4 – Scipio Closes the Show
Although Numantia was all but defeated, its inhabitants refused to surrender and so began a siege that lasted eight months in 134 BC. The defenders launched attacks on the Romans, but Scipio obsessively patrolled the perimeter of the blockade personally to ensure that no supplies or people could get in or out. Despite facing an iron ring, the Numantines continually sent small parties to try and break free. Meanwhile, people were dying in the city and supplies were practically non-existent. They were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive.
Eventually, a Numantine named Caraunius managed to kill Roman guards and break out of the city with five others. They rode to the towns of the Arevaci and begged for assistance against the Romans. Sadly for the Numantines, the Arevaci chiefs feared the Romans and sent the men away without giving their request a second thought. The wealthy town of Lutia, located around 55km from Numantia, had young inhabitants who sympathized with the besieged city but Lutia’s elders informed Scipio. He rode to the city, demanded that it gave up its traitors and Lutia complied. Around 400 men were sent to Scipio, so he cut off their hands and rode back to Numantia.
By now, the leader of Numantia, Avarus, realized the people would die if they did not surrender, so he requested an audience with Scipio and was accompanied by five ambassadors. He asked the Roman leader to show mercy and leniency if they surrendered. Scipio informed them that the city would have to surrender their weapons and place the city in his hands. Avarus returned with the news to the city, but the angry inhabitants accused him of collusion with the Romans and executed him and the five ambassadors.
Eventually, the city surrendered, but the majority of the survivors committed suicide rather than surrender to Rome. Without consulting the Senate, Scipio sold the rest of the Numantines into slavery after keeping 50 for himself and proceeded to burn the city to the ground in August 133 BC. It was remarkable that Numantia managed to keep Rome at bay for so long and it inflicted a number of embarrassing defeats on its much larger enemy. It took Rome’s best general and an army of 60,000 men to bring the conflict to an end finally. While it established Roman superiority in Spain, it also outlined the many weaknesses in the Roman army.
The Numantine War also showed that the Senate had failed to acknowledge the character of Spain. Attempting to conquer it with the sword proved a long and arduous process. The likes of Scipio Africanus, the Elder, Gracchus the Elder and Sertorius showed that sympathy and diplomacy was a better option. It wasn’t until the beginning of the First Century BC that the Roman army became a professional fighting unit with admirable discipline.