Battle of Cirta 203 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 203 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Algeria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Punic War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 36.3675, 6.6119 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cirta was fought in 203 BC between an army of largely Masaesyli Numidians commanded by their king Syphax and a force of mainly Massylii Numidians led by Masinissa, who was supported by an unknown number of Romans under the legate Gaius Laelius. It took place somewhere to the east of the city of Cirta (modern Constantine) and was part of the Second Punic War. The numbers engaged on each side and the casualties suffered are not known.
During the Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio expelled the Carthaginians from Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) in 206 BC. Scipio then contacted several Numidian leaders, who ruled North African territories to the west of those controlled by Carthage. Scipio failed to win over the Masaesyli Numidian king Syphax, who had previously fought the Carthaginians; but did persuade the Massylii Numidian prince Masinissa, whom he had fought against in Iberia, to defect to the Roman cause. Encouraged by the Carthaginians, Syphax overran Masinissa's lands and drove him into exile. In 204 BC the Romans, led by Scipio, invaded North Africa. Masinissa rode to support them with a small force. Syphax brought a large army to assist Hasdrubal Gisco's Carthaginians.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cirta (revision 1370437345), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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- Battle of Carteia (naval) 206 BC
- Battle of Ilipa 206 BC
- Battles of Kroton 204 BC
- Siege of Utica 204 BC
- Battle of Insubria 203 BC
- Battle of Utica (203 BC) 203 BC
- Battle of the Great Plains 203 BC
- Battle of Zama 202 BC
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