The Battle of Numistro was fought in 210 BC between

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

's army and one of the Roman consular armies led by consul

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC), five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War. Marcellus gained the most prestigious award a Roma ...

. It was the fourth time they met in a battle. Previous encounters were located around the walls of

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

(Campania) in 216, 215, and 214 and had been favourable for the Roman side.

Antecedents

In the early months of the 210 BC, the city of

Salapia Salapia (also called Salpe and Salpi) is an ancient settlement and bishopric in Daunia, Italy near Cerignola and Manfredonia. The settlement was probably built for and named after the salt marsh - the ancient Lake Salpi is now Saline di Margherita ...

(Apulia) was betrayed to the Romans, and the Carthaginians lost an important garrison of cavalry. After this, Hannibal retreated to Brutium and Marcellus conquered the towns of Maronea and Meles in Samnium. Shortly thereafter, the Carthaginian general returned to Apulia and defeated proconsul

Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus Maximus Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus Maximus (died 210 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 211 BC. As consul, Fulvius defended Rome against Hannibal with his colleague Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus during the Second Punic War. Fulvius was curule a ...

in the Second Battle of Herdonia. Then Marcellus informed the Senate he would intercept and give battle against the Carthaginian general to restore Roman honour. His was the only full strength Roman army in the south of Italy at the moment (there was another minor army in Capua with one legion of 5,000 men and an allied wing of 7,500 soldiers), so the consequences of a defeat could have been disastrous for the Roman side and its attempt to counter the invasion in that part of the country. Marcellus moved from Samnium and intercepted the Carthaginian army in Numistro, a town north-east of Lucania. The Roman army encamped in the plain while the Carthaginian camp was on a hill. Numistro was close to

Muro Lucano Muro Lucano formerly Muro (until 1863) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the northern part of the region of Basilicata, southern Italy. History The city is situated on the site of the ancient Numistri, at the foot of the A ...

, on a route that the Carthaginian army used between Northern

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

and Brutium.

The battle

According to Livy, the fight started early in the morning. Marcellus put his "I Legion" and "Right Alae Sociorum" in the front line. During the combat both units were relieved by the "III Legion" and "Left Alae". Punic forces described by Livy included Balearic slingers and Spanish infantry, as well as elephants. The battle lasted one day but after a hard fight the result was inconclusive, since it ended due to nightfall, with Hannibal retreating to Apulia the next day. Though Goldsworthy counts it as a marginal Roman victory. Marcellus left his injured soldiers at the town to recover and followed Hannibal to hunt him in that territory, having minor engagements until the end of that year's campaign. Frontinus tells that the battle was won by Hannibal thanks to the surrounding terrain.Frontinus, ''Stratagems'', II,2,6 Both generals met again in battle the following year in

Canusium Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa ( nap, label= Canosino, Canaus), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the ...

. Numistro and Canusium were probably separated in time by no more than six months, as the former happened during the last period of the 210 BC consulship while the latter was in the early months of 209 BC.

Sources

* Livy "Ab Urbe Condita" XXVII,2 * Frontinus "Stratagems" II,II,6 * Plutarch “Life of Marcellus”, 24

References

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External links

La Batalla de Numistro
Numistro 210 BC Numistro