Siege of Numantia

Overview

The Celtiberian oppidum of Numantia was attacked more than once by Roman forces, but the siege of Numantia refers to the culminating and pacifying action of the long-running Numantine War between the forces of the Roman Republic and those of the native population of Hispania Citerior. The Numantine War was the third of the Celtiberian Wars and it broke out in 143 BC. A decade later, in 133 BC, the Roman general and hero of the Third Punic War, Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, subjugated Numantia, the chief Celtiberian city.

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

Significance

The Siege of Numantia in 133 BCE was the culminating action of the Numantine War, the third of the Celtiberian Wars, which had been ongoing since 143 BCE. The engagement brought a decade of Roman military struggle in Hispania Citerior to a close when Scipio Aemilianus Africanus — already distinguished as a commander from the Third Punic War — subdued Numantia, the chief city of the Celtiberians. The Roman force of 20,000 faced a Celtiberian population of around 4,000, a disparity that underscores the defensive character of the resistance Numantia had sustained over the course of the broader war. The fall of the city effectively ended organized Celtiberian resistance in the region, resolving a conflict that had repeatedly frustrated Roman arms before Scipio's appointment. Among the commanders on the Roman side was Jugurtha, later to become a figure of consequence in his own right in North African affairs.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)