Middle Roman Republic, Second Punic War: War in Spain [1/7]

When to Gnaeus ¹⁴Cornelius Scipio arrived in 218 BC, the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by Celts (known as Celtiberians to distinguish them from their cousins in Gaul) in the north, Lusitanians (Indo-European) in the west, and the Carthaginians in Gades (south) and their expansion through the territory of the Iberians (indigenous) in the south and east.

The war was to be fought in the south and east of Spain, i.e. the Mediterranean coast and its hinterland, in particular, the Ebro Valley in the northeast and the Baetis (=Guadalquivir) Valley in the southwest. These two valleys were linked by a coast road that passed through Saguntum and New Carthage.

After landing at the Greek city of Emporion on the northeast coast, Gnaeus marched south along the coast, winning over cities by diplomacy or force. At Cissa he defeated a Carthaginian force, capturing its commander Hanno (8) and the local chieftain Andobales. Following this victory many tribes north of the Ebro came over to Rome. He took Tarragona, and with northeast Spain as far south as the Ebro now secure for Rome he went into winter quarters in Tarragona.

In spring 217 BC ⁰⁵Hasdrubal Barca and his army set out from New Carthage northwards along the east coast, with his fleet of forty ships commanded by Himilco (3) sailing nearby alongside the shoreline. Hearing that Hasdrubal had left his winter quarters, Gnaeus sailed out to meet his enemy with a fleet of thirty-five vessels. He caught the Punic fleet at anchor in the mouth of the Ebro River, with its camp pitched on the bank. Unprepared and after a brief resistance the Carthaginians fled and beached their ships. The Romans tied ropes to the stern of all the ships that had not shattered their prows on impact with the shore and pulled them back into the water, capturing some twenty-five of the forty vessels. In a single almost effortless battle, the Romans had gained mastery of the entire seaboard. Hasdrubal meanwhile had withdrawn back into Lusitania, closer to the Atlantic.

Gnaeus could now move further southwards as his communications would be protected by sea. He was also strengthened by the arrival of his brother Publius ¹⁵Cornelius Scipio with twenty warships and eight thousand men. In autumn they crossed the Ebro and encamped near Saguntum. After this demonstration to impress the Iberian tribes, they withdrew to winter quarters north of the Ebro, having won over and garrisoned the northern towns Intibili and Iliturgi.