcar retook rebel-held towns while Spendius’ army shadowed him, using difficult high ground to avoid Carthaginian elephants and cavalry. Naravas’s defection allowed Hamilcar to reposition and ambush the rebels, leading to a decisive defeat for Spendius. Afterward, both sides stopped showing mercy, with prisoners tortured and killed, and the conflict became known as the “Truceless War,” ending with rebel defeat by 238 BC and the last city surrendering in 237 BC. The First Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome, the two leading powers in the western Mediterranean, for 23 years from 264 to 241 BC. While Rome and Carthage battled mainly in Sicily and nearby waters (and also in North Africa), the Carthaginian general Hanno expanded Carthage’s control in Africa to areas near modern Tébessa, but did so by demanding very heavy taxes that caused widespread hardship. After both sides suffered major losses, Carthage was ultimately defeated and the Senate ordered Hamilcar Barca to negotiate peace, leading to the Treaty of Lutatius that ended the war. After the Carthaginian army left Sicily, Gisco sent the 20,000 soldiers home in small groups, expecting them to be paid what they were owed. But Carthage tried to negotiate a lower payment, which angered the troops; they marched to Tunis, forced the Senate to agree to full payment, and then rebelled again, resulting in riots, deaths of loyal men, and Gisco and his staff being captured. The mutineers made Spendius and Mathos their leaders, many cities joined the uprising, and the pay dispute grew into the full-scale Mercenary War that nearly destroyed Carthage. Carthage’s forces were mostly made up of foreign troops, with Carthaginian citizens serving mainly when the city itself was threatened. These foreign fighters came from places like North Africa, Spain, and Gaul, and included disciplined Libyan infantry and cavalry, Numidian light cavalry and skirmishers, plus specialists such as Balearic slingers and Carthage’s war elephants. The rebels were probably similar in overall troop types, but were weaker in cavalry and did not have elephants. Mathos ordered rebel forces to blockade the Carthage-controlled cities of Utica and Hippo. Hanno, commanding a loyal Carthaginian army of 8,000–10,000 men and 100 elephants, was defeated in early 240 BC while trying to lift the siege of Utica, after which he failed to secure an advantage against the rebels. Later in 240 BC, Hamilcar Barca led a new force of about 10,000, including deserters, mercenaries, militia, cavalry, and 70 elephants, and defeated Spendius’ larger army at the Bagradas River. Hamilcar and Hanno then operated separately, while Spendius avoided open battle against Hamilcar’s cavalry and elephants, instead harassing Carthaginian forces; the two rebel commanders were reinforced by experienced troops and cavalry.