Punicus (known as ''Púnico'' in
Portuguese and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the
Lusitanians
The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania ...
, a proto-
Celtic tribe from western
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...
. He became their first military leader during the
Lusitanian War
The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war 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 rev ...
, and also led their first major victories against
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
[
]
Biography
Punicus's origin was placed by some authors in ''Herminius Mons'' ( Serra da Estrela), like his later countryman Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or ...
, but this has been doubted by others.[ Others place his origin in ]Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (i ...
, though it would make him one of the Bracari instead of a Lusitanian proper.mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
in Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n or Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
territories in the south of the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, as Lusitanians and other Celtiberian tribes used to do.[ He might have taken part in the war between Carthage and the Numidians led by ]Masinissa
Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ulti ...
, an ally to Rome.
In 155 BC, Punicus instigated a Lusitanian uprising and started sacking and pillaging through Roman territories. To crush the rebellion, Roman praetors Calpurnius Piso and proconsul Manius Manilius marched at the head of an army of 15,000 legionaries, but Punicus defeated them, inflicting losses of around 6000 men.[ This victory enabled Punicus to ally himself with the neighboring Vettones; he moved south and sacked the Mediterranean Roman provinces, including Hispania Baetica and the territories of the Blastophoenicians, a people vassal to Rome.][ His campaign also saw the death of Roman quaestor Terentius Varro.][ However, Punicus's leadership ended abruptly in 153 BC when he was killed by a throwing stone. He was replaced by his lieutenant ]Caesarus
Caesarus (known as ''Césaro'' in Portuguese and Spanish) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He followed and later replaced Punicus as their major military leader during the Lusitanian War.
Biography ...
, who continued his campaign.[
]
Etymology
The word ''Punicus'' comes from 'Punic'', a Latin word for "Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n" borrowed from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
''Phonikeos''. It has been suggested that Punicus received this name not from birth,[
An 18th-century chronicle gives Punicus the alternate name of "Appimanus".][
]
See also
*Caesarus
Caesarus (known as ''Césaro'' in Portuguese and Spanish) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He followed and later replaced Punicus as their major military leader during the Lusitanian War.
Biography ...
*Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or ...
* Olyndicus
Notes
{{reflist
153 BC
Lusitanians
Celtic warriors
Spanish rebels
Year of birth unknown