The Carthaginian armies disperse in the interior …
Years: 209BCE - 209BCE
The Carthaginian armies disperse in the interior of Iberia in 209 BCE, possibly to maintain control over the Iberian tribes, on which they are dependent on for soldiers and provisions.
Scipio, landing at the mouth of the Ebro, is able to surprise and capture Carthago Nova (New Carthage), the headquarters of the Carthaginian power in Hispania, which had quickly grown as a trading and military post.
He obtains a rich cache of war stores and supplies, and an excellent harbor and base of operations.
Scipio's humanitarian conduct toward prisoners and hostages in Hispania helps in portraying the Romans as liberators as opposed to conquerors.
Livy tells the story of the capture of a beautiful woman by his troops, who offered her to Scipio as a prize of war.
Scipio was astonished by her beauty, but discovered that the woman was betrothed to a Celtiberian chieftain named Allucius.
He returned her to her fiancé, along with the money that had been offered by her parents to ransom her.
While Scipio was long known for his great chivalry, Scipio doubtless also realized that the Senate's first priority was the war in Italy, and in the midst of the Carthaginian base in Hispania, he was to be outnumbered without much hope of reinforcement.
It was paramount therefore that Scipio cooperate with local chieftains to both supply and reinforce his small army.
The woman's fiancé, who soon married her, naturally brought over his tribe to support the Roman armies.
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Years: 209BCE - 209BCE
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