In Rome, by virtue of his high culture, Polybius was admitted to the most distinguished houses, in particular to that of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, the conqueror in the Third Macedonian War Spain Danube Sicily, History of Universal Supremacy Must Be a Universal History, Philip Takes Lissus in Shortly before Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, Benito Mussolini commissioned an epic film depicting the exploits of Scipio. Syracuse Scipio retired to his country seat at Liternum on the coast of Campania. Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and statesman, and a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign (210–206 BC; the Roman Hispania, comprising modern Spain and Portugal).His command of the Roman fleet in the attack on New Carthage and command of the Roman cavalry at Zama contributed to Scipio's victories. The march from Handel's setting, entitled Scipione, remains the regimental slow march of the British Grenadier Guards. He received the name Numantinus for his reduction of Spanish Numantia (133 BC). Sardinia, The Aetolians and Achaeans Support the Epirotes, Teuta Agrees to Pay Tribute to and The Sicilians were quite opposed to this servitude to a foreign occupier (Sicily being under Roman control only since the First Punic War), and protested vigorously. Scipio was welcomed back to Rome in triumph with the agnomen of Africanus. There was a belief that he was a special favourite of heaven and actually communicated with the gods. line to jump to another position: Robert B. Strassler provided support for entering this text. None of Scipio's descendants, apart from Scipio Aemilianus—his wife's nephew who became his adoptive grandson—came close to matching his political career or his military successes. Hannibal did have a trained pool of soldiers who had fought in Italy, as well as eighty war elephants. [citation needed] This high-handed act shamed the prosecution, and it appears that the case against Lucius was dismissed, though Lucius would again be prosecuted, and this time convicted, after the death of Scipio. Spain, Rome's Reaction to the Fall of Scipio pressed the Senate for permission to cross into Africa. Skillful alike in strategy and in tactics, he had also the faculty of inspiring his soldiers with confidence. [14] Scipio turned Sicily into a camp for training his army. [27] This episode was frequently depicted by painters of the Renaissance and early modern era as the Continence of Scipio. The most significant influence on Scipio’s character was his friendship with the Greek... Military and political achievements. What remains are accounts of his doings in Polybius, Livy's Histories (which say little about his private life), supplemented with the surviving histories of Appian and Cassius Dio, and the odd anecdote in Valerius Maximus. Hannibal could boast a strength of around forty thousand: 36,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry, compared to Scipio's 29,000 infantry and 6,100 cavalry. Scipio Africanus the Younger Background and early life. -192, Antiochus in Arabia, B.C. Saguntum, Treaties between Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (/ˈskɪpioʊ/, /ˈsɪ-/, Latin: [ˈskiːpioː]; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and later consul who is often regarded as one of the best military commanders and strategists of all time. The Roman historian Valerius Maximus, writing in the first century AD, alleged that Scipio Africanus had a weakness for beautiful women, and knowing this, some of his soldiers presented him with a beautiful young woman captured in New Carthage. Scipio refused to accept demands for him to become perpetual consul and dictator. While the security of Rome was guaranteed by demands such as the surrender of the fleet, and a lasting tribute was to be paid, the strictures were sufficiently light for Carthage to regain its full prosperity. Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Coincidentally, his great rival Hannibal died in Bithynia in the same year or shortly thereafter, also an exile (albeit far from his native city and not by his own decision), pursued and harassed to the end by Romans such as Titus Quinctius Flamininus. Polybius emphasized two aspects of Scipio's character, his personal morality and his generosity. Scipio intended to go to Africa, but due to the envy of others in the Senate, he was not given any additional troops beyond the Sicilian garrison. Others cite the Roman soldiers' appetite for plunder as preventing him from rallying in pursuit. and Carthage Continue to Covet Sardinia and to Ptolemy, Philopoemen in the Carthage, and especially Hannibal himself, had long relied upon these superb natural horsemen, who would now fight for Rome against Carthage. Syracuse, Examples of Actions Contrary to Principles, Hannibal Treats Different Cities in Different Ways, Greece Italy, Roman Camps Designed for Facility and Familiarity, The Cretan Constitution Compared to the Spartan, The Glorious Memory of Brave Men Kept Alive, Religion Keeps the Roman Commonwealth Together, Conclusion: Dangers Ahead for At the election of a new proconsul for the command of the new army which the Romans resolved to send to Hispania, Scipio was the only man brave enough to ask for this position, no other candidates wanting the responsibility, considering it a death sentence. His greatest military achievement was the defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama (near modern Zama, Tunisia) in 202 BC. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh. He was born the younger son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, the conqueror of Macedonia, and fought when he was 17 years old by his father's side at the Battle of Pydna, which decided the fate of Macedonia and made northern Greece subject to Rome. Less beneficially, the Scipios may have led the way in the inevitable chasm that grew up between the Roman elite and the Roman masses, in terms of the way the elite was educated and lived and in the amount of wealth they possessed. Unlike Marius or Caesar, however, he did not seek to use his charisma and reputation to weaken the Republic. Sparta, Machatas Proposes Foreign War to Quell Domestic Strife, Flow of the ("Agamemnon", "Hom. The couple had no children, and Sempronia grew to hate her husband after he condoned the murder of her brother Tiberius in 132 BC. The Aetolians and Illyrians Invade Achaia, Why the Ancient Arcadians Turned to Music, Differences of Opinion Among the Lacedaemonians, the King Decides Not to Punish This humanitarian act encouraged local chieftains to both supply and reinforce Scipio's small army. Scipio Nasica Serapio, although Pontifex Maximus was sent to Asia Minor by the Senate to escape the wrath of the Gracchi supporters, and died mysteriously there in Pergamum, and is believed to have been poisoned by an agent of the Gracchi. a. Scipio Nasica rose to many of the dignities enjoyed by his late father-in-law, and was noted for his staunch (if ultimately futile) opposition to Cato the Censor over the fate of Carthage from about 157 to 149 BC. As a speaker he seems to have been no less distinguished than as a soldier. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and later consul who is often regarded as one of the best military commanders and strategists of all time. At the same time, Hannibal Barca and his army were recalled to Carthage, and despite the moderate terms offered to Carthage by Scipio, Carthage suddenly suspended negotiations and again prepared for war. For their father covenanted to give each of his two daughters a marriage portion of fifty talents. Livy describes this belief as it was perceived then, without offering his opinion as to its veracity. In addition, many elephants were goaded harmlessly through the loose ranks by the velites and other skirmishers. 210-206. Drepana, Hamilcar Besieges the Romans at [19] By reminding the people that it was the anniversary of his victory at Zama, he caused an outburst of enthusiasm in his favour. He died probably in 183 BC (the actual year and date of his death is unknown) aged about 53. Scipio's conquest of Carthaginian Iberia culminated in the Battle of Ilipa (near Alcalá del Río, Spain) in 206 BC against Hannibal's brother Mago Barca. Spain, Antiochus Moves from He became consul (abdicating or resigning in 162 BC for religious reasons, then being re-elected in 155 BC), censor in 159 BC, Princeps Senatus, and died as Pontifex Maximus in 141 BC. Euphrates In the 2000 film Gladiator, the first battle in the Colosseum is meant to re-enact Scipio Africanus's battle of Zama against Hannibal's barbarian horde. In the 2006 television film Hannibal, he is portrayed by British actor Shaun Dingwall, notably at the battles of Cannae and Zama. For his victory he won the surname Africanus (201 BC). Scipio managed to receive support from both Syphax and Massinissa. He was the eldest son of the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio by his wife Pomponia, daughter of plebeian consul Manius Pomponius Matho. The article details Polybius' borrowing from Calisthenes and other sources in order to create his literary portrait of Scipio Africanus, based on descriptions of Alexander the great. Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Numidia was of vital importance to Carthage, supplying both mercenaries and allied forces. Rome He returned the woman to her fiancé, along with the money that had been offered by her parents to ransom her. Scipio Africanus had two sons. The Roman infantry had driven off the two front lines of the Carthaginian army, and in the respite took an opportunity to drink water. After the battle, with the other consul surviving elsewhere, Scipio and Appius Claudius Pulcher, as military tribunes, took charge of some 10,360 survivors. Roman losses are uncertain but may have been considerable in light of an effort by the infantry to scale an elevation defended by Carthaginian light infantry. Scipio is the hero of Petrarch's Latin epic Africa. translator. ", "Scipio Africanus, Publius Cornelius, (The Elder) (237–183 BC), son of Publius Cornelius Scipio", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scipio_Africanus&oldid=1019093859, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from June 2020, All articles needing additional references, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2012, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica – son, married Licinia Crassa Prima, daughter of, Lucius Licinius Crassus Scipio –younger son, adopted by his grandfather, Cornelia Scipionis – daughter, married Publius Cornelius M. f. Lentulus, This page was last edited on 21 April 2021, at 13:51. The Gracchi brothers championed land redistribution in order to boost the ranks of potential Roman soldiers, as Roman soldiers needed to own land to be enfranchised for service in the legions and the number of Roman land owners was withering. Aemilia is not known to have had sisters. Womanly virtue. Scipio features as a playable character, represented by a cataphract, in the Battle of Zama in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. At some point, he is said to have promised his father to continue the struggle against Carthage all his life, showing similar dedication to that of his enemy, Hannibal. Scipio intended to go to Africa, but due to the envy of others in the Senate, he was not given any additional troops beyond the Sicilian garrison. They were very happily married, according to Livy, Polybius, and other classical historians. , B.C. In the year 199 BC, Scipio was elected Censor and for some years afterwards he lived quietly and took no part in politics. Roman victory was complete, and the long war ended; Scipio granted comparatively lenient terms to Carthage and to Hannibal personally. , in Iberia, and in fact all the achievements in his life, I think it necessary to direct my readers' attention, to begin with, to his moral and mental qualities. Publius Scipio, in the course of an active career in an aristocratic state, secured such popularity with the multitude and such credit with the Senate, that when Character of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, whose death Polybius places in this year, but according to Livy wrongly, who assigns it … Greece Scipio Africanus's eldest grandson Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio became consul in 138, murdered his own cousin Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (163–132 BC) in 132. Histories. Placentia, A General Must Know his Enemy's Character, Fertility and Beauty of the Plains Near , and Prusias Treaties, Polyrrhen and Scipio was a man of great intellect and culture who could speak and read Greek, wrote his own memoirs in Greek and became also noted for his introduction of the clean shaven face fashion among the Romans according to the example of Alexander the Great. 212, Beasts of Burden Used as a Defensive Wall, The Spoils of On his return to Hispania, Scipio had to quell a mutiny at Sucro which had broken out among his troops. Scipio is also mentioned in Machiavelli's work The Prince (Chapter XVII "Concerning Cruelty And Clemency, And Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared"). In this way, Scipio created a trained nucleus of cavalry for his African campaign. The Roman infantry was greatly rattled by the elephants, but Massinissa's Numidian and Laelius' Roman cavalry began to drive the opposing cavalry off the field. : Philip V. Called In Against the Aetolians, The First Punic War; Plan of the First Two Books, Misrepresentations of Philinus and Fabius, The Roman Fleet Sails for Sparta, Apelles Repeats his Accusation to Aratus Before Philip, The Situation in the Summer of B. C. Having served with these men at Cannae, Scipio was well aware that their disgrace was through no fault of their own. Raphael's painting Vision of a Knight is thought to be a depiction of Scipio. Of these, Polybius was the closest to Scipio Africanus in age and in connections, but his narrative may be biased by his friendship with Scipio's close relatives and that the primary source of his information about Africanus came from one of his best friends, Gaius Laelius. moderation] of Scipio' was a stock motif in exemplary literature and art,[30] as was the 'Dream of Scipio', portraying his allegorical choice between Virtue and Luxury. Sparta [4][5], Scipio joined the Roman struggle against Carthage in the first year of the Second Punic War when his father was consul. 9.1", "denarius"). Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License, Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text, http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.perseus-eng1:10.2, http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.perseus-eng1, http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001, http://data.perseus.org/catalog/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.perseus-eng1. "[29], Metellus Scipio, a descendant of Scipio, commanded legions against Julius Caesar in Africa until his defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in 49 BC. After suffering a major defeat at Cannae, the Roman armies under the direction of Publius Cornelius Scipio (Scipio Africanus) traveled to Africa and prepared for the Battle of Zama. 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