The Numantine WarThe 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 (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

'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 Pelle ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

to subdue those people along the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

, in what is now Spain. It was a twenty-year conflict between the Celtiberian tribes of

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

and the Roman government. It began in 154 BC as a revolt of the Celtiberians of

Numantia Numantia () 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 153 BC, Num ...

on the

Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...

. 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 Wars, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, were wars 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 ...

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a Roman province located in Hispania (on the Iberian Peninsula) during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of moder ...

. The

Lusitanians The Lusitanians were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and Extremadura and Castilla y Leon of Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians ...

were subdued by Sulpicius Galba, who betrayed their surrender and executed their leading men, and the

Arevaci The Arevaci or Aravaci (''Arevakos'', ''Arvatkos'' or ''Areukas'' in the Greek language, Greek sourcesPtolemy, ''Geographiké Hyphegésis'', II, 6, 55.), were a Celts, CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. people who settled in the ...

of Hispania Citerior continued the war and allied with the Lusitanian leader

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish; died 139 Anno Domini, BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanians, Lusitanian people that resisted Roman Republic, Roma ...

. 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 an ...

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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for a judgment. Rome decided to ignore Pompeius' peace and sent

Gaius Hostilius Mancinus Gaius Hostilius Mancinus ( 140–135 BC) was a politician and general of the Roman Republic. He is mostly known for his defeat against the Numantines as consul in 137 BC and the humiliating treaty he signed afterwards in order to save hi ...

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 Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (; 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the ...

. 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 previou ...

and Gaius Calpurnius Piso avoided conflict with the Numantines. Numancia Alejo Vera Estaca 1881

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 thro ...

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 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 durin ...

was sent to Hispania Citerior to end the war. He recruited 20,000 men and 40,000 allies, including

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

n cavalry under

Jugurtha Jugurtha or Jugurthen (c. 160 – 104 BC) was a king of Numidia, the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Micipsa's two sons, Hiempsal and Adherbal ...

. 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 The Sertorian War was a civil war in the Roman Republic fought from 80 to 72 BC between two Roman factions, one led by Quintus Sertorius and another led by the senate as constituted in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war. The war was fough ...

over half a century later. This war also launched the careers of several important figures. Tiberius Gracchus was present as a

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

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 Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...

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 Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2001. * Wintle, Justin. ''The Rough Guide History of Spain''. Rough Guides:

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 2003.
Encyclopaedia Romana: ''The Celtiberian War and Numantia''.
* The History of Rome, Book IV

{{Ancient Roman Wars 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