The History of Rome, Books 27 to 36

by Livy

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At the time when Spain appeared to be relieved in proportion to the degree in which the weight of the war was removed into Italy, by the passage of Hasdrubal, another war sprang up there equal in magnitude to the former. At this juncture, the Romans and Carthaginians thus occupied Spain: Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, had retired quite to the ocean and Gades; the coast of our sea, and almost the whole of that part of Spain which lies eastward, was subject to Scipio and the Romans. The new general, Hanno, who had passed over from Africa, to supply the place of the Barcine Hasdrubal, with a new army, and formed a junction with Mago, having in a short time armed a large number of men in Celtiberia, which lies in the midway between the two seas, Scipio sent Marcus Silanus against him, with no more than ten thousand infantry and five hundred horse. Silanus, by marching with all the haste he could, (though the ruggedness of the roads, and narrow defiles obstructed with thick woods, which are very frequent in Spain, impeded him,) yet being guided by deserters from Celtiberia, natives of that place, reached the enemy, anticipating not only messengers but even all rumour of his coming. From the same source he ascertained, when they were about ten thousand paces from the enemy, that they had two camps, one on each side of the road in which they were marching; that the Celtiberians, a newly-raised army, in number above nine thousand, were on the left, and that the Carthaginian camp was stationed on the right. The latter was secured and protected by outposts, watches, and every kind of regular military guard, while the former was disorderly and neglected, as belonging to barbarians, who were raw soldiers, and were under the less apprehension, because they were in their own country. Silanus, concluding that this was the camp to be attacked first, ordered the troops to march as much as possible towards the left, lest he should be observed from any point by the Carthaginian outposts, and sending scouts in advance, pushed on towards the enemy at a rapid pace.

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He was now about three thousand paces from the enemy, when as yet none of them had perceived him. The ground was covered with craggy places, and hills overgrown with bushes. Here in a hollow valley, and on that account unexposed to the view, he ordered his men to sit down and take refreshment. In the mean time the scouts returned, confirming the statements of the deserters. Then the Romans, collecting their baggage in the centre, took arms, and marched to battle in regular array. They were a thousand paces off when they were descried by the enemy, when suddenly all began to be in a state of hurry and confusion. At the first shout and tumult, Mago quitted the camp and rode up at full speed. As there were in the Celtiberian army four thousand targeteers and two hundred horsemen, this regular legion, as it formed the flower of his troops, he stationed in the first line; the rest, composed of light-armed, he posted in reserve. While he was leading them out of the camp thus marshalled, the Romans discharged their javelins at them before they had scarcely cleared the rampart. The Spaniards stooped down to avoid the javelins thrown at them by the enemy, and then rose up to discharge their own in turn; which the Romans having received according to their custom in close array, with their shields firmly united, they then engaged foot to foot, and began to fight with their swords. But the ruggedness of the ground, while it rendered ineffectual the agility of the Celtiberians who were accustomed to a skirmishing kind of battle, was at the same time not unfavourable to the Romans, who were accustomed to a steady kind of fight, except that the narrow passes and the bushes, which grew here and there, broke their ranks, and they were compelled to engage one against one and two against two, as if matched together. The same circumstance which obstructed the enemy's flight, delivered them up, as it were, bound for slaughter. And now when almost all the targeteers had been slain, the light-armed and the Carthaginians, who had come up to their assistance from the other camp, having been thrown into confusion, were put to the sword. Not more than two thousand of the infantry, and all the cavalry, fled from the field with Mago before the battle was well begun. The other general, Hanno, was taken alive, together with those who came up when the battle was now decided. Almost the whole of the cavalry and the veteran infantry, following Mago in his flight, came to Hasdrubal on the tenth day in the province of Gades. The newly-raised Celtiberian troops, stealing off to the neighbouring woods, fled thence to their homes. By this very seasonable victory, a stop was put to a war which was not by any means so considerable as that to which it would have grown, had the enemy been allowed, after having prevailed upon the Celtiberians to join them, to solicit other nations also to take up arms. Scipio, therefore, having liberally bestowed the highest commendations on Silanus, and entertaining a hope that he might bring the war to a termination, if he did not impede it by a want of activity on his own part, proceeded into the remotest part of Spain against Hasdrubal. The Carthaginian, who then happened to be encamped in Baetica, in order to prevent his allies from wavering in their allegiance, retired quite to the ocean and Gades, in a manner much more resembling a flight than a march. He was afraid, however; that while he kept his forces together, he should form the principal object of attack. Before he crossed the strait to Gades he sent them into different cities, that they might both provide for their own safety by the help of walls, and for that of the town by their arms.

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Scipio, seeing the enemy's forces thus distributed, and that to carry about his forces to each of the several cities would be rather tedious than important, marched his army back. Not to leave all that country, however, to the Carthaginians, he sent his brother, Lucius Scipio, at the head of ten thousand foot and one thousand horse, to besiege the most important city of that quarter, called by the barbarians Orinx, and situated on the borders of the Milesians, a nation of Spain so called. The soil is fertile, and even silver is dug out of it by the inhabitants. This place served as a fort to Hasdrubal, from which he might make incursions on the inland states. Scipio encamped near the city. Before he formed his lines round it, he sent to the gates to sound the inclinations of the inhabitants, by a direct interview, and persuade them to make trial of the friendship of the Romans rather than of their power. As they answered nothing of a friendly nature, he threw a double trench and rampart round the place, dividing his army into three parts, in order that one division might assault it while the other two rested. The first of these beginning the attack, a furious and doubtful contest ensued. It was by no means easy to approach and bring the ladders to the walls, on account of the weapons which fell upon them; and even of those persons who had raised them, some were thrown down with forks made for the purpose, others were in danger of being laid hold of by iron grapples, and dragged up hanging to the wall. Scipio, seeing that the contest was equalized owing to the fewness of his party, and that the enemy, fighting from the wall, were superior to him, called off the first division and attacked them with the two others together. This so terrified the besieged, who were already fatigued with fighting with the former, that not only the townsmen forsook the walls in sudden flight, but the Carthaginian garrison, fearing that the town had been betrayed, also quitted their posts and collected themselves into a body. Upon this the inhabitants began to be alarmed, lest if the enemy broke into the town they should kill all they met indiscriminately, Carthaginian or Spaniard. They therefore suddenly threw open the gates and rushed out of the town, holding their shields before them, lest any weapons should be cast at them from a distance, and stretching out to view their bare right hands, that it might be seen they had thrown away their swords. Whether this was not observed, in consequence of the distance, or whether some deception was suspected, is not known; but an attack was made on the deserters, and they were put to death as a hostile force. Through this gate the enemy marched into the city in battle-array. The other gates were cut through and broken down with axes and sledges; and as each horseman entered, he galloped off to seize the forum, as had been ordered. A body of veteran troops were also added to the horse to support them. The legionary troops spread themselves in every part of the city, but neither killed nor plundered any, except such as defended themselves with arms. All the Carthaginians were put under guard, with more than three hundred of the inhabitants, who had shut the gates. The rest had the town put into their hands, and their property restored. About two thousand of the enemy fell in the assault on this city, and not more than ninety of the Romans.

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