It was in a way very similar to this that Hannibal had commenced his war with
Rome, by seeking first a quarrel with a Roman ally. Hannibal, it is true, had commenced his aggressions at Saguntum, in Spain. Hasdrubal begins in
Numidia, in Africa, but, with the exception of the difference of geographical locality, all seems the same, and Hasdrubal very probably supposed that he was
about to enter himself upon the same glorious career which had immortalized his
great ancestor's name.
There was another analogy between the two cases, viz., that both Hannibal and
Hasdrubal had strong parties opposed to them in Carthage in the incipient stages of their undertakings. In the present instance, the opposition had been violently suppressed, and the leaders of it sent into banishment; but still the elements remained, ready, in case of any disaster to Hasdrubal's arms, or any other occurrence tending to diminish his power, to rise at once and put him down.
Hasdrubal had therefore a double enemy to contend against: one before him, on
the battle-field, and the other, perhaps still more formidable, in the city behind him.
Battle with Masinissa.
Defeat of the Carthaginians.
The parallel, however, ends here. Hannibal conquered at Saguntum, but
Hasdrubal was entirely defeated in the battle in Numidia. The battle was fought
long and desperately on both sides, but the Carthaginians were obliged to yield, and they retreated at length in confusion to seek shelter in their camp. The battle
was witnessed by a Roman officer who stood upon a neighboring hill, and looked down upon the scene with intense interest all the day. It was Scipio—the
younger Scipio—who became afterward the principal actor in the terrible scenes
which were enacted in the war which followed. He was then a distinguished officer in the Roman army, and was on duty in Spain. His commanding general
there had sent him to Africa to procure some elephants from Masinissa for the use of the army. He came to Numidia, accordingly, for this purpose, and as the
battle between Masinissa and Hasdrubal came on while he was there, he remained to witness it.
The younger Scipio.
A spectator of the battle.
This second Scipio was not, by blood, any relative of the other, but he had been adopted by the elder Scipio's son, and thus received his name; so that he was, by adoption, a grandson. He was, even at this time, a man of high consideration among all who knew him, for his great energy and efficiency of character, as well as for his sound judgment and practical good sense. He occupied a very singular position at the time of this battle, such as very few great commanders have ever been placed in; for, as he himself was attached to a Roman army in Spain, having been sent merely as a military messenger to Numidia, he was a neutral in this contest, and could not, properly, take part on either side. He had, accordingly, only to take his place upon the hill, and look down upon the awful
scene as upon a spectacle arranged for his special gratification. He speaks of it as if he were highly gratified with the opportunity he enjoyed, saying that only two such cases had ever occurred before, where a general could look down, in such a
way, upon a great battle-field, and witness the whole progress of the fight, himself a cool and disinterested spectator. He was greatly excited by the scene and he speaks particularly of the appearance of the veteran Masinissa, then eighty-four years old, who rode all day from rank to rank, on a wild and impetuous charger, without a saddle, to give his orders to his men, and to encourage and animate them by his voice and his example.
Negotiations for peace.
Scipio made umpire.
Hasdrubal retreated with his forces to his camp as soon as the battle was over, and intrenched himself there, while Masinissa advanced with his army,
surrounded the encampment, and hemmed the imprisoned fugitives in. Finding himself in extreme and imminent danger, Hasdrubal sent to Masinissa to open
negotiations for peace, and he proposed that Scipio should act as a sort of umpire or mediator between the two parties, to arrange the terms. Scipio was not likely to be a very impartial umpire; but still, his interposition would afford him, as Hasdrubal thought, some protection against any excessive and extreme
exorbitancy on the part of his conqueror. The plan, however, did not succeed.
Even Scipio's terms were found by Hasdrubal to be inadmissible. He required that the Carthaginians should accord to Masinissa a certain extension of territory.
Hasdrubal was willing to assent to this. They were to pay him, also, a large sum of money. He agreed, also to this. They were, moreover, to allow Hasdrubal's banished opponents to return to Carthage. This, by putting the party opposed to
Hasdrubal once more into power in Carthage, would have been followed by his
own fall and ruin; he could not consent to it. He remained, therefore, shut up in his camp, and Scipio, giving up the hope of effecting an accommodation, took the elephants which had been provided for him, and returned across the Mediterranean to Spain.
Hasdrubal surrenders.
Terms imposed by Masinissa.
Soon after this, Hasdrubal's army, worn out with hunger and misery in their camp, compelled him to surrender on Masinissa's own terms. The men were allowed to go free, but most of them perished on the way to Carthage. Hasdrubal
himself succeeded in reaching some place of safety, but the influence of his party was destroyed by the disastrous result of his enterprise, and his exiled enemies being recalled in accordance with the treaty of surrender, the opposing party were immediately restored to power.
Carthaginian embassy to Rome.
Under these new councils, the first measure of the Carthaginians was to impeach
