Scipio Africanus Conquers Roman Spain
When Scipio volunteered to take command in Spain in 210 BCE, the Roman position was desperate. His father and uncle had both been killed there; Carthage controlled the entire peninsula from New Carthage (Cartagena) as its base. Scipio moved immediately. In 209 BCE he appeared before New Carthage at dawn. The city was protected on three sides by water; the garrison assumed the Romans could not cross the lagoon to the north. Scipio sent infantry across the lagoon at low tide — whether due to intelligence or luck, the water was knee-deep at that hour. The city fell in a single day. Rome acquired a treasury of silver, a naval arsenal, and 18 war elephants. At Baecula (208 BCE) Scipio defeated Hasdrubal Barca but let most of the Carthaginian force escape — possibly deliberately, to prevent them reinforcing Spain rather than moving to Italy. The decisive battle was Ilipa (206 BCE). Facing a Carthaginian force with war elephants and perhaps 60,000 men, Scipio developed a novel double envelopment: placing his Spanish allies in the centre (where neither side would press hard) and his best legions on the wings. The Carthaginian wings, facing veteran Romans, collapsed. The rout was complete. Spain was Roman.
- Year: 210 BCE
- Category: Military
