The End of the Punic War (255 BC)
The Punic War was a conflict that raged between the Roman and Carthaginian Republics between 264 BC and 255 BC, ending with the Roman invasion of Africa by an army under the command of Marcus Atilius Regulus. The war began due to a convoluted dispute over the city of Messana, occupied by mercenaries known as Mamartines. The mercenaries appealed to both states for protection, and though the Romans were generally loathe to side with such men, they felt they could not pass up the opportunity to gain a foothold on the island of Sicily or allow the Carthaginians to strengthen their own position on the island. The war that broke out was predominantly fought on Sicily, until the Romans decided to launch an invasion of their enemy's homeland of Africa.
Marcus Atilius Regulus landed in Africa in 256 BC and quickly attacked the city of Aspis. After he secured the city for his forces, he met the Carthaginians in open battle at the city of Adys. The Carthaginians, under the leadership of general Hamilcar, who had been recalled from Sicily to face the Romans, had encamped on high ground overlooking the city. Though it would seem to have been a very defensible position, the terrain neutralized the cavalry and elephants of the Carthaginian army, and Regulus was quick to ascertain that self-imposed disadvantage. The Romans, well experienced in the art of fighting in broken ground, assaulted the Carthaginians and inflicted a devastating defeat upon them. The defeated army fled and the Carthaginian leaders decided to sue for peace with Regulus.
Regulus was eager to be hailed as the victor in the long war, but he also wanted to ensure that the peace was as profitable as possible for the Romans. After two solid victories in the homeland of his enemy, he felt that he could dictate terms that were utterly humiliating for the Carthaginians; if they refused, he would just defeat them in battle once more, and then they would have to accept his terms, or even harsher terms if he saw fit. To bolster his position, Regulus sent envoys to Gala, the king of the Numidian Massylii tribe, who inhabited the land just west of Carthage. The Numidian cavalry were absolutely essential to the Carthaginian military, and were renowned throughout the Western Mediterranean for their prowess. Regulus was able to win Gala over to the Roman side with promises of aid against his own neighbors, the Masaesyli, a rival Numidian tribe.
Unaware that Gala had changed sides in the war, the Carthaginian leaders refused the terms that Regulus offered them:
- Carthage would cede all their territory in Sicily and Sardinia (and presumably Corsica, as well, as ancient sources tend to lump the two islands together)
- All Roman hostages were to be freed, all Carthaginian hostages were to be ransomed
- Carthage would pay Rome an indemnity for the cost of the war
- Carthage would pay Rome an annual tribute
- Carthage's navy was limited to 1 warship, though they were expected to provide 50 triremes at Rome's request
- Carthage would make neither war nor peace without Rome's consent
These terms would have made Carthage nothing more than a client of the Roman Republic - albeit a prosperous one - which is why they were utterly unacceptable. Further, the Carthaginians had hired a Spartan general by the name of Xanthippos who, upon reviewing the military of Carthage, determined that it was poor leadership that had cost them their recent battles, and, if well organized, the Carthaginians could easily hold their own and defeat the Romans.
Thus, when the two sides met in battle shortly thereafter, near the River Bagradas, the Carthaginian army was much better arrayed and sought battle on land more suitable to their large contingent of cavalry and elephants. The Carthaginian forces numbered roughly 12,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry (split roughly evenly between Carthaginian and Numidian horsemen), and 100 elephants. The Roman army was composed of 15,000 infantry and only 500 cavalry. The Carthaginian commanders allowed Xanthippos to take overall command of the battle, due to his expertise and rapport with the soldiers. The battle was begun when the Carthaginian elephants charged the Roman center, and disrupted the infantry, the bulk of the Roman force. The Carthaginian cavalry, meanwhile, were maneuvering to encircle the Roman army and trap them in a pincer while they were held in place. The Roman right flank was holding its own and advancing, while the Roman left flank was not. However, just when victory seemed to be close for the Carthaginians, the Numidian cavalry defected and turned on the Carthaginian forces. Now it was the Carthaginians were were trapped in a pincer, as their flanks were utterly crushed and their elephants driven to panic. The large beast fled in several directions, and though they trampled many Carthaginian soldiers in their flight, they so disrupted both armies' battle lines that it is likely that the Carthaginian army was able to escape total encirclement due to them.
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Carthaginian Elephants Charge the Roman Center at Bagradas
The Carthaginians lost almost all of their native cavalry, nearly 2,000 horsemen, in addition to the defection of 2,000 Numidian horsemen. 5,000 infantry were lost, as were a third of the 100 elephants. The Romans lost approximately 2500 men, though that was almost entirely negated by the addition of 2000 Numidians. Xanthippos made the most of his army's retreat and kept the army intact as it fled to Carthage, but there was no mistaking that this was a devastating loss. Not only had the Romans been able to defeat their army yet again, but now the Carthaginians had to face the prospect of invasion and raids from their Numidian neighbors.
The Carthaginian Senate began to debate the terms that Regulus had offered them prior to the battle, and many began to favor accepting them. However, before a resolution could be agreed upon, a Roman envoy was dispatched to the Carthaginians to convey new terms. As they were read before the Carthaginian Senate, they steeled their nerves for what further humiliations the avaricious Roman general wished to bestow upon them. To their shock, however, Regulus's terms were actually more lenient than before:
- The war indemnity was cut by one-third
- The annual tribute was cut by one-third
- Prisoners were to be exchanged on a one-for-one basis, and Carthage would only have to ransom whatever prisoners remained in Roman hands after this exchange
- The Carthaginian navy was capped at 50 warships, rather than 1
Regulus's motives were not likely born out of magnanimity, but likely due to his desire to wrap up the war himself, as his term was even closer to its close than it was when he last offered terms. If his successor landed in Africa and defeated even a single garrison, the glory would have to be shared between them. It also did not hurt that, in the wake of their victory, the Romans now held even more Carthaginian prisoners than before, allowing them to appear lenient with prisoner exchanges, even while they had a greater number of prisoners that the enemy was expected to ransom. Regulus also let it be known that whomever would lead the next Roman expedition would have even more time to ravage Carthage and exact even harsher terms than his original proposal, effectively portraying himself as an eminently reasonable and trustworthy negotiator, as opposed to any number of even more rapacious rivals that might be landing with the dawn of any given day.
The Carthaginian Senate accepted his new terms after a short but acrimonious debate, and the Roman Senate duly ratified them themselves. Some in Rome pressed for harsher terms, knowing that they could inflict even more damage on Carthage if they continued to fight. This argument was defeated by those that argued that the more they fought Carthage, the poorer it would be and the less able it would be able to pay Rome the indemnities and tribute demanded - in short, Carthage should be shorn, not skinned. Further, many worried of the consequences of focusing so much of their attention to the south, when the Celts could come streaming down out of Cisalpine Gaul at any time.
Thus ended the Punic War. Carthage and Rome had long been allies before the conflict, with a treaty between the two having been signed in the earliest days of the Republic, nearly three centuries prior, and the two states had considered cooperation against the invasion by Pyrrhus only a decade prior to the Punic War. Though a decade of war damaged relations between the two great cities greatly, many more sought to rekindle the ties that had bound them prior to the conflict. Rome's power had always lain within their ability to treat their defeated foes with honor and magnanimity, binding them to Rome's own interests, while Carthage's had lain with their mastery of trade. The two aims were far from mutually exclusive and the relationship between the cities would prove prosperous for both.
Afterword
Alright, everything up until Regulus managed to turn King Gala to the Roman side is historical. The terms he wanted to impose upon Carthage are the terms recorded by Dio. I have no idea if King Gala was really the ruler at this time, he was the father of Masinissa, who was born in 238 BC, so its possible. It doesn't really change the narrative that much, as all we need assume is that Regulus converted whomever the leader of the Numidian cavalry at the time was. That also seemed to be the most plausible way for Regulus to get the Carthaginians to surrender to something similar to his terms. As you can likely deduce, this is a very solid foundation for a Rome-wank: we've just butterflied the Second Punic War (not to mention half of the First and all of the Third Punic War), and all the chaos that came with it. Its also a decent foundation for a Carthage-wank.