ORDER OF BATTLE // -205 BCE
Battle of Ilipa
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 102,500–129,000 estimated
Roman Republic
48,000–55,000
Medium-confidence figure
Carthage
54,500–74,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Ilipa stands as one of the most consequential engagements of the Second Punic War in the Iberian theater. Fought in 206 BC, it was considered by many to be Scipio Africanus's most brilliant military victory, a judgment that reflects the scale of the outcome: Roman forces of roughly 48,000 to 55,000 inflicted some 48,500 casualties on a Carthaginian army that may have numbered as many as 74,000 under Hasdrubal Gisco and Mago Barca. A defeat of that magnitude effectively destroyed Carthaginian military power in Hispania, removing both commanders from the theater and consolidating Roman dominance over the peninsula. The result directly enabled Scipio to carry the war to Africa, setting the conditions for the final phase of the conflict.
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