Publius Sittius (died 44 BC) was a

Roman 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 ...

eques and mercenary commander. As a mercenary he was employed by king Bocchus II of East-Mauretania. Sittius fought for Bocchus against king Juba I of Numidia, capturing Juba's capital of

Cirta Cirta, also known by #Names, various other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was the ancient Berbers, Berber, Punic people, Punic and Roman Empire, Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria, Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was ...

and defeating the Numidian army under general Saburra (the victor of the Battle of the Bagradas). He also supported

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

in the civil war between Caesar and the

Optimates ''Optimates'' (, ; Latin for "best ones"; ) and ''populares'' (; Latin for "supporters of the people"; ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated ...

, ultimately catching and killing Faustus Cornelius Sulla and Lucius Afranius and destroying Scipio's fleet off

Hippo Regius Hippo Regius (also known as Hippo or Hippone) is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of the Vandal Kingdom from AD ...

. He was a personal friend of

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

Biography

Publius Sittius hailed from

Nuceria Nocera dei Pagani (), as it was known between the 16th century and 1806, was a ''civitas'' that included a large portion of the Agro nocerino-sarnese, corresponding to five contemporary municipalities: Nocera Inferiore, Nocera Superiore, P ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. His father, also called Publius Sittius, supported Rome during the War of the Allies. During the Catilinarian Conspiracy Publius Sittius supported

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to seize control of the Roman state in 63 BC. ...

and raised troops to aid Catiline in Mauretania. After Catiline was defeated Sittius sold his Spanish and Italian holdings and remained in Mauretania with his men and became a mercenary. When the Great Civil War between Caesar and the Optimates started Publius Sittius was still in Mauretania. His mercenary company was in the employ of king Bocchus II of Eastern Mauretania. Publius Sittius is mentioned in De Bello Africo, the history of the civil war in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, seen by a supporter of Caesar (Chs. 25, 36, 48, 93, 95 & 96; the author is unknown). It is not clear from this text how Sittius came to be in Africa or why he had allied himself with Caesar and not Metellus Scipio. His first recorded action (Ch. 25) in the history joins forces with King Bogus of Mauritanea (or Bocchus II), attacking and forcing the surrender of Cirta, the richest town within the Kingdom of King

Juba I Juba I of Numidia (, ; –46BC) was a king of Numidia (present-day Algeria) who reigned from 60 to 46 BC. He was the son and successor to Hiempsal II. Biography In 81 BC, Hiempsal had been driven from his throne; soon afterwards, Pompey wa ...

, an enemy of Caesar who had already begun to send his army to support Scipio. This event forced King Juba to adjust his plans and return part of his army to defend his territory thereby diminishing Scipio's available manning. It is recorded that Sittius enjoyed several successes against the enemies of Caesar (Ch. 36), including later the defeat of Juba's forces under Saburra, and the successful ambush of Faustus Cornelius and Lucius Afranius as they attempted to flee to

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 ...

following their defeat by Caesar at Thapsus (Ch. 95). He is also credited with the sinking of Scipio's fleet (Ch. 96) at

where Scipio perished having also taken flight from Caesar after Thapsus. He notably assists Caesar through the campaign by diverting the attention and full strength of King Juba's forces (Ch. 48), preventing him from focusing his resolve entirely on the annihilation of Caesar. While it is clear his efforts support Caesar, and he is in the service of Caesar, at no point in the text does it mention that Sittius is commanded by Caesar although it could be expected that communications existed between them or their subordinates. After the end of the campaign Caesar grants him lands at Cirta, within 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 ...

where he founded a colony with his followers the ''Colonia Cirta Sittianorum cognomine'' and settled there. He was killed by

Arabio Arabio (or Arabion) was the last independent Numidian king, ruling the western region between 44 and 40 BC. According to Appian, he was a son of Masinissa II and probable grandson of Gauda, who had divided Numidia between his sons in 88&nbs ...

, a son of the Numidian king

Masinissa II Masinissa II (or Massinissa II) was the petty king of western Numidia with his capital at Cirta (81–46 BC). He was named after, or took his name after, his famous ancestor Masinissa I, the unifier and founder of the kingdom of Numidia. ...

in 44 BC.Cicero, ''Ad Atticus'', 15.17.

References

{{Reflist 44 BC deaths 1st-century BC Romans Roman Republican soldiers Cirta Military personnel of Julius Caesar People of Caesar's civil war People from Nocera Inferiore Catilinarians Ancient Roman murder victims City founders