In the middle of the second century BC, in order to resist the rule of Rome, the people of various ethnic groups in Spain held many rebellions, known as the Spanish War. The war continued for 20 years and dealt a heavy blow to the Roman ruling class.
Rome expelled Carthaginian power in Spain and conquered almost all of Spain
Ancient Spain was a multi-ethnic region. The land is fertile and rich in natural resources, rich in gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and other minerals. The main ethnic groups there are the Lushtanians, the Klette Iberians, the Vitonians and the Kapitanians. At the end of the sixth century BC, when the carthaginian power penetrated deep into Spain, these peoples were still in the stage of clan society.
During the First Punic War, Roman forces also invaded Spain and engaged in a long-term battle with Carthage, and after the Second Punic War, Rome not only expelled Carthage's power in Spain, but also conquered almost all of Spain. Later, Rome made Spain a province and sent a viceroy to administer it. However, the central, western and northern parts of Spain were inhabited by warrior and free tribes. These hill tribes were extremely dissatisfied with the enslavement and oppression of the Romans and waged many indomitable struggles.
Second, the Lüshetanians in western Spain revolted
In 154 BC, the Lüshetanians in western Spain revolted, and the Iberians of Klette joined the uprising, which lasted for 4 years. In 150 BC, the Roman governor made peace with the local population by deception. However, when the Lüthanians laid down their arms, the Roman governor broke his promise and hunted down the rebels and sold them into slavery. If there is the slightest resistance, it is killed. This treacherous and ferocious and cruel act of the Roman governor provoked the incomparable anger of the local population and set off a larger rebellion throughout Spain.
The leader of this uprising was a shepherd named Veriasius. According to historical records, Veriasius was of high quality, brave and good at war, and was a resourceful general. Under his wise command, the rebels repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the Roman army.
In 141 BC, Rome was forced to sign a peace treaty with Veriatheus, recognizing him as King of Lyshetania. But after this treaty was signed, Rome did not keep its promise, but secretly bribed traitors and killed Veriasius one night. After the Revolt of the Lüshetanians was suppressed, the Klette Iberians continued to fight and repeatedly fought against the Invading Roman Army.
Third, the famous Conileas? Scipio went out again
The Klette Iberia is a mountain tribe in central Spain that is good at riding and shooting, and is known for its bravery and strength. In 143 BC, the Klette Iberians, centered on Numandia, sparked by the struggles of Veriatheus, set off a massive uprising.
The rebel army took advantage of the natural favorable terrain such as valleys and jungles, and adopted flexible and mobile tactics to attack the Roman invading army everywhere. The Senate changed managers several times in an attempt to salvage the defeat, but none of them worked. In 137 BC, the Numantians succeeded in luring the Roman consul Manunas and his army of more than 30,000 into a canyon and encircling them from all sides. Cornered, the consuls were forced to sign a peace treaty with the Numantians, promising to withdraw all their troops from Spain. Soon, Rome broke its promise and continued to wage war.
The long delay in the war cost Rome dearly. In particular, the successive defeats in the war, the morale of the troops was low, and the military discipline was lost; the roman camps of prostitutes, traders, soothsayers, and fortune tellers filled the Roman camps, and the lives of the soldiers were corrupted; and the legionnaires and colonels fought for power and profit, plotted against each other, and fell on each other. All this corruption troubled the Roman Senate. In order to change this unfavorable situation, the Senate once again elected the famous general Cornelius who conquered Carthage. Scipio was made consul and appointed commander of the expedition to Spain, hoping for an early end to the protracted war.
Scipio decided to attack Numandia first
Scipio certainly lived up to the trust of the Senate. In 134 BC, after arriving in Spain, he first reorganized his army. He ordered the expulsion of prostitutes, traders, soothsayers, and fortune tellers from the army; he retrained his soldiers, using arduous marches and fortifications to cultivate the will and spirit of hard-working soldiers; he rewarded and punished those who were timid or escaped from battle.
After the hard work of Sidycester, in a short period of time, the Roman army restored military discipline, the quality of combat also improved significantly, and he himself established his prestige among the generals. Tactically, Scipio has also changed his playing style in the past. At that time, Numandia was the center of the Klette Iberian uprising, and its combat effectiveness was relatively strong. In order to quickly suppress the rebel army, Scipio decided to attack Numandia first.
At the end of 134 BC, Scipio led a large army to advance towards the city of Numandia. The walls of Numandia are strong, the people in the city are brave and brave, and they are unyielding, and the Linluo River flows slowly along the city walls from north to south, which is a natural barrier. Scipio knew that breaking through such a strong wall would have to come at a heavy price. Therefore, he decided to besiege Numandia for a long time and finally force the enemy to submit.
Fifth, the siege of the enemy by the method of building a city, the amazing masterpiece of Scipio
In order to achieve this strategic goal, Scipio built 7 fortresses around the city walls, guarded by heavy troops. A trench was dug around the city and a fence was built on top. Outside the trench, a wall of 8 Greek feet wide and 10 Greek feet high was built. Above the city walls, a city tower was built every 100 Greek feet. In order to prevent the enemy from breaking through from the water, Scipio ordered his soldiers to build a fortress tower on each side of the Linluo River, and tied some thick wood full of sharp knives and spearheads to the fortress tower with rope, so that the wood floated on the surface of the water and swung with the rush of the river.
In this way, the enemy could not pass through whether from land or water. The siege of the enemy by means of city building may be rare in the world. However, in the case of the extreme backwardness of the siege machinery at that time, this method should be regarded as Scipio's amazing masterpiece, from which Scipio's military talents can be seen.
The Numantians were gradually cornered and forced to surrender
In early 133 BC, when the siege was gradually completed, Scipio surrounded the city with heavy troops. According to ancient Roman historians, the Romans put a total of 60,000 troops into this battle. Scipio besieged the city with half of his troops, half by his brother Maximas? Scipio led the conquest of other rebellious cities.
Scipio also placed catapults and other siege equipment on the tower. Catapults, archers, throwers, and light infantry stood guard the fortress's watchtowers, patrolling day and night to monitor the movements of the enemy in the city. If there is an enemy attack in the city, they will use signals to inform the neighboring troops so that they can support each other. During the day they raised red flags with spears; at night, they lit beacons. No matter where the enemy breaks through, they can fight the enemy back. In Siddiah's view. With such a method of siege, without foreign assistance, it will not take long for the enemy in the city to surrender without a fight.
However, the Numantians were not intimidated by powerful enemies. They are indomitable and insist on fighting. In order to obtain the assistance of nearby cities, they organized their forces several times to try to break through the enemy's defenses, but due to the strict defenses of the Romans, they were unsuccessful. Finally, they selected the 10 bravest young men, led by a man named Ledozheni, on a dark night, quietly touched the enemy's watchtower, killed the guards, jumped over the enemy's blockade line, and went to the nearby Aliwasi city-state for help. The Aliwasi feared reprisals from Scipio and did not dare to send troops to aid. So hope for help was dashed.
As the siege lengthened, the Numantians gradually fell into a desperate situation. According to the ancient Roman historian Appian, when the grain was eaten, they ate boiled leather, and even the tragic situation of people eating people. At the same time, due to the long siege, a terrible plague occurred in the city, and many people were killed by hunger and plague. After a 15-month siege, with no food and no reinforcements at home, the Numantians were forced to surrender.
According to historians, when Scipio entered the city and was surrendered, he saw a "strange and creepy scene", with corpses everywhere and a strange smell. Some of the surviving entrants had "expressions of pain and anger" in their eyes. This terrible scene made the conquerors shudder and could not be forgotten for a long time.