Siege of Numantia

Siege of Numantia
Part of the Numantine War

Numancia, Alejo Vera y Estaca, 1881
Date134 – 133 BC, lasting either eight or sixteen months
Location
Result Roman-Numidian victory
Belligerents
Roman Republic
Kingdom of Numidia
Celtiberians
Commanders and leaders
Scipio Aemilianus
Jugurtha[1]
Avarus 
Strength
20,000 legionaries
40,000 allies and mercenaries
4,000 militia
Casualties and losses
Unknown All defenders killed by their own hand
Whole city destroyed

The Celtiberian oppidum of Numantia was attacked more than once by Roman forces, but the siege of Numantia refers to the culminating and pacifying action of the long-running Numantine War between the forces of the Roman Republic and those of the native population of Hispania Citerior. The Numantine War was the third of the Celtiberian Wars and it broke out in 143 BC. A decade later, in 133 BC, the Roman general and hero of the Third Punic War, Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, subjugated Numantia, the chief Celtiberian city.

  1. ^ Sallust. "The Jugurthine War". p.7. (ed. John Selby Watson), Tufts Perseus Digital Library.