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Mercenary War - Course of the Revolt
After the First Punic War concluded in 241 BC, Carthage demobilized its mercenary force in Sicily, and the soldiers were brought to Carthage to receive their discharge and final pay. Although the commander, Gisgo, sent the troops in batches to minimize the chances of disorder, payment was delayed by the Carthaginian government and eventually all the troops were brought together at Sicca 170 km south-west of the city. The combined force demanded payment, then advanced on Tunis, close to Carthage itself, to put pressure on the government.
Carthage relented and gave in to their demands, which in total exceeded the terms of their original contracts. Despite the more generous settlement, two mercenaries, Spendius and Matho, organized a rebellion, based on speculation that after the foreigners left Africa, Carthage would be unwilling, or simply unable, to pay those remaining. In 240 BC Gisgo and other officials were taken prisoner by the mercenary leadership and open warfare ensued.
The Libian population, discontent with Carthaginian rule, supported the rebels. Carthage still had some mercenaries from the group at Tunis, and was able to deploy the mercenaries still in Sicily and also hire fresh troops. Initially neither side had any clear advantage, and a mercenary siege of Utica, the largest Carthaginian city after Carthage itself, resulted in the Battle of the Bagradas River which ended in Carthage's favour. The conflict escalated when the mercenary leadership tortured and killed its Carthaginian prisoners. These atrocities were intended to prevent any possibility of a negotiated settlement, and in response the Carthaginians committed similar actions.
Hamilcar Barca, general from the campaigns in Sicily, was given supreme command, and eventually defeated the rebels in 237 BC. But the conduct of the war was barbaric even by the standards of the time. Polybius called it a 'truceless war', without any concept of rules of warfare and exceeding all other conflicts in cruelty, ending only with the total annihilation of one of the opponents.
Other related archives237 BC, 238 BC, 240 BC, 241 BC, 3rd century BC, Battle of the Bagradas River, Carthage, First Punic War, Gisgo, Gustave Flaubert, Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal, Hasdrubal, Hispania, Libian, Literature, Polybius, Popular Culture, Salammbô, Sardinia, Second Punic War, Sicily, Tunis, Utica, mercenaries, other works, siege, sphere of influence
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Course of the Revolt", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
