Hasdrubal Gisco (died 202BC), a latinization of the name ʿAzrubaʿal son of Gersakkun (),. was a Carthaginian general who fought against

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

(

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

) and

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 ...

during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

Biography

Hasdrubal Gisco was sent to Iberia with an army following the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC. He arrived in Iberia in 214 BC. His arrival ended the absolute command of the Barcid family there. In 212 BC, the two Roman commanders in Iberia, Publius Cornelius Scipio and Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, decided to take the offensive. Publius Scipio marched to encounter the Carthaginian forces commanded by Hasdrubal and

Mago Barca Mago Barca (; died 202 BC) was a Carthaginian, member of the Barcid family, who played an important role in the Second Punic War, leading forces of Carthage against the Roman Republic in Iberia and northern and central Italy. Mago was the ...

, who had been reinforced by

Numidian cavalry Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. They were used by Hannibal during the Punic Wars, and later became commonplace in the Roman army of the late Republic. History Numidian cavalry is first mentioned by Polybi ...

commanded by Masinissa. In a battle near Castulo, the Roman forces were defeated and Publius Scipio killed. Immediately after this victory, Hasdrubal hastened to join his army with that of Hasdrubal Barca. The combined Carthaginian forces were able to trap Gnaeus Scipio near Ilorca and won another victory, with Gnaeus Scipio killed less than a month after the death of his brother Publius. After Hasdrubal Barca left for Italy by escaping the Battle of Baecula, Gisco retired to gather mercenaries in

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

. In 207 BC, Hasdrubal was near Gades in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, where he was joined by

. In 206 BC, Hasdrubal raised further fresh troops to increase his army to 70,000 infantry and 4,500 cavalry. However, he and Mago were attacked by

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

, the son of Publius Scipio, and heavily defeated at the

Battle of Ilipa The Battle of Ilipa () was an engagement considered by many as Scipio Africanus’s most brilliant victory in his military career during the Second Punic War in 206 BC. It may have taken place on a plain east of Alcalá del Río, Seville, Spain ...

. Hasdrubal now crossed to North Africa, where he persuaded Syphax, king of the

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

Masaesyli tribe of western

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 ...

, to ally himself with Carthage against Rome. Hasdrubal achieved this by offering Syphax his daughter Sophonisba in marriage. When Scipio landed in North Africa in 204 BC, he was opposed by Hasdrubal and Syphax with a combined force of 80,000 infantry and 13,000 cavalry. While negotiations continued, Scipio and his new ally Masinissa (who ironically had switched his allegiances to the Romans at almost the same time that the leader of the other Numidian faction, Syphax, had switched his to the Carthaginians) approached the Carthaginian-Numidian camp by stealth and set fire to it. According to

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, the Carthaginians and Numidians lost over 40,000 dead. Syphax was apparently persuaded by his wife, Sophonisba, not to desert the Carthaginian cause, and he and Hasdrubal were joined by a force of about 4,000 Celtiberian mercenaries. They offered battle again, but were defeated with great slaughter by Scipio and Masinissa at the Battle of Bagbrades. Hasdrubal returned to Carthage, where he committed suicide in 202 BC to avoid being lynched by a Carthaginian mob. As a general, he was not in the class of the Barcid brothers, although

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

describes him as "the best and most distinguished general this war produced after the three sons of Hamilcar". In another passage, Livy gives a much less complimentary quote from Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, who described Hasdrubal as "a general who showed his speed chiefly in retreat".Livy Book XXX, 28 He had a prodigious talent for diplomacy and three times raised large armies, in Iberia and in Africa, after severe defeats. Polybius says that he attempted to extract a large sum of money from Andobales, whom he describes as the most faithful friend the Carthaginians had in Iberia. Polybius says that when Andobales refused to pay, Hasdrubal brought a false accusation against him and forced him to give his daughters as hostages.

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Bibliography

* . * .
Polybius Book XI, including an account of the Battle of Ilipa

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasdrubal Gisco 202 BC deaths 3rd-century BC births Carthaginian commanders of the Second Punic War Year of birth unknown 3rd-century BC Punic people

Biography

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