Massinissa was rewarded with the throne of all Numidia. [16], Scipio now marched with his center towards the Carthaginian center, which was under the direct command of Hannibal. He now married her, and when Scipio showed interest in this woman, who was a fierce Carthaginian patriot, Massinissa decided to poison her. Their presence is widely discounted as Roman propaganda, although T. Dorey suggests that there may be a grain of truth here if the Carthaginians recruited a trivial and unofficial number of mercenaries from Macedonia.[13]. Le choc fut rude et il y eut des pertes des deux côtés, puis la bataille tourna à l'avantage de Massinissa et de Scipion. This also gave an edge in turn to Scipio, who relied greatly on his Roman heavy cavalry and Numidian light cavalry. Le 25 mai , les troupes de l’armée française occupèrent la ville de Souk Ahras en deux campagnes. [7]:119, Scipio continued to reinforce his troops with local defectors. After defeating Carthaginian and Numidian armies at the battles of Utica and the Great Plains, Scipio imposed peace terms on the Carthaginians, … The Carthaginians lost 20,000–25,000 killed and 8,500–20,000 captured. L’historien latin Tite-Live fait un récit très imagé de cette bataille : « Un combat singulier s’engage entre Massinissa et Hannibal. Trissino (dit le Trissin) est l’auteur d’une Sophonisbe (Sofonisba, vers 1515) imitée des tragédies grecques et considérée comme la première tragédie classique italienne. At the same time, the Romans tried to conquer Hispania, which was defended by Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal. Hannibal s'allia à Vermina, le fils et successeur de Syphax et, ensemble, ils envahirent le royaume des Massyles. Scipio reinforced the hastati with the second-line principes.[10]. Massinissa et Scipion les rejoignirent à Zama (l’actuelle Souk-Ahras, en Algérie) et une grande bataille s’engagea (202 avant J.C). The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC near Zama, now in Tunisia, and marked the end of the Second Punic War. Hannibal offered a treaty that would give up any claims to overseas territories to ensure the sovereignty of Carthage. Our word "nomad" is derived from "Numidia". Hannibal begins the battle with his war elephants charging at Roman front. J.-.C). This would have allowed him to complete a victory with his reserves in the third line and overlap Scipio's lines. The Roman Senate ratified the treaty. All rights reserved. In the meantime, Hannibal had arrived on the scene, but on 19 October 202, Scipio defeated the Carthaginian general near Zama. Hannibal also employed 80 war elephants. In 179, Numidia produced a surplus, and Massinissa could present himself as the benefactor of the Greek island of Delos, which gave him credentials in the Greek-Roman world as leader of a civilized nation. Massinissa (238-148 av. The panicked elephants turn on the Carthaginian left wing and rampage through it. All content copyright © 1995–2021 Livius.org. [10], Hannibal's army consisted of 36,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 80 war elephants, while Scipio had a total of 29,000 infantry and 6,100 cavalry. Massinissa's cavalry played an important role in this battle. J.-C.), l’un des premiers rois de la Berbérie antique, était le fils d’une prophétesse et de Gaïa, qui régnait sur un modeste royaume, coincé entre le territoire de Carthage à l’est et les États du puissant Syphax, à l’ouest. Scipio played for time as he redeployed his forces in a single line with the hastati in the middle, the principes in the inner wings and the triarii on the outer wings. Carthage fut de nouveau contrainte à négocier. Hannibal most likely believed that the combination of the war elephants and the depth of the first two lines would weaken and disorganize the Roman advance. [7]:96 He was later authorized to employ the regular forces stationed in Sicily, which consisted mainly of the remnants of the 5th and 6th Legion, exiled to the island as a punishment for the humiliation they suffered at the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal s’allia à Vermina, le fils et successeur de Syphax et, ensemble, ils envahirent le royaume des Massyles. He came up with an ingenious plan to deal with them. Scipio was able to rally his men. Hannibal's third line of veterans, reinforced by the citizen levies and mercenaries, faced off against the Roman army, which had been redeployed into a single line. J.-C.). Meanwhile, the two competing Massylian factions were easy victims for another enemy, king Syphax of the Masaeisylians. Almost immediately, Carthage surrendered. Scipio deployed his army in three lines: the first was composed of the hastati, the second of principes and the third of the triarii. At this point there was a pause in the battle as both sides redeployed their troops. Hannibal pare un javelot avec son bouclier et abat le cheval de son adversaire. By then, Carthaginian power was a shadow of its former self. In this period, he developed the country economically. There were two tribal federations, both in the process of becoming full-blown kingdoms. Unable to field a viable force in open combat and abandoned by all of their Punic allies, the Carthaginians commenced a spirited defense of their home city which, after an extended siege, was captured and completely destroyed in 146 BC. Durant la Deuxième Guerre punique, Rome cherche à se faire des alliés en Afrique du Nord tandis que Syphax, roi des Massæssyles en Numidie occidentale, revendique les territoires de la Numidie orientale, dirigée par Gaïa, roi des Massyles. J.-C.), l’un des premiers rois de la Berbérie antique, était le fils d’une prophétesse et de Gaïa, qui régnait sur un modeste royaume, coincé entre le territoire de Carthage à l’est et les États du puissant Syphax, à l’ouest. Massinissa was a poor Numidian taken in by Hannibal and the prestigious military academy. Hannibal pare un javelot avec so… But Massinissa's raids continued, and in 151, the Carthaginians declared war upon the Numidians. [2] Putting his cavalry on the flanks, with the inexperienced Carthaginian cavalry on the right and the Numidians on the left, Hannibal aligned the rest of his troops in three straight lines behind his elephants. In 206, they were decisively defeated near Ilipa, and Scipio proceeded to capture the last Carthaginian strongholds. Scipio, now powerful enough, proposed to end the war by directly invading the Carthaginian homeland. Massinissa was the king of the Massylii, and later the first king of united Numidia. He was trained and led an army at the age of 17 to defeat one of Rome's allies in Africa, the King of Syphax and his Algerian empire. However, the Romans were able to reorganize their army, which was commanded by Publius Cornelius Scipio, the son of the man who had been defeated by Hasdrubal. Yet, now that the Romans were there, he was able to recover his ground. Il arrache un des javelots et vise Hannibal qu’il manque encore. Once the Carthaginian cavalry was far enough away, they turned and attacked the Roman cavalry but were eventually routed. This allowed the Romans to establish a casus belli for the Third Punic War about 50 years later, after the Carthaginians defended themselves from Numidian encroachments, against which the Romans did not initially intervene. His reign was to last more than half a century. Scipio and Hannibal confronted each other near Zama Regia. His reign was to last more than half a century. For the rest of his life, he traveled across the Mediterranean, offering his service to any polity waging war against Rome. Massinissa's cavalry played an important role in this battle. The Roman historian Livy records that he had been "so vigorous that among the other youthful exploits that he performed during his final years, he was still sexually active and begot a son when he was eighty-six".note[Livy, Periochae 50.6.] Masinissa was the son of the chieftain Gaia of a Numidian tribal group, the Massylii. Scipio was first sent to Sicily, from where he first had to reconquer the "toe" of Italy to secure the Strait of Messina. J.-C., quand les troupes d’Hannibal Barca et Vermina, le fils et successeur de Syphax, sont vaincues dans la bataille de Zama. Hannibal still had many enemies both inside and outside of Carthage. Massinissa se relève et, à pied, s'élance vers Hannibal, à travers une grêle de traits, qu'il reçoit sur son bouclier en peau d'éléphant. Masinissa, then about 17 years old, led an army of Numidian troops and Carthaginian auxiliaries against Syphax's army and won a decisive victory (215–212 BC). Though this formation was well-conceived, it failed to produce a Carthaginian victory. Aboyer urbi et orbi que « MASSINISSA était le chien des romains », ce grand guerrier, rassembleur du pays numide, est une atteinte à notre Histoire commune, sauf pour celle qui, pour des motifs bassement racistes, en a arraché toutes les pages antérieures à la conquête arabe…Et qui s’étonne aujourd’hui d’être persona non grata en Kabylie. Scipio lost 4,000–5,000 men, and 1,500–2,500 Romans and 2,500 Numidians were killed. The panicked Carthaginians felt that they had no alternative but to offer peace to Scipio, and having the authority to do so, Scipio granted peace on generous terms. Le premier roi de la Numidie unifiée et indépendante. Le choc fut rude et il y eut des pertes des deux côtés, puis la bataille tourna à l’avantage de Massinissa et de Scipion. Hannibal deployed his troops facing northwest, while Scipio deployed his troops in front of the Carthaginian army facing southeast. Crossing the Alps, Hannibal reached the Italian peninsula in 218 BC and won several major victories against the Roman armies. L’alliance ente Massinissa et Scipion à Zama (l’actuelle Souk-Ahras, en Algérie), 202 avant J.C, contre Hannibal, s’inscrit dans le cadre des guerres puniques , entre Carthage et Rome. Il arrache un des javelots et vise Hannibal qu'il manque encore. Scipio led a pre-Marian Roman army quincunx, along with a body of Numidian cavalry. [15] The attack was met by Roman skirmishers. The Carthaginian senate recalled Hannibal, who was still in Italy (although confined to the south of the peninsula) when Scipio landed in Africa, in 203 BC. Immediately, the Romans, who learned from it from an envoy of Massinissa, investigated the case, and they tried to strike a compromise. Massinissa (c.241-148): king of the Massylians in Numidia (202-148). In the company of Scipio and his relatives, Massinissa also met the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis, who seems to have liked the Numidian king and describes him as a cultivated man, whose mission it was to civilize his country. Scipio attacks Hannibal's first and second lines of infantry and routs both. He was brought up in Carthage, an ally of his father. Confident in Hannibal's forces, the Carthaginians broke the armistice with Rome. [12] Hannibal intentionally held back his third infantry line, in order to thwart Scipio's tendency to pin the Carthaginian center and envelop his opponent's lines, as he had done at the Battle of Ilipa. Unificateur de la Numidie, et pour qui l'Afrique devait - déjà - revenir aux africains. Hannibal Barca fait placer en première ligne 80 éléphants [2], en deuxième ligne les mercenaires gaulois et ligures, en troisième ligne l'infanterie carthaginoise et africaine. Scipio returned to Rome a hero and was almost immediately granted a Triumph by the senate. Hannibal était en guerre contre Rome uniquement et il tenait à ce qu’on le sache. The king, who was now ninety-two years old, defeated his enemies, who were commanded by Hasdrubal. [9] This startled the Romans, who considered the Carthaginian general a great potential threat as long as he lived. The bulk of them managed to escape and position themselves on the wings of the second line on Hannibal's instructions. Massinissa se relève et, à pied, s'élance vers Hannibal, à travers une grêle de traits, qu'il reçoit sur son bouclier en peau d'éléphant. Pendant qu’il en arrache un autre, il est blessé au bras et se retire un peu à l’écart… [6]:270, Initially, Scipio received no levy troops, and he sailed to Sicily with a group of 7,000 heterogeneous volunteers. The elephants opened the battle by charging the main Roman army. The greatest concern for Scipio was the elephants. Carthaginian cavalry routed off the field. Mais le précédent traité fut révisé et la cité punique dut restituer à Massinissa tous les territ… At this moment, Massinissa must have understood that Rome was to win the war. In addition, Scipio ordered the cavalry to blow loud horns to frighten the beasts, which partly succeeded, and several rampaging elephants turned towards the Carthaginian left wing and disordered it completely. Thousands of Carthaginians, including Hannibal, managed to escape the slaughter. Hannibal was first to march and reach the plains of Zama Regia, which were suitable for cavalry maneuvering. Scipio's soldiers avoided the elephants by opening their ranks and drove them off with missiles. Des deux côtés, les généraux ont élaboré un plan très précis d'attaque. Laelius, the commander of the Roman left wing, charged against the Carthaginian right. [5] The Senate initially opposed this ambitious design of Scipio, persuaded by Quintus Fabius Maximus that the enterprise was far too hazardous. [14] He believed that if he opened gaps in his troops, the elephants would simply pass between them without harming any of his soldiers. Scipio refused, saying that it was either unconditional surrender or battle. Hannibal s’allia à Vermina, le fils et successeur de Syphax et, ensemble, ils envahirent le royaume des Massyles. Monnaie de Massinissa Massinissa died in 148, shortly after the Roman invasion. As an ally of Rome living near its arch-enemy, Massinissa could always raid Carthaginian land, or simply claim that it was his. Scipio and Hannibal rearrange their troops into a single line and the battle remains a stalemate until the Roman cavalry returns and attacks Hannibal's infantry from the rear. It seems that the eastern kingdom, which was close to Carthage, was more sympathetic to this city, and it is possible that the Carthaginians had actively encouraged the rise of a pro-Carthaginian dynasty that would be a buffer against the western Numidians. The Carthaginian cavalry, acting on the instructions of Hannibal, allowed the Roman cavalry to chase them in order to lure them away from the battlefield so that they wouldn't attack the Carthaginian armies in the rear. Bataille de Zama : 19 octobre 202 avant J.C. Cette bataille sera le dernier affrontement entre Rome et Carthage au cours de la Seconde Guerre Punique. Carthaginian cavalry carried out Hannibal's instructions well and there was no sign of Roman cavalry on the battlefield. The battle took place at Zama Regia, near Siliana 130 km southwest of Tunis. Après cette bataille, Massinissa vécut encore de nombreuses années et récupéra de nombreuses autres … (They are already confused in ancient sources.) The combat was fierce and evenly matched. [8] Meanwhile, the Carthaginians breached the armistice agreement by capturing a stranded Roman fleet in the Gulf of Tunis and stripping it of supplies. In 209, Scipio captured Carthago Nova, the Carthaginian capital in Iberia, and Massinissa is recorded to have been active in this area in the following year. Under the treaty, Carthage could keep its African territory but would lose its overseas empire, by that time a fait-accompli. In total, as many as 20,000 of Hannibal's troops were killed at Zama, while 20,000 more were taken prisoner. Quelques-uns parviennent à fuir et Hannibal ne tarde pas à les rattraper, à les faire prisonniers, enchaînant les Romains et relâchant leurs alliés. [18][19], One provision of the treaty ending the Second Punic War was that the Carthaginians were not allowed to make war without Roman consent. [14] Hannibal ordered his second line not to allow the first line in their ranks. The Roman second line joined the struggle and pushed back the Carthaginian assault. Though they fought with some success early on, the Carthaginians simply could not defeat the by-then very aged Masinissa once the armies of his Roman allies arrived in Africa. In 205 BC Scipio returned to Rome, where he was elected consul by unanimous vote. Massinissa was rewarded with the throne of all Numidia. Masinissa was to be allowed to expand Numidia into parts of Africa. Massinissa se relève et, à pied, s'élance vers Hannibal, à travers une grêle de traits, qu'il reçoit sur son bouclier en peau d'éléphant. Pétrarque mentionne brièvement Sophonisbe et Massinissa dans son épopée en latin Africa (livre V, v. 1-773). The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC near Zama, now in Tunisia, and marked the end of the Second Punic War. Hannibal and the Carthaginians had relied on cavalry superiority in previous battles such as Cannae, but Scipio, recognizing their importance, held the cavalry advantage at Zama. The Romans suffered 2,500 dead.[17]. The remaining elephants are lured through the lanes and killed. Although many people were living in large villages that would eventually develop into cities, another part of the Numidian population was still roaming over the plains. The second line of citizen levies and the mercenaries' remnants assaulted and inflicted heavy losses on the Roman first line. Due to pressure from both Rome and domestic political rivals, Hannibal voluntarily stepped down from power and went into exile. Massinissa s’est allié à Rome , pour contenir les ambitions expansionnistes de Carthage , sur son royaume de Numidie . Again, it was not allowed to merge with the third line and was forced to the wings, along with the first line. Massinissa et Scipion les rejoignirent à Zama (l'actuelle Souk Ahras, en Algérie) et une grande bataille s'engagea (202 av. The stronger right wing was composed of the Numidian cavalry and commanded by Masinissa, while the left was composed of Italian cavalry under the command of Laelius. The plan was that when the elephants charged, these lanes would open, allowing them to pass through the legionaries' ranks and be dealt with at the rear of the army. Scipio knew that elephants could be ordered to charge forward, but they could only continue their charge in a straight line. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio, with crucial support from Numidian leader Masinissa, defeated the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal. J.-C.), sans le soutien numide. Carthage fut contrainte de restituer à Massinissa tous les territoires qui avaient été arrachés à ses ancêtres. This page was created in 2004; last modified on 22 September 2020. Elle vit s'affronter les armées romaines d'une part, dirigées par Scipion l'Africain et le roi numide massyle Massinissa, et carthaginoises d'autre part, dirigées par Hannibal qui y perdit la guerre. Finally, Scipio's cavalry returned to the battle and attacked Hannibal's army in the rear, routing and destroying it.