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Siege of Numantia | |||||||
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Part of the Numantine War | |||||||
![]() Numancia, Alejo Vera y Estaca, 1881 | |||||||
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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.