A Mauretanian garrison's surprise sally repulsed Pompey the Younger's coastal raid, indirectly triggering Mauretanian intervention that reshaped the final phase of Caesar's Civil War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 46 BC
- Pompey's force size
- approximately 2,000 troops
- Outcome for Pompey
- Routed, fled to the Balearic Islands
- Garrison tactic
- Sudden sally after allowing close approach
- Context
- Caesar's Civil War, anti-Caesarian phase in Africa
- Subsequent Pompeian fate
- Many captured or killed after Battle of Thapsus
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following defeats in Greece and Africa, surviving Pompeians regrouped at Utica. Cato's rebuke of Pompey the Younger for inaction spurred him to prove himself. Viewing Mauretania as a threat to Pompeian operations in the region, Pompey decided to attack its coast with a small expeditionary force of around 2,000 men.
Pompey the Younger landed on the Mauretanian coast and advanced toward the town of Ascurum. The garrison allowed his force to approach the walls before launching a sudden, aggressive sally. Caught by surprise and possibly outnumbered, Pompey's men broke and fled back to their ships, suffering a sharp defeat against the local defenders.
Shamed by the defeat, Pompey fled to the Balearic Islands rather than return to Utica. The battle galvanized Mauretania to ally with Publius Sittius and invade Numidia. After Caesar's victory at Thapsus, the Mauretanians blocked the westward escape of fleeing Pompeians, capturing or killing many. Pompey the Younger eventually reached Spain and died at the Battle of Munda.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Pompey the Younger.