This was something of a veiled insult from certain jealous, powerful senators, as a posting to Sicily was generally seen as a punishment.
At just 31 and with Iberia under his belt, Scipio was elected Consul and awarded the Sicilian garrison. Scipio had achieved the foothold he needed to ultimately conquer Iberia. In a surprise assault, Scipio captured Nova Carthago, and afterward conducted himself and his men with such humanitarian candour that he won many local supporters. Impressed by the young Scipio’s determination and noble bearing, they approved. Scipio approached the Senate and stridently offered to lead an army into Iberia. However, when his father and uncle fell in battle against Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal in 211 BC, everything changed. Surviving the comprehensive Roman defeats at Ticinus, Trebia and Cannae, he learned much about Carthaginian tactics, often fighting alongside his father. Publius Scipio Cornelius Africanus is featured in Hannibal at the Gates Campaign Pack.īorn into the Scipio branch of Rome’s powerful Cornelia family in 236 BC, Scipio would come to be known by many names: Scipio Africanus, Scipio the Elder, Scipio The Great – but it would take a long war and many battles before he distinguished himself as the great hero of the Roman Republic.Įntering military service at a young age, he witnessed slaughter aplenty as Hannibal rampaged through Italy.
