Battle of the Bagradas River

Overview

The Battle of the Bagradas occurred near the Bagradas River in what is now Tunisia on 24 August and was fought between Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio and the Pompeian Republicans under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia. The result was a crushing defeat for the Caesarean forces and the death of Curio.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of the Bagradas River resulted in a crushing defeat for the Caesarean forces under Gaius Scribonius Curio and his subordinate Gaius Caninius Rebilus, fighting against the Pompeian-aligned army supported by King Juba I of Numidia and commanded in the field by Saburra. The engagement cost Caesar's faction the life of Curio himself, a significant loss of a senior commander during the African phase of the civil war. The defeat eliminated the Caesarean military presence in the region around the Bagradas River in what is now Tunisia, leaving the Pompeian Republicans and their Numidian allies in control of that theater. Within the broader context of Caesar's Civil War, the loss demonstrated the danger of operating in North Africa against locally supported Pompeian forces with a numerically limited force of approximately 7,500 men.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)