681:, accompanied by twenty-two men, deserted Curio's camp and made their way to Varus. They told him that Curio's troops were deeply unhappy with their commander, and that he should attempt to win them over prior to battle. Varus agreed with this strategy and the following morning, he assembled his troops and led them out of their camp. Curio followed suit. The two armies were separated by a valley some 70 metres (230 ft) in width, between the town and a morass, with Curio's right flank and Varus's left touching by the morass. Varus's brother, Sextus Quintilius Varus, a senator, emerged from Varus's troops and urged Curio's troops not to fight for their commander, but to join their own side. The troops listened in silence, and Varus returned to his camp, with Curio again doing the same. That day, with Curio's men contemplating abandoning their commander, Curio summoned his officers to seek their advice. Some counselled Curio to attack immediately, before mutiny could break out. Others suggested that he wait and let Varus come to him, giving his soldiers time to calm themselves down. Curio rejected both sets of advice and decided to talk to the men directly. Ordering his troops to line up, he reminded them of their oaths to Caesar, and that they had acclaimed him Imperator. By the time he was done, his troops had been brought around to supporting him, and all mutterings subsided.
698:
operations and start crossing the valley. Eventually Varus ordered the
Numidian cavalry, with support from lightly armed auxiliaries, to cross the valley. As they proceeded, Curio sent in his cavalry, supported by two cohorts, and they launched themselves at Varus's advancing troops. The Numidian cavalry, already having been beaten two days before, turned around and fled. The auxiliaries in turn were surrounded and slaughtered where they stood. At this point Curio's legate, Gaius Caninius Rebilus, turned to Curio and urged him to take the opportunity and press his advantage. Reminding his men of the oaths they had taken the day before, Curio led the charge. Crossing the valley and scrambling up the enemy embankment, Curio discovered that Varus's men had broken and run. Chasing after them, many of Varus's troops were trampled to death by their own men in their haste to flee, while others were killed by Curio's men. Many never stopped until they reached the town of Utica. Varus was so completely demoralised that he withdrew almost his entire army into the town, leaving only a trumpeter and a few tents behind to keep up appearances. The end result was Varus lost some 600 men, while another 1,000 were wounded; Curio's own tally of injured came to 100.
690:
37:
674:. The next day he ordered his forces to march towards Utica, but instead of heading towards the Castra Cornelia which he had spied out for his camp, he decided to take the offensive and placed himself on a ridge to the south-west of the town. His soldiers were still preparing their camp when patrols reported seeing large Numidian reinforcements on their way, King Juba having sent them to reinforce Varus's position. When they came into view, Curio, who had not bothered to send out scouts, started showing signs of nervousness. He urgently sent out his cavalry to impede the Numidian advance, while he impatiently recalled his legionaries from the trenches and began to line them up in battle formation. His cavalry engaged the Numidians who, approaching in a disorganized fashion, were caught unawares and were dispersed with heavy losses. Before Curio could send his legions in, the Numidian cavalry had escaped from the slaughter, and quickly made their way into the town.
661:, situated on a hill to the west of the town. From that position he was able to assess Varus's camp, which was situated next to the town, with his further side protected by Utica's north-eastern wall, while his nearer side was protected by the sea and an outdoor theatre, ensuring that his camp could only be approached by a narrow passage. Turning south, he noticed a stream of fugitives fleeing to the safety of Utica's walls, and he decided to attack the crowds to instil panic. This forced Varus to send 1,000 Numidian troops (600 cavalry and 400 soldiers) to their rescue. The two forces clashed and the Numidians, unused to close quarters fighting, were repulsed, losing 120 men in the process, as the remainder of the troops retreated to the town.
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The next day it was Curio who led his men out for battle, with Varus following. They lined up their troops as they had the day before, on either side of the valley. Although the sides of the valley were only about seven feet high, they were quite steep, so each army waited for the other to commence
664:
Next, Curio, observing that some 200 ships containing the supplies for Varus's army lay unprotected in Utica's harbour, and that his fleet was already in position, decided to take possession of the supplies. He ordered the captains of the vessels to remove their cargoes and place them on the shore,
711:
of Utica, with the intent of starving the town into submission. Varus was approached by the leading citizens of the town, who begged him to surrender and spare the town the horrors of a siege. Varus, however, had just learned that King Juba was on his way with a large force, and so reassured them
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on April 23, 49 BC to join Pompey in the east. With the opposition in Sicily suppressed with no fighting, Curio decided to remain there, wanting to hear of developments in Spain before committing himself to the
African campaign. It was not until early August that Curio, leaving half his forces in
551:
under the command of Gaius
Scribonius Curio to deal with the Pompeian forces there. Prior to Curio's departure, this force was supplemented by an additional legion and 1,000 Gallic cavalry. As Curio had little experience in war, he appointed a trusted military subordinate,
712:
that with Juba's assistance, Curio would soon be defeated. Curio heard similar reports and abandoned the siege, making his way to the Castra
Cornelia. False reports from Utica about Juba's strength caused him to drop his guard, leading to the
587:, had not yet arrived. Varus had previously been the Propraetor of Africa some years before, and now decided to take possession of the province in Pompey's name. Using his local knowledge, and the local connections built up through his
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In the confusion of the battle, Curio was urged to take the town before Varus could regroup, but he held himself back, as he did not have the means at hand to undertake an assault of the town. The next day however, he began to form a
593:, he managed to raise two legions. When Tubero finally appeared off Utica to take up his post, Varus drove him off and forced him to leave. To further cement his position in Africa, Varus relied on the support of
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36:
539:. Instead of pursuing them, Caesar decided to deal with the Pompeian forces holding important western provinces. So in March 49 BC, while he himself marched to
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next to where Curio was planning to make his camp. After threatening to kill them, they complied and promptly set sail after they had emptied their holds.
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531:. Having pushed through Italy in an attempt to reach Pompey and detach him from the Republican leadership, he was unable to prevent them taking ship at
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After ordering his fleet to sail to Utica, Curio began his march there around the gulf. Within three days he had reached the southern bank of the
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605:, whose father owed his position to Pompey, while Juba himself had a personal grudge against Curio, because, as
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503:. Curio defeated the Pompeians and Numidians and drove Varus back into the town of Utica.
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609:, Curio had once proposed a law that would have converted Numidia into a Roman province.
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Returning victorious to his camp on the
Bagradas, the legions acclaimed him as
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who were determined to destroy him, under the military leadership of
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during Caesar's march through Italy, had made his way to
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15,000+ (3 legions + unknown number of
Numidian allies)
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Rubicon: The
Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
575:. He found the province in a state of limbo, as the
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741:The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire
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491:and Pompeian legionaries commanded by Publius
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616:, forcing out a leading Republican senator,
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35:
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743:, Vol III, Oxford University Press, 1923
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175:10,000+ (2 legions + 500 Gallic cavalry)
16:49 BC battle, part of Caesar's civil war
612:In the interim, Curio had crossed into
1023:
649:Map showing Curio's campaign in Africa
234:
1036:Battles involving the Roman Republic
873:Holmes, pgs. 95-96; Holland, pg. 318
793:John Leach, Pompey the Great, p.183
165:Numidian light infantry and cavalry
13:
14:
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563:By this point Africa was held by
515:in January 49 BC, he plunged the
633:, disembarked at Thonara Bay at
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885:
876:
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858:
750:, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939
499:and foot soldiers sent by King
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837:
814:
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778:
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727:Caesar’s Civil War, 49 – 44 BC
693:The second phase of the battle
361:Caesar's invasion of Macedonia
221:Location within modern Tunisia
1:
1041:Battles of Caesar's civil war
853:The Cambridge Ancient History
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506:
41:The first phase of the battle
714:Battle of the Bagradas River
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443:Caesar's invasion of Africa
163:3 unknown Optimates' legions
7:
725:Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith,
10:
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567:, who, after fleeing from
729:, Osprey Publishing, 2002
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677:The following night, two
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129:
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45:
34:
26:
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160:Gallic auxiliary cavalry
85:37.057944°N 10.0625972°E
513:crossing of the Rubicon
345:Macedonia and Illyricum
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650:
641:Preliminary operations
625:Sicily, embarked from
554:Gaius Caninius Rebilus
489:Gaius Scribonius Curio
140:Gaius Caninius Rebilus
136:Gaius Scribonius Curio
130:Commanders and leaders
784:Holland, pgs. 316-317
692:
648:
543:, he sent thirty-one
183:Casualties and losses
90:37.057944; 10.0625972
775:Holland, pgs 312-313
748:The Roman Revolution
218:class=notpageimage|
145:Publius Attius Varus
959:Goldsworthy, pg. 42
864:Goldsworthy, pg. 40
820:Goldsworthy, pg. 41
618:Marcus Porcius Cato
483:was fought between
81: /
843:Holmes, pgs. 10-11
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481:Caesar's Civil War
264:Caesar's civil war
29:Caesar's Civil War
893:Fighting For Rome
891:Henderson, John,
739:Holmes, T. Rice,
523:with a clique of
501:Juba I of Numidia
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104:Caesarian victory
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113:Belligerents
73:37°03′28.6″N
620:, who fled
487:'s general
479:(49 BC) in
371:Dyrrhachium
88: /
1025:Categories
755:References
679:centurions
577:propraetor
533:Brundisium
507:Background
405:Alexandria
292:Brundisium
118:Caesarians
702:Aftermath
671:Imperator
627:Lilybaeum
595:King Juba
590:clientela
521:civil war
395:Nicopolis
381:Pharsalus
319:Tauroento
287:Corfinium
158:Legio XVI
121:Pompeians
635:Cape Bon
622:Syracuse
541:Hispania
439:Bagradas
170:Strength
156:Legio XV
58:Location
27:Part of
720:Sources
599:Numidia
569:Auximum
545:cohorts
457:Thapsus
452:Ascurum
447:Ruspina
351:Curicta
334:Corduba
324:Carteia
282:Rubicon
124:Numidia
685:Battle
614:Sicily
558:legate
549:Africa
537:Epirus
529:Pompey
428:Africa
422:Apamea
376:Gomphi
366:Oricum
356:Tauris
309:Ilerda
101:Result
1031:49 BC
573:Utica
519:into
434:Utica
339:Lauro
329:Munda
298:Spain
276:Italy
191:1,600
63:Utica
53:49 BC
601:, a
475:The
417:Zela
410:Nile
50:Date
597:of
188:100
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989:^
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716:.
637:.
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560:.
254:e
247:t
240:v
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