The siege of Utica took place from 204 to 201 BC when a Roman army under Publius Cornelius Scipio attempted to seize the port of Utica to use as a secure base from which to defeat the Carthaginian Empire in its North African homeland. The First Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome for 23 years, from 264–241 BC. After a 23-year interbellum, war broke out again in 218 BC as the Second Punic War. After a further 13 years of war, the Roman general Scipio, who had recently expelled the Carthaginians from Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), was assigned to Sicily with the intention of invading the Carthaginian homeland in North Africa.
Scipio's army landed in North Africa in 204 BC, pillaged a large area and laid siege to the port city of Utica, located in the northeast of present day Tunisia, intending to use it as a permanent base and a harbour proof against the winter weather. Scipio expected the city to surrender readily, but despite being attacked fiercely from land and sea it held out; the garrison and citizens assumed they would be relieved from Carthage. A large Carthaginian army, supported by a larger force of allied Numidians, set up camp south of Utica. This caused the Romans to break off the siege and withdraw into their own camp for the winter. In the spring, while feigning that he was renewing the siege of Utica, Scipio launched night attacks on the enemy camps, wiping out both armies.
The Carthaginian army reassembled from Utica, but the Romans marched to meet them, leaving the siege largely in the hands of the navy. At the battle of the Great Plains the Carthaginians were again badly beaten. The Roman army marched on Tunis, in time to see the Carthaginian fleet sail from Carthage to relieve Utica. When it arrived, the Carthaginians found that the Roman fleet had adopted a novel formation which they were unable to overcome; they retreated after a day's fighting. Hannibal was then recalled from Italy, and Scipio set out to meet him, again leaving the siege to be prosecuted by the Roman navy. Hannibal's army was annihilated at the battle of Zama and the Carthaginians sued for peace. The Romans enforced harsh terms in the subsequent peace treaty, agreed in 201 BC, although they did leave North Africa, and Utica remained a Carthaginian city.
Background First Punic War
The First Punic War was fought between the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC: Carthage and Rome. The war lasted for 23 years, from 264 to 241 BC, and was fought primarily on the island of Sicily, and in its surrounding waters and North Africa. The Carthaginians were defeated and by the terms of the Treaty of Lutatius evacuated Sicily and paid Rome an indemnity of 3,200 silver talents over ten years. Four years later, Rome seized Sardinia and Corsica on a cynical pretence and imposed a further 1,200 talent indemnity, actions which fuelled Carthaginian resentment.
Second Punic War
In early 218 BC, after a period of deteriorating relations, Rome declared war on Carthage, starting the Second Punic War. Hannibal, the de facto ruler of Carthaginian Iberia, led a large Carthaginian army through Gaul and over the Alps, and invaded mainland Italy in late 218 BC. During the next three years Hannibal inflicted heavy defeats on the Romans at the battles of the Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae. At the last of these alone, at least 67,500 Romans were killed or captured. These great military calamities brought Rome to the brink of collapse. Hannibal's army campaigned in Italy for the following 14 years.
In 210BC Publius Cornelius Scipio took command of Roman forces in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) and in a carefully planned assault in 209BC captured the centre of Carthaginian power in Iberia, New Carthage. During the following four years Scipio repeatedly defeated the Carthaginians and drove them out of Iberia in 205 BC.
Prelude In early 205 BC Scipio left Iberia, returned to Rome and was elected to the senior position of consul. He had anticipated an invasion of North Africa while still in Spain and so had opened negotiations with the Numidian leaders whose North African lands lay to the west of Carthaginian territory, Masinissa and Syphax. He failed to win over the latter, but made an ally of the former.
There was intense debate in the Roman Senate over Scipio's plan, in particular whether it was wise to attempt an invasion of North Africa when Hannibal was still campaigning in Italy with a Carthaginian army and, if so, whether Scipio was the best person to lead it. There was a political compromise by which Scipio gained most of what he had hoped for. It was decided that he be given Sicily as his consular province; Sicily was the best location from which to launch an invasion of the Carthaginian homeland and then logistically support it. However, commitment to the enterprise was less than wholehearted: Scipio was given command of the two legions already based in Sicily and permission to cross to Africa on his own judgement, but was only allowed to call for volunteers to build up his consular armynot conscript troops, as was usual.
The total number of men available to Scipio and how many of them travelled to Africa is unclear; the ancient historian Livy gives totals for the invasion force of either 12,200, 17,600 or 35,000. Modern historians estimate a combat strength of 25,000–30,000, of whom more than 90% were infantry. With up to half of the complement of his legions being fresh volunteers, and with no fighting having taken place in Sicily for the past five years, Scipio instigated a rigorous training regime. This lasted for approximately a year. At the same time a vast quantity of food and materiel was gathered, and large numbers of merchant ships to transport it and his troops, and warships to escort the transports were assembled.
Siege
In 204 BC, probably June or July, the Roman army left Sicily in 400 transport ships, escorted by 40 galleys. Three days later they disembarked at Cape Farina north of the large Carthaginian port of Utica. The locals fled and the area was pillaged; 8,000 captives were sent back to Sicily as slaves. Carthage's immediate response, a scouting party of 500 cavalry, was defeated with the loss of its commander and the general in overall charge of responding to the invasion. Masinissa joined the Romans with either 200 or 2,000 menthe sources differ.
Wanting a more permanent base, and a port which would be resilient to the bad weather to be expected when winter came, Scipio besieged Utica. At the time Utica was a major port, although it is now inland because of the silting up of the River Bagradas. The Romans were well supplied with siege engines as they had shipped many from Sicily and also fabricated more on the spot. Scipio expected the city to surrender readily, but despite being attacked fiercely from land and sea it held out. The garrison and citizens of Utica assumed they would be relieved from Carthage, although the Carthaginian navy made no attempt to challenge the Roman control of the sea. Meanwhile, the Romans pillaged an ever-wider area, sending more loot and prisoners to Sicily in the ships bringing their supplies.
The siege continued until a Carthaginian army of 33,000 men under Hasdrubal Gisco set up a fortified camp south of Utica. Syphax joined him, establishing his own camp away with a reported 60,000 troops. The sizes of both of these armies as reported by ancient historians have been questioned by their modern counterparts as being infeasibly large. Nevertheless, it is accepted that the Romans were considerably outnumbered, in particular in terms of cavalry. The arrival of these armies caused the Romans to break off their close investment of Utica after forty days. They pulled back to a fortified camp on a rocky peninsula near Ghar el-Melh which was known as , about east of the city. The three armies stayed in their camps throughout the winter, although emissaries were exchanged and negotiations to either end the war or to facilitate a Roman withdrawal from Africa took place.
In early spring the Romans started conspicuously reassembling and testing their siege equipment, mounting some engines on ships. A force of 2,000 men returned to a hill overlooking Utica and started repairing the siegeworks constructed the previous autumn. Scipio assembled his troops and made an announcement that he would shortly attempt to storm the defences of Utica. Scipio had the Roman navy carry out a demonstration off Utica, while he briefed his senior officers that in fact they were going to launch night attacks on the enemy camps. The repeated visits to the Carthaginian and Numidian camps for negotiations during the winter had been used to observe their layout and approaches.
Battle of Utica
On the night of the attack, two columns set out: one was commanded by Gaius Laelius, a legate and the Roman army's second in command, who had years of experience of operating under Scipio. This force consisted of about half the Romans and was accompanied by Masinissa's Numidians. Its target was Syphax's camp. Scipio led the balance of the Roman force against the Carthaginian camp.
Thanks to careful prior reconnoitring, both forces reached the positions from which they were to start their attacks without problems. Masinissa's cavalry positioned themselves in small groups so as to cover every route out of the camp of Syphax's Numidians. Laelius's column attacked first, storming Syphax's camp and concentrating on setting fire to as many of the reed huts housing their opponents as possible. The camp dissolved into chaos, with many of its Numidian occupants oblivious of the Roman attack and thinking the barracks had caught fire accidentally. The Carthaginians heard the commotion and saw the blaze; some of them set off to help extinguish the fire, also thinking it was accidental. Scipio's contingent then attacked; they cut down the Carthaginians heading for their ally's camp, stormed Hasdrubal's camp and set fire to its wooden huts used for housing. The fire spread between the close-spaced barracks. Carthaginians rushed out into the dark and confusion, without armour or weapons, either trying to escape the flames or to fight the fire. The organised and prepared Romans were at a great advantage and Carthaginian casualties were high. Hasdrubal escaped from his burning camp with only 2,500 men. Losses among Syphax's Numidians are not recorded.
Battle of the Great Plains
When word of the defeat reached Carthage, there was panicwith calls to renew the peace negotiations, or to recall Hannibal and his army. A decision was reached to fight on, with just what locally available forces could be assembled. Syphax remained loyal and joined Hasdrubal with what was left of his army. Hasdrubal raised further local troops with whom to reinforce the survivors of Utica. The combined force, estimated to have been 30,000 strong, established a fortified camp on an area of flat ground by the Bagradas River known as the Great Plains. This was near modern Souk el Kremis and about from Utica.