Hasdrubal ( 255250 BC) was a
Carthaginian general who served during the middle years of the
First Punic War, fought between Carthage and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, and took a leading part in three of the four major
field battles of the war. He was a citizen of the
city state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of Carthage, which was in what is now
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. His date of birth and age at death are both unknown, as are his activities prior to his coming to prominence in 255 BC. Modern historians distinguish him from other Carthaginians named Hasdrubal by the cognomen "son of Hanno".
Hasdrubal was one of three Carthaginian generals, possibly the senior, who took command of the army raised when the Romans invaded North Africa in 255 BC. He was responsible for the decision to march against the Romans late in the year and was present at the
Battle of Adys
The battle of Adys (or Adis) took place in late 255 BC during the First Punic War between a Carthaginian army jointly commanded by Bostar, Hamilcar and Hasdrubal and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. Earlier in the year, the new ...
where the Carthaginians were routed. Early in 254 BC the triumvirate of Carthaginian generals gave control of the army to the
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
n
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
commander,
Xanthippus
Xanthippus (; el, Ξάνθιππος, ; c. 525-475 BC) was a wealthy Athenian politician and general during the early part of the 5th century BC. His name means "Yellow Horse." He was the son of Ariphron and father of Pericles. A marriage to ...
, and accompanied him when the Romans were decisively beaten at the
Battle of Tunis
The Battle of the Bagradas River (the ancient name of the Medjerda), also known as the Battle of Tunis, was a victory by a Carthaginian army led by Xanthippus over a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus in the spring of 255 BC, nine year ...
.
The focus of the war moved to the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
where Hasdrubal took command of the Carthaginian army. The Romans avoided battle between 254 and 251 BC because they feared the
war elephant
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elepha ...
s which had accompanied Hasdrubal. In late summer 250 BC Hasdrubal led out his army, the Romans withdrew to
Panormus and Hasdrubal pressed on to the city walls. Once he arrived at Panormus,
the Romans turned to fight, countering the elephants with a hail of javelins. Under this missile fire the elephants panicked and fled through the Carthaginian infantry. The Roman heavy infantry then charged and the Carthaginian army broke. As was the Carthaginian custom after a defeat, Hasdrubal was recalled to Carthage to be executed.
Name
Hasdrubal was a citizen of the city state of
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 cla ...
; modern historians distinguish him from other Carthaginians named Hasdrubal by the cognomen "son of Hanno". Hasdrubal's date of birth and age at death are both unknown, as are his activities prior to his coming to prominence in 255 BC during the
First Punic War. Only four
set piece land battles took place during the 23 years of the war; Hasdrubal took part as a general in three of them.
Background
![First Punic War 264 BC v2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/First_Punic_War_264_BC_v2.png)
The city of
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 cla ...
was in what is now
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
(close to what is now
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
) and by the mid-3rd century BC it had come to dominate southern
Iberia
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 ...
, much of the coastal regions of North Africa, the
Balearic Islands,
Corsica,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, and the western half of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
in a military and commercial empire. Carthage was the leading
maritime power
A maritime power is a nation with a very strong navy, which often is also a great power, or at least a regional power. A maritime power is able to easily control their coast, and exert influence upon both nearby and far countries. A nation that dom ...
in the Western Mediterranean with its navy dominating both militarily and commercially, while
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
had recently
unified mainland Italy south of the
Arno
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.
Source and route
The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a ...
. The First Punic War broke out between Carthage and Rome in 264 BC and by 260 BC the war had grown into a struggle in which the Romans wanted to at least control the whole of Sicily.
The Carthaginians were engaging in their traditional policy of waiting for their opponents to wear themselves out, in the expectation of then regaining some or all of their possessions and negotiating a mutually satisfactory peace treaty. The Romans were essentially a land-based power and had gained control of much of Sicily using their army. The war there had reached a stalemate, as the Carthaginians focused on defending their well-fortified towns and cities; these were mostly on the coast and so could be supplied and reinforced by sea without the Romans being able to use their superior army to interfere. The focus of the war shifted to the sea, where the Romans had little experience; in 260 BC Romans set out to construct a fleet using a shipwrecked Carthaginian
quinquereme as a blueprint for their own ships.
Invasion of Africa
Naval victories at
Mylae
Milazzo ( Sicilian: ''Milazzu''; la, Mylae; ) is a town (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a p ...
in 260BC and
Sulci
Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Steph. B., Ptol.; , Strabo; , Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, how ...
in 258BC, and their frustration at the continuing stalemate in Sicily, led the Romans to focus on a sea-based strategy and to develop a plan to invade the Carthaginian heartland in North Africa and threaten its capital, Carthage. Both sides were determined to establish
naval supremacy
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...
and invested large amounts of money and manpower in increasing and maintaining the size of their navies.
Battle of Ecnomus
The Roman fleet of 330 warships plus an unknown number of
transport ships sailed from
Ostia, the port of Rome, in early 256 BC, commanded by the
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 ...
for the year,
Marcus Atilius Regulus
Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Luciu ...
and
Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus
Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus was a Roman general and statesman, who became consul in 256 and 250 BC. He has been remembered as another militarily successful Roman consul; his military achievements significantly contributed to the victory of the Ro ...
. They embarked approximately 26,000 picked
legionaries
The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...
from the Roman forces on Sicily. The Carthaginians were aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered all available warships, 350, under
Hanno
Hanno may refer to:
People
* Hanno (given name)
:* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno"
*Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name
:* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...
and
Hamilcar __NOTOC__
Hamilcar ( xpu, 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤊 , ,. or , , "Melqart is Gracious"; grc-gre, Ἁμίλκας, ''Hamílkas'';) was a common Carthaginian masculine given name. The name was particularly common among the ruling families of ancient Carthage. ...
, off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. The combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and marines met in the
Battle of Cape Ecnomus
The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos ( grc, Ἔκνομος) was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). It was the largest bat ...
. The Carthaginians took the initiative, anticipating that their superior ship-handling skills would tell. After a prolonged and confused day of fighting the Carthaginians were defeated, losing 30 ships sunk and 64 captured to Roman losses of 24 ships sunk.
Battle of Adys
As a result of the battle, the Roman army, commanded by Regulus, landed in Africa near Aspis (modern
Kelibia
Kelibia (Kélibia) ( ar, قليبية, link=no '), often referred to as Klibia or Gallipia by European writers, is a coastal town on the Cap Bon peninsula, Nabeul Governorate in the far north-eastern part of Tunisia. Its sand beaches are consider ...
) on the
Cape Bon Peninsula in the summer of 256 BC and began ravaging the Carthaginian countryside. They captured 20,000 slaves, "vast herds of cattle", and, after a brief siege,
the city of Aspis. They also fomented rebellions in many of Carthage's subject territories. The
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
sent orders for most of the Roman ships and a large part of the army to return to Sicily, probably due to the logistical difficulties of feeding these more than 100,000 men over the winter. Regulus was left with 40 ships, 15,000
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
and 500
cavalry to overwinter in Africa. His orders were to weaken the Carthaginian army, pending reinforcement in the spring. It was expected he would achieve this by raids and by encouraging Carthage's rebellious subject territories, but consuls had wide discretion.
This is the point at which Hasdrubal first appears in the historical record. The Carthaginian Senate appointed him as a general, jointly with Bostar, to counter the Roman threat. They took command of an army which was strong in cavalry and elephants and were joined by a third general, Hamilcar, the Carthaginian commander on Sicily, who was recalled along with 5,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. The total size and the makeup of the army is not known, but it was reported to be approximately the same size as the Roman army. (A few months later, at the
Battle of Tunis
The Battle of the Bagradas River (the ancient name of the Medjerda), also known as the Battle of Tunis, was a victory by a Carthaginian army led by Xanthippus over a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus in the spring of 255 BC, nine year ...
, the Carthaginians fielded 100 elephants, 4,000 cavalry and 12,000 infantry; the latter would have included many citizen-militia.) Hasdrubal may have been the senior of the three Carthaginian generals as he is reported to have made the decision to march their army out to oppose Regulus.
Regulus had chosen to take his relatively small force and strike inland. He advanced on the city of Adys (modern
Uthina
:'' Uthina'' is also a spider genus ( Pholcidae)
Uthina or Oudna ( ar, أوذنة) was an ancient Roman-Berber city located near Tunis, Tunisia.
History
Uthina was a town in the province of Africa Proconsularis, now northern Tunisia.
Uthina beca ...
), only south-east of Carthage, and besieged it. Determined to prevent the Romans further despoiling the countryside, the Carthaginian generals advanced their army to Adys, where it set up a fortified camp on a rocky hill near the town. They did not wish to commit to a battle on the open ground around Adys too hastily. The ancient Roman historian
Polybius is critical of this decision by the Carthaginians, as their main advantages over the Romans were their cavalry and their elephants, neither of which could be deployed to advantage from behind fortifications, on steep ground, or in rough terrain. Modern historians point out that the Carthaginian generals would have been well aware of the strength of the legions when formed up in open battle and that to pause in a strong position while scouting the enemy and formulating a plan was not obviously a mistake. This was especially the case as their army was newly formed and not yet fully trained or used to operating together; although the modern historian George Tipps describes this deployment as a "total misuse" of their cavalry and elephants.
![Altar Domitius Ahenobarbus Louvre n3 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Altar_Domitius_Ahenobarbus_Louvre_n3_%28cropped%29.jpg)
With the Carthaginian army overlooking him from a fortified hill Regulus immediately made the audacious decision to split his army in two and have each carry out a night march to launch a surprise dawn attack on the camp. The Romans would be attacking uphill against the Carthaginians' prepared position, but an attack from two directions would be difficult to respond to. Tipps describes the plan as a demonstration of Regulus's "recklessness". Both Roman forces were in position on time and successfully launched their attacks, although apparently not simultaneously. Complete surprise cannot have been achieved, as at least a large part of the Carthaginians were able to form up and confront one half of the Roman assault at the fortifications. This column was thrown back by the Carthaginian defenders and driven down the hill in disorder. The situation was confused, with the rest of the Carthaginians taking no effective action and failing to co-ordinate with their victorious colleagues. The role of Hasdrubal and his fellow generals in this fighting is unclear. According to the military historian
Nigel Bagnall
Field Marshal Sir Nigel Thomas Bagnall, (10 February 1927 – 8 April 2002) was Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the professional head of the British Army, from 1985 to 1988. Early in his military career he saw action during the Palestine Emer ...
, the cavalry and elephants were promptly evacuated, as it was recognised they would not be able to play any useful role, either in defending the fortifications or on the broken terrain of the hill more generally.
Those Carthaginians pursuing the first Roman force chased them off the hill, and all or part of the second Roman column, rather than attacking the Carthaginian camp, charged downhill into the rear of the now over-extended Carthaginians. It is possible this group of Carthaginians also faced a frontal
counter-attack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
by Roman reserves after leaving the hill. In any event, after some further fighting the Carthaginians fled the field. At this the in the camp, the fortifications of which had not been breached, panicked and withdrew. Again, the extent to which this was at Hasdrubal and his fellows' command is unclear. The Romans pursued for some distance, although the primary sources provide no figures for Carthaginian losses. Modern historians suggest the early Carthaginian order to evacuate their cavalry and elephants meant that they suffered few or no losses, while losses among the infantry would have been heavier. Breaking off their pursuit, the victorious Romans plundered the hilltop camp.
Battle of Tunis
![Pompeii, Statuette of a war elephant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Pompeii%2C_Statuette_of_a_war_elephant.jpg)
The Romans followed up and captured numerous towns, including Tunis, only from Carthage. From Tunis the Romans raided and devastated the immediate area around Carthage. Many of Carthage's African possessions took the opportunity to rise in revolt. The city of Carthage was packed with refugees fleeing Regulus or the rebels, and food ran out. In despair the Carthaginians
sued for peace
Suing for peace is an act by a warring party to initiate a peace process.
Rationales
"Suing for", in this older sense of the phrase, means "pleading or petitioning for". Suing for peace is usually initiated by the losing party in an attempt to ...
. Regulus, within sight of what he took to be a thoroughly defeated Carthage, demanded harsh terms. Finding these unacceptable, the Carthaginians decided to fight on.
The Carthaginians were recruiting fighting men from all over the Mediterranean region, and at around this time a large group of recruits from Greece arrived in Carthage. Among them was a
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
n
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
commander,
Xanthippus
Xanthippus (; el, Ξάνθιππος, ; c. 525-475 BC) was a wealthy Athenian politician and general during the early part of the 5th century BC. His name means "Yellow Horse." He was the son of Ariphron and father of Pericles. A marriage to ...
. Polybius notes that he had taken part in
Spartan training methods and that he knew both how to deploy and how to manoeuvre an army. He made a good impression with the troops of the Carthaginian army, and was able to persuade the Carthaginian Senate that the strongest elements of their army were their cavalry and elephants and that to be deployed to best effect they needed to fight on open level ground. The historian John Lazenby speculates he may have previously faced elephants when
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...
attacked Sparta in the 270sBC. Xanthippus was put in charge of training both the new recruits and the existing army over the winter, although the committee of three Carthaginian generals retained operational control. As the prospect of a decisive battle drew nearer, and as Xanthippus's skill at manoeuvring the army became more evident, full control was given to him. Whether this was a decision of the generals, the Senate, or was forced on them by the wishes of the troops, who included many Carthaginian citizens, is not clear.
Xanthippus, accompanied by the triumvirate of Carthaginian generals, led the army of 100 elephants, 4,000 cavalry and 12,000 infantry—the latter included the 5,000 veterans from Sicily and many citizen-militia—out of Carthage and set up camp close to the Romans in an area of open plain. The precise site is not known, but it is assumed to be close to Tunis. The Roman army of about 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry advanced to meet them, and set up camp about away. The next morning both sides deployed for battle. Xanthippus placed the Carthaginian citizen-militia in the centre of his formation; with the Sicilian veterans and the freshly hired infantry divided on either side of them; and with the cavalry equally divided on either side of these. The elephants were deployed in a single line in front of the centre of the infantry. The Romans placed their legionary infantry in their centre, arranged in a deeper and denser formation than usual. Polybius considered this to be an effective anti-elephant formation, but points out that it shortened the frontage of the Roman infantry and made them susceptible to being
out-flanked. Light infantry skirmishers were positioned in front of the legions, and the 500 cavalry were divided between the flanks. Regulus apparently hoped to punch through the elephants with his massed infantry, overcome the Carthaginian
phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
in their centre and so win the battle before he needed to worry about being attacked on the flanks.
![Battle of Bagradas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Battle_of_Bagradas.jpg)
The battle opened with attacks by the Carthaginian cavalry and elephants. The Roman cavalry, hopelessly outnumbered, were soon swept away. The Roman legionaries advanced, shouting and banging their sword
hilts on their shields in an attempt to deter the elephants. Part of the Roman left overlapped the line of elephants, and they charged the infantry of the Carthaginian right, who broke and fled back to their camp, pursued by the Romans. This part of the Roman force probably consisted of
Latin allies
The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the '' Latini''. The ''Latini'', who we ...
(). The rest of the Roman infantry had difficulties with the elephants, who were not deterred by their noise but charged home, inflicting casualties and considerable confusion. At least some of the legionaries fought their way through the line of elephants, and attacked the Carthaginian phalanx. But they were too disordered to fight effectively and the phalanx held firm. Some units of the Carthaginian cavalry were now returning from their pursuit and started to attack or feint against the Roman rear and flanks. The Romans attempted to fight on all sides which brought their forward momentum to a halt.
The Romans held firm, possibly partly because of the way their dense formation jammed them close together, but the elephants continued to rampage through their ranks, and the Carthaginian cavalry pinned them in place by hurling missiles into their rear and flanks. Then Xanthippus ordered the phalanx to attack. Most of the Romans were packed into a space where they could not resist effectively and were slaughtered. Regulus and a small force fought their way out of the encirclement, but were pursued and shortly he and 500 survivors were forced to surrender. A total of about 13,000 Romans were killed. The Carthaginians lost 800 men from the force on their right which was routed; the losses of the rest of their army are not known. A force of 2,000 Romans survived, from the left wing who had broken through into the Carthaginian camp; they escaped the battlefield and retreated to Aspis. This was Carthage's only victory in a major land battle during the war.
Xanthippus, fearful of the envy of Hasdrubal and the other Carthaginian generals he had outdone, took his pay and returned to Greece. Regulus died in Carthaginian captivity; later Roman authors invented a tale of him displaying heroic virtue while a prisoner. The Romans sent a fleet to evacuate their survivors and the Carthaginians attempted to oppose it. In the resulting
Battle of Cape Hermaeum
The Roman withdrawal from Africa was the attempt by the Roman Republic in 255 BC to rescue the survivors of their defeated expeditionary force to Carthaginian Africa during the First Punic War. A large fleet commanded by Servius Fulvius Pae ...
off Africa the Carthaginians were heavily defeated, losing 114 ships captured and 16 sunk. The Roman fleet, in turn, was devastated by a storm while returning to Italy: 384 ships were sunk from their total of 464 and 100,000 men lost,the majority non-Roman Latin allies.
Sicily
![Sicilia - prima guerra punica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Sicilia_-_prima_guerra_punica.svg)
Having lost most of their fleet in the storm of 255 BC, the Romans rapidly rebuilt it, adding 220 new ships, and launched a determined offensive in Sicily; their entire fleet, under both consuls, attacked Panormus early in 254 BC. Panormus was a large-for-the-time city on the north coast of Sicily, the site of the modern Sicilian capital
Palermo. It had a population of approximately 70,000 and was one of the largest Sicilian cities still loyal to Carthage and the most important economically. The city's prosperity was based on trade and fishing, which resulted in an unusual lack of agriculture and the area immediately around the city was thickly forested, even close to the gates. The city was surrounded and blockaded, and siege engines set up. These made a breach in the walls which the Romans stormed, capturing the outer town and giving
no quarter
The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed.
According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
. The inner town promptly surrendered. The 14,000 inhabitants who could afford it
ransomed themselves and the remaining 13,000 were sold into slavery. Much of western inland Sicily then went over to the Romans:
Ietas,
Solous, Petra, and
Tyndaris
Tindari (; scn, Lu Tìnnaru ), ancient Tyndaris ( grc, Τυνδαρίς, Strab.) or Tyndarion (, Ptol.), is a small town, ''frazione'' (suburb or municipal component) in the ''comune'' of Patti and a Latin Catholic titular see.
The monumenta ...
all came to
terms.
In response to these events on Sicily the Carthaginians despatched Hasdrubal to Sicily, probably in 254 BC, with the 5,000 infantry and 500 cavalry they had earlier withdrawn and a reinforcement of 140 elephants. The Romans avoided battle between 254 and 251 BC; according to Polybius because they feared the war elephants which the Carthaginians had shipped to Sicily. Bagnall suggests that survivors of the battle against Xanthippus passed on "horrific stories" of the effectiveness of the Carthaginian cavalry and elephants in open battle. In consequence Hasdrubal, probably with a smaller army than the Romans, dominated the plains; the Romans stayed on higher and broken ground, where much of the effect of the cavalry and elephants would have been nullified. Both sides declined to face the other on their favoured terrain. Hasdrubal spent the time drilling and training his army, including the elephants. In 252 BC the Romans captured Thermae and Lipara, which had been isolated by the fall of Panormus.
Battle of Panormus
In late summer 250 BC Hasdrubal, hearing that one consul (
Gaius Furius Pacilus) had left Sicily for Rome with half of the Roman army, marched out from the major Carthaginian stronghold of
Lilybaeum towards Panormus with 30,000 men and between 60 and 142 elephants. Halting some distance away, he devastated the harvest in the territories of Rome's newly allied cities, in an attempt to provoke the Roman commander,
Lucius Caecilius Metellus, into battle. The Roman troops amounted to two legions, and they had been dispersed to gather the harvest. Metellus withdrew them in front of the advancing Carthaginians and they retreated into Panormus. This timidity was what Hasdrubal had come to expect, and he advanced down the
Oreto valley
The Oreto is a river in Sicily. Its source is located between Altofonte and Monreale, a few kilometers from Palermo. It gives the name to the Oreto Valley and crosses the south-east portion of the city before flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
...
, continuing to despoil the countryside. The Oreto reached the sea immediately south of Panormus, and once there Hasdrubal ordered part of his army to cross the river and advance up to the city wall.
Once the elephants had crossed, or were crossing, the river, Metellus sent his light infantry to skirmish with the Carthaginians and impede their passage. These light troops hurled javelins at the Carthaginians, and had been instructed to concentrate on their elephants. Panormus was a major supply depot, and townspeople were employed in carrying bundles of javelins from stocks within the city to the foot of the walls so the Roman skirmishers were constantly resupplied. The ground between the river and the city was covered with
earthworks, some constructed during the Roman siege and some part of the city's defensive works, which provided cover for the Romans and made it difficult for the elephants to advance, or even manoeuvre. The elephants'
mahout
A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...
s, eager to demonstrate their charges' prowess to Hasdrubal, nevertheless drove them forward. Some accounts also have missiles being hurled down from the city walls at them. Peppered with missiles and unable to retaliate, the elephants panicked and fled through the Carthaginian infantry behind them.
![C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/C._Caecilius_Metellus_Caprarius%2C_denarius%2C_125_BC%2C_RRC_269-1.jpg)
Metellus had concealed himself and a large part of his army either in the woods just outside the city gate, or immediately inside the gates; in either case this meant he was upstream from where the Carthaginian army was fording the river. From here Metellus fed fresh troops into the large-scale skirmish under the city walls. When the elephants broke, disorganising a large part of the Carthaginian army and demoralising all of it, Metellus ordered an attack on its left flank. The Carthaginians fled; those who attempted to fight were cut down. Hasdrubal escaped. Metellus did not permit a pursuit, but did capture ten elephants in the immediate aftermath and, according to some accounts, the rest of the surviving animals over the succeeding days.
Contemporary accounts do not report the other losses of either side, although those of the Carthaginians are thought to have been heavy. Modern historians consider later claims of 20,000–30,000 Carthaginian casualties improbable. Similarly, later accounts that most of the large
Celtic contingent in the Carthaginian army were drunk when the battle began are usually dismissed; as is the suggestion that a Carthaginian fleet took part in the operation, causing heavy casualties when many fleeing soldiers ran into the sea hoping to be taken off by their ships. Panormus was the fourth and final
set piece battle
A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
of the war.
Death and afterwards
As was the Carthaginian custom after a defeat, Hasdrubal was recalled to Carthage to be executed.
After his success at Panormus, Metellus received a
triumph
The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
in Rome on 7 September 250 BC, during which he paraded with the elephants he had captured at Panormus, who were then slaughtered in the
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and l ...
. The defeat, and especially the loss of the elephants, resulted in the Romans feeling freer to manoeuvre on the plains, and the Carthaginians no longer being willing to challenge them. Henceforth the Carthaginian approach was purely defensive. The war ended nine years later in 241 BC with a Roman victory.
Notes, citations and sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasdrubal, son of Hanno
Carthaginian commanders of the First Punic War
3rd-century BC Punic people
250 BC deaths
Year of birth unknown