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The Battle of Utica of 81 BC was fought near Utica between a Roman army under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius (better known as Pompey) and another Roman army under the command of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. The battle was part of Sulla's civil war and ended in a complete victory for Pompeian army.


Background

In 88 BC,
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...
marched his legions on Rome, starting a series of civil wars. After Sulla took the city he murdered a number of his political opponents and secured the exile of Gaius Marius, his main rival. In 87 BC Sulla left for the east to fight Mithridates VI of Pontus (see:
First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridate ...
),
Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...
one of the new
consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
turned against Sulla and together with Marius who had returned from exile he recovered Italy from the Sullan faction. When Sulla returned in 83 BC his main opponents had already died (Marius in 86, Cinna in 84) but he still had to fight a fierce
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
against Marius' faction (called the Marians). After Sulla's victory at the Battle of the Colline Gate the Marian resistance in Italy crumbled. Sulla's remaining opponents were either killed or fled. Papirius Carbo, the Marian consul, fled to
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
which was being held for the Marians by Marcus Perperna. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus who had already fled to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
before the fall of Italy was in the process of building an army near Utica.
Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...
held the Roman provinces on the
Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and was also building up his forces. Sulla now started the next fase of the war by sending out his armies to hunt down his remaining enemies.


Preparations

In 81 BC, Sulla chose his new son-in-law (Pompey was married to his step-daughter Aemilia) for the important task of recovering Sicily and Africa. Although Pompey had held no previous senatorial office, he was invested with the rank and imperium of propraetor, and given an army of six legions and a fleet of 120 warships with 800 transport ships. Both men and ships were immediately available: the men from Sulla's own armies and the ships from the fleet Sulla had used to transport them from Greece in 83.


Sicily

Hearing of the size and nature of Pompey's force, Perpenna abandoned the island (no military action is recorded). Pompey soon installed himself in the western capital of
Lilybaeum Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Giuse ...
and started hunting down the Marian leadership. His men caught Carbo on the little island of Cossyra (today
Pantellaria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisi ...
) and brought him to Pompey who had him executed (probably on Sulla's orders). This episode, with many colourful embellishments, was later on used against Pompey and resulted in his opponents calling him the insulting name of ''adulescentulus carnifex'', 'the teenage butcher'.


Africa

The opposition to Sulla in Africa presented a far more serious treat than Carbo and Perpenna. The influence of the great Gaius Marius was still strong there, and many exiled Marian leaders under Domitius had raised a large army of about 27,000 men, supported by a Numidian prince, Hiarbas. They were encamped near the city of Utica.John Leach, ''Pompey the Great'', p. 30. After the execution of Carbo Pompey handed over control of Sicily to his brother-in-law Gaius Memmius and sailed for Africa. He landed his forces in two divisions at
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
and Utica. Once more size and speed produced an immediate effect: 7,000 Marians defected or deserted. This must probably have been one of the main reasons for Domitius to offer battle before the morale of his men fell even further.


Battle

Domitius marched his army out of his camp and drew up his battle lines behind a ravine, he hoped to entice Pompey into attacking uphill across difficult terrain. A storm broke out and it rained for the better part of the day, Domitius finally decided that there was not going to be a battle and marched his army back to camp. On seeing his enemy march off Pompey ordered his men to attack across the ravine. At the same time the wind had sifted and the rain was driven into the Marian's faces as they turned in disorder to meet the charge. Pompey's seizure of the initiative was a decisive move, his men quickly overcame their adversaries and the battle ended in a complete victory for the Pompeians. The victorious troops hailed their commander as
Imperator The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...
. No doubt remembering his failures the previous year, when he failed to complete victory by not taking the enemy's camp, Pompey checked the premature celebrations and ordered an immediate assault on the enemy camp. Domitius‘ camp was taken by storm and the enemy commander was killed during the assault. This time Pompey's victory was a complete and total one.


Aftermath

The war in Africa was far from over. To the west the kingdom of Numidia was still in the hands of Hiarbas who was now preparing his country to resist the upcoming invasion. A replacement for Hiarbas was ready to hand in the person of Hiempsal, whom Hiarbas had earlier deposed, and Pompey now embarked on a new campaign aimed at restoring Hiempsal to power. While Pompey advanced into Numidia from the east, Bogud of Mauretania, an ally of Sulla, launched an invasion from the west. Hiarbas was caught between the two and was soon captured and executed. After restoring Hiempsal to the throne Pompey returned to Italy. Within forty days of landing his army at Utica Pompey had returned there to join his fleet. Before returning to Italy the troops hailed Pompey with the cognomen ''magnus'', 'the Great', for Pompey's childhood hero Alexander of Macedon.John Leach, ''Pompey the Great'', p. 31; Tom Holland, ''Rubicon'', p. 110.


References

{{Pompey 81 BC Roman Republican civil wars 1st century BC in Italy 80s BC conflicts 1st century BC in the Roman Republic