The Numantine War
[The term Numantine War can refer to the whole conflict lasting from 154 to 133 or to just the latter part, from 143 to 133. Thus, the two conflicts are sometimes called the Numantine Wars (plural) and subdivided into the First and Second Numantine War. The two are also called the Second and Third Celtiberian (or Spanish) Wars.] (from ''Bellum Numantinum'' in
Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...
's ''Roman History'') was the last conflict of the
Celtiberian Wars
The First Celtiberian War (181–179 BC) and Second Celtiberian War (154–151 BC) were two of the three major rebellions by the Celtiberians (a loose alliance of Celtic tribes living in east central Hispania, among which we can name the Pellendo ...
fought by the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
to subdue those people along the
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
. It was a twenty-year conflict between the Celtiberian tribes of
Hispania Citerior and the Roman government. It began in 154 BC as a revolt of the Celtiberians of
Numantia
Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray (Soria), Spain.
Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...
on the
Douro
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
. The first phase of the war ended in 151, but in 143, war flared up again with a new insurrection in Numantia.
The first war was fought contemporaneously with the
Lusitanian War
The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war of resistance fought by the Lusitanian tribes of Hispania Ulterior against the advancing legions of the Roman Republic from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitanians re ...
in
Hispania Ulterior. The
Lusitanians were subdued by
Sulpicius Galba
Sulpicius Galba may refer to:
* Galba, Roman emperor in 68–69
* Gaius Sulpicius Galba (consul AD 22)
* Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus
Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus (fl. late 3rd to early 2nd century BC) was a Roman military officer and Sen ...
, who betrayed their surrender and executed their leading men, and the
Arevaci
The Arevaci or Aravaci (''Arevakos'', ''Arvatkos'' or ''Areukas'' in the Greek sourcesPtolemy, ''Geographia'', II, 6, 55.), were a CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. people who settled in the central Meseta of northern Hispania ...
of Hispania Citerior continued the war and allied with the Lusitanian leader
Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or ...
.
After open war reignited in 143, Rome sent a series of generals to the Iberian peninsula to deal with the Numantines. In that year,
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC a ...
tried and failed to take Numantia by siege, but subjugated all the other tribes of the Arevaci. His successor,
Quintus Pompeius
Quintus Pompeius was the name of various Romans from the gens Pompeia, who were of plebeian status. They lived during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.
Consul of 141 BC
Quintus Pompeius A. f. (flourished 2nd century BC) was the son of an Aulu ...
, was inept and suffered severe defeats at their hands, so he secretly negotiated a peace with the city abiding by the previous treaty. Yet in 138 BC a new general arrived, Marcus Pompillius Laenas, and when the Numantine envoys came to finish their obligations of the peace treaty, Pompeius disavowed negotiating any such peace. The matter was referred to the
Senate for a judgment. Rome decided to ignore Pompeius' peace and sent
Gaius Hostilius Mancinus Gaius Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul in 137 BC. Due to his campaign against Numantia in northern Spain, Plutarch called him "not bad as a man, but most unfortunate of the Romans as a general." During this campaign in the Numantine War, Manci ...
to continue the war in 136 BC. He assaulted the city and was repulsed several times before being routed and encircled, and so forced to accept a treaty, negotiated by a young
Tiberius Gracchus. The Senate did not ratify this treaty either but only sent Mancinus to the Numantines as a prisoner. His successors
Lucius Furius Philus Lucius Furius Philus was a Roman statesman who became consul of ancient Rome in 136 BC. He was a member of the Scipionic Circle, and particularly close to Scipio Aemilianus.
As proconsul, his allotted province was Spain. The consul of the previous ...
and
Gaius Calpurnius Piso avoided conflict with the Numantines.
In 134 BC, the
Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
was sent to Hispania Citerior to end the war. He recruited 20,000 men and 40,000 allies, including
Numidian cavalry under
Jugurtha. Scipio built a ring of seven fortresses around Numantia itself before beginning the
siege proper. After suffering pestilence and famine, most of the surviving Numantines committed suicide rather than surrender to Rome. The decisive Roman victory over Numantia ushered in an era of lasting peace in Hispania until the
Sertorian War over half a century later.
This war also launched the careers of several important figures. Tiberius Gracchus was present as a
quaestor during Mancinus's failed siege. Due to the reputation Gracchus's father had with the Numantines, Tiberius was selected to negotiate the treaty.
Gaius Marius also fought in this war, as well as the later Roman enemy Jugurtha.
Notes
Sources
* Davis, Paul K. ''Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo''.
Oxford University Press, 2001.
* Wintle, Justin. ''The Rough Guide History of Spain''. Rough Guides:
Spain, 2003.
Encyclopaedia Romana: ''The Celtiberian War and Numantia''.* {{gutenberg author, id=Theodor_Mommsen, name=Theodor Mommsen The History of Rome, Book IV
150s BC conflicts
140s BC conflicts
130s BC conflicts
2nd century BC in Hispania
2nd century BC in the Roman Republic
Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
Wars involving the Roman Republic
Rebellions against the Roman Republic