The siege of Aspis or Clupea was fought in

256 BC __NOTOC__ Year 256 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Longus and Caedicius/Regulus (or, less frequently, year 498 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 256 BC for this year ...

between

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

and the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. It was the first fighting on African land during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

Background

After defeating the Carthaginian navy sent to stop them from reaching

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

at the

Battle of Cape Ecnomus The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos () was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage (state), Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was c ...

, the Romans landed close to Aspis, to the south of Carthage.

Battle

The Romans moved to besiege Aspis by building a trench and

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

to defend their ships. Carthage was not yet prepared to fight on land and the city fell after the garrison made a short resistance.Siege of Aspis, 256 B.C.
Rickard, J (10 May 2007), Siege of Aspis, 256 BC. Retrieved on December 13, 2008. By taking Clupea, the Romans controlled the area of land opposite to Carthage and secured their rear in order to scour the enemy before them. The Romans forced Aspis to surrender, and having left in their place a proper garrison, they sent some messengers to Rome to inform them of their success and to receive instructions on the next measures to be pursued. They then decamped with all their forces, and marched through the country to plunder it.

Aftermath

After defeating the Carthaginians, the Romans dispatched most of their fleet back to Rome except for a number of 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. The rest of the army, under the command of

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 Lucius ...

, remained in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Advancing inland and plundering the territory along the way, they stopped at the city of Adys. The resulting siege of Adys gave the Carthaginians time to gather an army, only to have that army defeated at the

Battle of Adys The battle of Adys (or Adis) took place in late 256 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 ne ...

References

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Aspis An ''aspis'' (; : aspides, ) or ''porpax'' shield was the heavy wooden shield used by the infantry in various periods of ancient Greece. Construction An ''aspis'' was deeply dished and made primarily of wood. Some had a thin sheet of bronze ...

Military history of Tunisia