Publius Cornelius Scipio
Encyclopedia
Publius Cornelius Scipio (died 211 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic
.
A member of the Cornelia
gens
, Scipio served as consul
in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War
, and sailed with an army from Pisa
to Massilia (today Marseille), with the intention of arresting Hannibal's advance on Italy
. Failing to meet his enemy he returned to Cisalpine Gaul
by sea, and sent his army on to Hispania
under the command of his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus
with instructions to hold the Carthaginian forces there in check.
On his return to Italy, he advanced at once to meet Hannibal. In a sharp cavalry
engagement near the Ticinus
, a tributary of the Po
river, he was defeated and severely wounded. In December of the same year he again witnessed the complete defeat of the Roman army at the Trebia
, when his fellow consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus
insisted on fighting against his advice.
Despite the military defeats, he still retained the confidence of the Roman people: his term of command was extended and the following year found him in Hispania with his brother Calvus, winning victories over the Carthaginians and strengthening Rome's position in the Iberian peninsula. He continued the Iberian campaigns until 211, when he was killed in the defeat of his army on the upper Baetis
river by the Carthaginians and Indibilis and Mandonius
's tribemen. That same year Calvus and his army were destroyed at Ilorci near Carthago Nova. The details of these campaigns are not completely known, but it seems that the ultimate defeat and death of the two Scipiones was due to the desertion of the Celtiberian
s, who were bribed by Hasdrubal Barca
, Hannibal's brother.
The son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio
, he was the father of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
(the elder), and of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
.
----
A later Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Scipio Africanus the elder and Aemilia Paulla, and grandson of the consul of 218 BC, was the adoptive father of Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
. This latter Scipio served as praetor
in 174 BC.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
.
A member of the Cornelia
Cornelia
Cornelia is a feminine given name. It is a feminine form of the name Cornelius. Nel or Nelly can be used as a shortened version of Cornelia...
gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
, Scipio served as consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
, and sailed with an army from Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
to Massilia (today Marseille), with the intention of arresting Hannibal's advance on Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Failing to meet his enemy he returned to Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
by sea, and sent his army on to Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
under the command of his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus was a Roman general and statesman.His father was Lucius Cornelius Scipio, son of the patrician censor of 280, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus. His younger brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio, father of the most famous Scipio – Scipio Africanus...
with instructions to hold the Carthaginian forces there in check.
On his return to Italy, he advanced at once to meet Hannibal. In a sharp cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
engagement near the Ticinus
Battle of Ticinus
The Battle of Ticinus was a battle of the Second Punic War fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio in November 218 BC. The battle took place in the flat country of Pavia county on the right bank of the Ticino River not far north from its...
, a tributary of the Po
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
river, he was defeated and severely wounded. In December of the same year he again witnessed the complete defeat of the Roman army at the Trebia
Battle of the Trebia
The Battle of the Trebia was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic in December of 218 BC, on or around the winter solstice...
, when his fellow consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus
Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)
Tiberius Sempronius Longus was a Roman consul during the Second Punic War and a contemporary of Publius Cornelius Scipio. In 218 BC, Sempronius was sent to Africa with 160 quinqueremes to gather forces and supplies, while Scipio was sent to Iberia to intercept Hannibal...
insisted on fighting against his advice.
Despite the military defeats, he still retained the confidence of the Roman people: his term of command was extended and the following year found him in Hispania with his brother Calvus, winning victories over the Carthaginians and strengthening Rome's position in the Iberian peninsula. He continued the Iberian campaigns until 211, when he was killed in the defeat of his army on the upper Baetis
Battle of the Upper Baetis
The Battle of the Upper Baetis was fought in 211 BC between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca and a Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus. The immediate result was a Carthaginian victory in which both Roman brothers were killed...
river by the Carthaginians and Indibilis and Mandonius
Indibilis and Mandonius
] Indibilis and Mandonius were chieftains of the Ilergetes , an ancient Iberian people of the Iberian Peninsula. Polybius speaks of the brothers as the most influential and powerful of the Spanish chieftains in that time period. Livy calls one of the chieftains of the Ilergetes "Indibilis",...
's tribemen. That same year Calvus and his army were destroyed at Ilorci near Carthago Nova. The details of these campaigns are not completely known, but it seems that the ultimate defeat and death of the two Scipiones was due to the desertion of the Celtiberian
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
s, who were bribed by Hasdrubal Barca
Hasdrubal Barca
Hasdrubal was Hamilcar Barca's second son and a Carthaginian general in the Second Punic War. He was a younger brother of the much more famous Hannibal.-Youth and Iberian leadership:...
, Hannibal's brother.
The son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio
Lucius Cornelius Scipio (consul 259 BC)
Lucius Cornelius Scipio , consul in 259 BC during the First Punic War was a consul and censor of ancient Rome. He was the son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, himself consul and censor, and brother to Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina, himself twice consul...
, he was the father of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
(the elder), and of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
Scipio Asiaticus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was a Roman general and statesman. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the older brother of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus...
.
----
A later Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Scipio Africanus the elder and Aemilia Paulla, and grandson of the consul of 218 BC, was the adoptive father of Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus , also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and politician of the ancient Roman Republic...
. This latter Scipio served as praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 174 BC.
See also
- Scipio-Paullus-Gracchus family treeScipio-Paullus-Gracchus family treeThe Scipio-Paullus-Gracchus family tree includes the Roman Scipio, Paullus and Gracchus families.See also: List of family trees...