The defection of Naravas and his 2,000 Numidian cavalry turned a near-Carthaginian defeat into victory and escalated the Mercenary War into a notoriously merciless conflict.
Key Facts
- Date
- 240 BC
- War
- Mercenary War (241–238 BC)
- Defecting cavalry
- 2,000 Numidian horsemen under Naravas
- Carthaginian prisoners killed
- 700 tortured to death by Spendius
- Rebel commanders
- Spendius and Autaritus
- War ended
- Last rebel city surrendered 237 BC
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Carthage was engaged in the Mercenary War, which began in 241 BC when mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities rose against it. Hamilcar Barca's army had been maneuvering to recover rebel-held towns while a rebel force under Spendius shadowed him, avoiding open battle and harassing the Carthaginians from higher ground until they were trapped in a mountain valley.
With the Carthaginian army cornered in a mountain valley, Naravas defected to Hamilcar's side, bringing his 2,000 Numidian cavalry. This freed the Carthaginian line of retreat and allowed Hamilcar to deploy for open battle. Spendius chose to engage and was heavily defeated in hard fighting in what is now north-west Tunisia.
Fearing that Hamilcar's clemency toward prisoners had motivated the defection, Spendius had 700 Carthaginian captives tortured and killed. Carthage retaliated in kind, and from that point neither side granted mercy. The extreme brutality prompted historian Polybius to call the conflict the 'Truceless War.' The rebel army was finally crushed in 238 BC, with the last rebel city surrendering in 237 BC.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Hamilcar Barca, Naravas.
Side B
1 belligerent
Spendius, Autaritus.