Battle of Cornus
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cornus, or Caralis took place when a Carthaginian
army sailed to Sardinia
in support of a Sardinian revolt against Roman
rule. The army, led by Hasdrubal the Bald, fought a similar size Roman army under Praetor
Titus Manlius Torquatus
in the Fall of 215 BC
somewhere between Cornus and Caralis. The Romans destroyed the Carthaginian army and then scattered their fleet in a sea battle south of Sardinia.
, with several South Italian cities deserting to Carthage
. Hannibal Barca and his army were active in Campania, while a second Carthaginian army under Hanno the Elder
had become active in Bruttium
. The Romans fielded several armies, which avoided attacking Hannibal but struck at his allies whenever possible.
In Iberia
, Hasdrubal Barca
, brother of Hannibal, had been fighting skirmishes with the Scipio
brothers since his defeat in the Battle of Ebro River
. In 216 BC, the Carthaginian Senate sent him reinforcements with orders to march to Italy
. In Africa
, Mago Barca was put in command of an army of 12,000 infantry, 1,500 horse and 20 elephants with orders to join Hannibal.
The Romans had fought off and on with the natives since obtaining Sardinia through blackmail in 237 BC. By 216 BC, the situation in the island was ripe for revolt. The single Roman legion
posted there was understrength from sickness. The praetor, Q. Mucius Scavola
, was also sick. Payment and provisions from Rome
were irregular. Hampsicora, a native Sardinian chieftain, had asked for aid from Carthage. Carthage sent an officer named Hanno to finance the revolt and then raised an army similar to that of Mago's for an expedition to Sardinia. Hasdrubal the Bald and another Mago was in charge of the expedition.
Before the Carthaginian expedition sailed for Sardinia, the strategic situation changed. Hanno the Elder was defeated by Titus Sempronius Longus
in Lucania
, and Hasdrubal Barca lost most of his field army in the Battle of Dertosa
in Iberia. The Carthaginian senate ordered Mago to Iberia, but the Sardinian expedition sailed as planned. However, a storm blew the fleet off course to the Balearic islands
, where many ships had to be hauled ashore and repaired (Livy xxiii 36, Lazenby J.F p96-98). This delayed the arrival of the Carthaginians to Sardinia.
on the western coast of Sardinia). The delay of the Carthaginians gave the Romans the opportunity to send fresh forces under the praetor Titus Manlius Torquatus, who had served as consul in Sardinia in 235 BC
. Total Roman forces in Sardinia rose to 20,000 infantry and 1,200 horse with his arrival.
Manlius managed to draw Hiostus, the son of Hampsicora to rashly attack the Romans when Hampsicora was absent on a recruiting mission. In the ensuing battle, 5,700 Sardinians were killed and the rebel army scattered.
Hasdrubal the Bald arrived in Sardinia in the fall of 215. He landed near Cornus, and gathered what forces of Sardinians he could find, and marched towards Caralis. In response Manlius marched out with an army.
The armies formed up traditionally, with cavalry on the wings and infantry in the center. It is not known if the Carthaginians had elephants with them. The battle was hotly contested for four hours, with neither side gaining an advantage. The decisive moment came when the Roman detachment facing the Sardinians on one of the wings of the Carthaginian line managed to drive them from the field. The victorious Roman wing then wheeled inward and attacked the Carthaginian line, which gave way and was slaughtered. Hasdrubal, Mago and Hanno were captured and Hiostus killed. Hampsicora fled the field, and then committed suicide. The survivors took refuge in Cornus, which was taken by assault a few days later. The Punic fleet managed to extricate some of the survivors.
s. These took the remnants of the expedition and sailed to Africa. On the way they encountered the Sicilian contingent of the Roman fleet returning from a raiding mission in Africa. The Roman fleet, 100 quinquereme strong and commanded by Titus Ocatilius Crassus, attacked and captured seven Carthaginian ships, while the rest scattered and made for Africa. Roman losses are not known (Livy xiii 46).
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
army sailed to Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
in support of a Sardinian revolt against Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
rule. The army, led by Hasdrubal the Bald, fought a similar size Roman army under Praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
Titus Manlius Torquatus
Titus Manlius Torquatus (235 BC)
Titus Manlius Torquatus, son of Titus , was Roman Republican consul 235 BC and 224 BC, censor 231 BC, and dictator 208 BC.-Family background:...
in the Fall of 215 BC
215 BC
Year 215 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus/Marcellus/Verrucosus and Gracchus...
somewhere between Cornus and Caralis. The Romans destroyed the Carthaginian army and then scattered their fleet in a sea battle south of Sardinia.
Strategic Situation
The Romans were hard pressed after the Battle of CannaeBattle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
, with several South Italian cities deserting to Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. Hannibal Barca and his army were active in Campania, while a second Carthaginian army under Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Elder was a Carthaginian general who served under Hannibal during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Livy, his track record was terrible: in 215 BC he was defeated by Tiberius Sempronius Longus at Grumentum, in 214 BC he was defeated by Gracchus at Beneventum, two years...
had become active in Bruttium
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. The Romans fielded several armies, which avoided attacking Hannibal but struck at his allies whenever possible.
In Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, Hasdrubal Barca
Hasdrubal Barca
Hasdrubal was Hamilcar Barca's second son and a Carthaginian general in the Second Punic War. He was a younger brother of the much more famous Hannibal.-Youth and Iberian leadership:...
, brother of Hannibal, had been fighting skirmishes with the Scipio
Scipio (cognomen)
Scipio is a Roman cognomen representing the Cornelii Scipiones, a branch of the Cornelii family. Any individual male of the branch must be named Cornelius Scipio and a female Cornelia. The nomen, Cornelius, signifies that the person belongs to the Cornelia gens, a legally defined clan composed of...
brothers since his defeat in the Battle of Ebro River
Battle of Ebro River
Battle of Ebro River was a naval battle fought between a Carthaginian fleet of approximately 40 quinqueremes under the command of Himilco and a Roman fleet of 55 ships under Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus near the mouth of Ebro River in the spring of 217 BC...
. In 216 BC, the Carthaginian Senate sent him reinforcements with orders to march to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Mago Barca was put in command of an army of 12,000 infantry, 1,500 horse and 20 elephants with orders to join Hannibal.
The Romans had fought off and on with the natives since obtaining Sardinia through blackmail in 237 BC. By 216 BC, the situation in the island was ripe for revolt. The single Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
posted there was understrength from sickness. The praetor, Q. Mucius Scavola
Quintus Mucius Scaevola (praetor 215 BC)
Quintus Mucius Scaevola was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was made praetor in 215 BC, and became governor of Sardinia, a post that was extended twice, first for two years, and then for another year....
, was also sick. Payment and provisions from Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
were irregular. Hampsicora, a native Sardinian chieftain, had asked for aid from Carthage. Carthage sent an officer named Hanno to finance the revolt and then raised an army similar to that of Mago's for an expedition to Sardinia. Hasdrubal the Bald and another Mago was in charge of the expedition.
Before the Carthaginian expedition sailed for Sardinia, the strategic situation changed. Hanno the Elder was defeated by Titus Sempronius Longus
Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)
Tiberius Sempronius Longus was a Roman consul during the Second Punic War and a contemporary of Publius Cornelius Scipio. In 218 BC, Sempronius was sent to Africa with 160 quinqueremes to gather forces and supplies, while Scipio was sent to Iberia to intercept Hannibal...
in Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, and Hasdrubal Barca lost most of his field army in the Battle of Dertosa
Battle of Dertosa
The Battle of Dertosa, also known as the Battle of Ibera, was fought in the spring of 215 BC on the south bank of the Ebro River across from the town of Dertosa. A Roman army, under the command of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus and Publius Cornelius Scipio defeated a similarly sized Carthaginian...
in Iberia. The Carthaginian senate ordered Mago to Iberia, but the Sardinian expedition sailed as planned. However, a storm blew the fleet off course to the Balearic islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
, where many ships had to be hauled ashore and repaired (Livy xxiii 36, Lazenby J.F p96-98). This delayed the arrival of the Carthaginians to Sardinia.
Prelude
Hampsicora was busy raising an army and collecting provisions near the city of Cornus (near CuglieriCuglieri
Cuglieri is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 120 km northwest of Cagliari and about 42 km north of Oristano....
on the western coast of Sardinia). The delay of the Carthaginians gave the Romans the opportunity to send fresh forces under the praetor Titus Manlius Torquatus, who had served as consul in Sardinia in 235 BC
235 BC
Year 235 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Bulbus...
. Total Roman forces in Sardinia rose to 20,000 infantry and 1,200 horse with his arrival.
Manlius managed to draw Hiostus, the son of Hampsicora to rashly attack the Romans when Hampsicora was absent on a recruiting mission. In the ensuing battle, 5,700 Sardinians were killed and the rebel army scattered.
Hasdrubal the Bald arrived in Sardinia in the fall of 215. He landed near Cornus, and gathered what forces of Sardinians he could find, and marched towards Caralis. In response Manlius marched out with an army.
The battle
The opponents did not immediately engage with each other. They encamped close to each other and spent some days skirmishing. When neither sides gained any advantage, the respective commanders decided on battle.The armies formed up traditionally, with cavalry on the wings and infantry in the center. It is not known if the Carthaginians had elephants with them. The battle was hotly contested for four hours, with neither side gaining an advantage. The decisive moment came when the Roman detachment facing the Sardinians on one of the wings of the Carthaginian line managed to drive them from the field. The victorious Roman wing then wheeled inward and attacked the Carthaginian line, which gave way and was slaughtered. Hasdrubal, Mago and Hanno were captured and Hiostus killed. Hampsicora fled the field, and then committed suicide. The survivors took refuge in Cornus, which was taken by assault a few days later. The Punic fleet managed to extricate some of the survivors.
Battle of Sardinia Sea
The expedition was carried by an unknown number of transports and escorted by 60 quinqueremeQuinquereme
From the 4th century BC on, new types of oared warships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, superseding the trireme and transforming naval warfare. Ships became increasingly bigger and heavier, including some of the largest wooden ships ever constructed...
s. These took the remnants of the expedition and sailed to Africa. On the way they encountered the Sicilian contingent of the Roman fleet returning from a raiding mission in Africa. The Roman fleet, 100 quinquereme strong and commanded by Titus Ocatilius Crassus, attacked and captured seven Carthaginian ships, while the rest scattered and made for Africa. Roman losses are not known (Livy xiii 46).
Aftermath and Importance
- The Sardinian rebel cities surrendered to the Romans, enabling Manlius to send part of the Roman forces back to ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. - The grain supply from Sardinia remained uninterrupted and the Carthaginian navy was denied bases nearer to Italy. With the damage to Roman agriculture, the protection of overseas grain supply was crucial.
- Aside from naval raids on Sardinia in 210 BC210 BCYear 210 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Laevinus...
, Carthage did not threaten Roman domination in Sardinia again. - While the Sicilian contingent of the Roman fleet was busy off Sardinia, The admiral of the main Punic fleet, BomilcarBomilcar (3rd century BC)Bomilcar was a Carthaginian commander in the Second Punic War.He was the commander of the Carthaginian supplies which were voted to Hannibal after the battle of Cannae , and with which he arrived in Italy in the ensuing year...
, managed to sail to Locri in Bruttium and land a force of 4,000 NumidiaNumidiaNumidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
n horse and 40 elephants for Hannibal. Given the fact that the lack of proper support from Carthage was one of the reasons for Hannibal’s failure, the impact of this reinforcement has not been properly explained (Lazenby, J.F, “Hannibal’s War”, p98).