Numantia: Ancient Rome's Vietnam

These are the ruins of Numantia. For two decades, this small town in northern Spain defied the might of the Roman Republic. It took one of Rome's finest generals, at the head of an army 60,000 strong, to finally subdue the Numantines. Today's video will explore how they resisted so long. The stage for Rome's struggle with Numantia was set in the wake of the Second Punic War, when the victorious Roman Republic established a permanent presence in Spain. Two provinces were created, one centered in what is now Andalusia, the other covering most of modern Valencia and Catalonia. Almost immediately, conflict broke out with the Celtic-speaking peoples of the central plateau. A series of Roman governors campaigned against them, hoping to win a triumph, if not new territories. Some of the fiercest fighting was in the mountainous northeast, dominated by a loose confederation of tribes known as the Celtiberians. The most powerful Celtiberian tribe, the Aravaki, controlled the stronghold of Numantia. According to the Roman historian Appian, the population of Numantia was only about 8,000. The settlement stood on a hill bounded by two rivers, accessible only by a single well-defended road. The walls, nearly a mile and a half in circumference, were made of massive boulders, and the defenders, as the Romans would discover, were almost insanely courageous. The first round of conflict between the Romans and the Celtiberians ended with a peace brokered by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. When fighting resumed a generation later, the Aravaki and Numantia were at the center of the action. In 153 BC, the consul Quintus Fulvius Nobilior advanced on Numantia with 30,000 legionaries and allies, bolstered by a detachment of Numidian horsemen and 10 elephants. As soon as the Romans came within range, they were subjected to a withering barrage of arrows and stones. A stone struck one of the elephants, which began to run amok. In the midst of the chaos, the Numantians attacked. The Romans fled, leaving 4,000 dead on the field. A decade later, the Aravaki took up arms again. Quintus Pompeius marched on Numantia with 30,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, determined to starve the city into submission. As he attempted to establish siege lines, however, the Numantians sallied out repeatedly, killing hundreds of Roman soldiers. Thousands more succumbed to dysentery and exposure as the harsh mountain winter closed in. Pompeius's successor was also defeated by the Numantians. So was the next governor, Hostilius Mancinus, whom the Numantians managed to trap in a remote mountain valley. To save his army, Mancinus agreed to a humiliating peace. The Senate refused to recognize it and decreed that Mancinus himself was to be left, naked and shackled, outside the gates of Numantia. Not long ago, I came down with a serious sinus infection. I needed medical advice, but my primary care doctor had no appointments available for weeks. I couldn't wait that long, so I turned to ZocDoc, this video's sponsor. ZocDoc allows you to search and compare local, in-network doctors. With more than 150,000 providers, there are plenty of options, and the ZocDoc website features detailed doctor profiles and patient reviews to help you choose. You can then book visits with a single click. I was able to find an appointment for the following day and was prescribed the antibiotics that cleared up my infection. ZocDoc is free, easy, and a great way to prioritize your health. So don't delay. Follow the link in the description or visit ZocDoc.com slash Totenstone to book your appointment today. Returning to our topic, after two decades of victories over Roman armies, the Numantians had attained an almost mythical reputation. Only one general was deemed capable of taking the invincible Spanish town, Scipio Aemilianus, the conqueror of Carthage. In 134 BC, Scipio arrived in Spain to command an army of 60,000 men, reinforced by a detachment of Numidians under the soon-to-be-infamous Jugurtha. Finding the troops in Spain demoralized and ill-disciplined, Scipio, Appian tells us, expelled all the soothsayers and sex workers, took away the soldiers' beds and mules, and led a series of forced marches. These measures, remarkably, are said to have improved morale. Scipio established seven camps on the hills around Numantia, linking them with five miles of ditches and walls. Three hundred catapults were distributed along the defenses. At the first sign of a sally, the soldiers stationed along a threatened section were to raise a signal—a red flag by day, a beacon at night—to summon reinforcements. To prevent the Numantians from bringing provisions or reinforcements along the main river below the town, Scipio built a knife-studded log boom that spun lethally in the current. The Numantians probed Scipio's defenses but were unable to break out. One cloudy night, a small group managed to neutralize several sentries, set up a mobile ramp, and lead horses over the siege wall. They galloped to other strongholds of the Aravaki, begging for help. One neighboring settlement was on the point of sending a relief force when Scipio became aware of the danger. Surrounding the town, he threatened to sack it unless the ringleaders of the incipient revolt were surrendered. When they were, Scipio cut off their hands and returned to Numantia. The siege dragged on for nine months. As their food ran out, the Numantians ate grass, licked boiled hives, and finally turned to cannibalism. At last, when their numbers had been reduced to a few thousand, they asked Scipio for terms. Informed that they would have to surrender unconditionally, many took their own lives. The Romans found the survivors ragged and filthy, their eyes, Appian claims, haunted by the knowledge that they had tasted human flesh. Scipio reserved fifty Numantians for his triumph. The rest were sold into slavery. The walls and buildings of the town were demolished and spoils divided among the soldiers. The town was so poor that each man received only seven denarii, a week's wages for a cavalryman. Decades after Scipio's siege, a Roman town rose over the ruins of Numantia. Though never large, it had the usual amenities. A forum, paved streets, a theater, baths. The wealthier citizens lived in fine townhouses with tile roofs and colonnaded courtyards. Unlike its Celtiberian predecessor, this settlement seems to have died quietly, vanishing around the time of the Arab conquest. The site of Numantia, however, was not forgotten. Since the early modern period, when Miguel de Cervantes wrote a famous tragedy about the city's fall, Numantia has been seen as the Spanish Masada, a national symbol of heroic resistance to tyranny. Every regime that has ruled or contested the country over the past two centuries has laid claim to the Numantians. The two modern monuments that stand on the site are visible reminders that this aspect of the Roman past is more than ancient history. Next April, I am leading a tour of Tunisia's spectacular Roman ruins. If you'd like to join me at the Acropolis of Carthage, the amphitheater of El Jem, the Forum of Duga, and a host of other iconic sites, follow the link in the description. My new book, Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults, is now available in print and audio formats. Find it on Amazon, linked below, or wherever you buy books. On the Tolden Stone Patreon, also linked below, I'm releasing a series exploring the historical accuracy of HBO's hit series Rome. And don't forget about my other two channels, Tolden Stone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching!