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After Carthage was defeated in the First Punic War, foreign soldiers who had fought in the Carthaginian army in Sicily started a mutiny to demand their pay. The Carthaginian-dominated North African cities seized the opportunity to rebel against Carthage.
Context
While Carthage was at war against Rome in Sicily, the Carthaginian general Hanno the Great led several military campaigns to extend the Carthaginian territory in Africa. In order to finance the war effort, he imposed a drastic taxation on the cities and regions under Carthaginian control: they were forced to give half of their agricultural production as a war tax. Those measures would even cause famines in certain regions.
The Carthaginian army was made mostly of foreign fighters, as Carthaginian citizens only fought in case of a direct threat against the city of Carthage. Most fighters were North African Libyans and Numids, with also a few Iberians and Gauls.
At the end of the First Punic War, the Carthaginian army in Sicily was made of around 20.000 men, who were evacuated to Carthage. The city still owed them several months of unpaid wages, which they expected to be paid immediately at their arrival in Carthage. When the Carthaginian authorities tried to negotiate a lower payment, they revolted.
When the news spread, the Libyans and Numids who had been suffering under Carthaginian domination for centuries saw in this rebellion an opportunity to win back their freedom. An army of 70.000 men from all over North Africa joined the first rebels.
The leaders of the rebel army were Spendius, a former Roman slave; Matho, a Libyan soldier; and Autaritus, a Gallic mercenary leader.
The Mercenary War (241-238)
The first rebel undertaking was the blockade of the cities of Utica and Hippo Diarrhytos (Bizerte), two Carthaginian allies. The Carthaginian response was led by Hanno the Great.
At the beginning of 240, Hanno the Great forced the blockade of Utica and triumphantly entered the city. His army was still celebrating their victory when the rebels counter-attacked and expelled them from the city. For the rest of the year, they would fight the rebels sporadically, without winning a significant victory.
Because of Hanno the Great’s repeated failures, Carthage raised another, smaller army, commanded by Hamilcar Barca (the last commander of the Carthaginian troops in Sicily and the father of Hannibal Barca). His army fought to the West and the South of Carthage. Hamilcar and Hanno were officially co-commanders, but they did not collaborate. While Hanno was uncompromising with the rebels, Hamilcar showed himself to be more diplomatic, promising amnesty to the rebel leaders who joined him and ready to make concessions in favor of the rebel cities. This enabled him to bring several cities back to their allegiance to Carthage without using force.
The Numidian chief Naravas (a brother of Gaia, the father of Massinissa), who had fought alongside Hamilcar in Sicily and admired him for his bravery, broke with the rebels and joined the Carthaginian army with his 2.000 horsemen. To avoid other defections, the rebel army tortured 700 Carthaginian prisoners to death, including general Gisco, who signed the peace treaty with Rome in Sicily. Hamilcar reacted by killing all the prisoners. After these massacres, the hatred between both sides was so strong that no compromise was any longer possible.
In early 239, the Carthaginian garrisons in Sardinia also rebelled and killed the Carthaginian governor of the island. The troops that were sent to reconquer the island joined the rebellion and killed the remaining Carthaginian population.
The next hard blow for Carthage was when Utica and Hippo Diarrhytus joined the rebellion, between March and September 239. The Uticans offered their city to Rome, bur Rome refused, as they were not ready for another war against Carthage.
During the same year, Hamilcar and Hanno’s armies were reunited, but the two generals disagreed on which strategy to follow. According to Carthaginian custom, the army voted to decide who would be their commander, and Hamilcar was elected.
In early 238, the rebels were forced to lift the siege of Carthage and draw back to Tunis. Soon afterwards, at the Battle of the Saw, Hamilcar managed to ambush part of the rebel army in a mountain pass, where they were all killed, crushed under the feet of the Carthaginian war elephants. This battle would play a decisive role in the final victory.
After this battle, Hamilcar besieged Tunis, the headquarters of the rebellion, but a rebel attack at night forced him to lift the siege.
During this time, the Carthaginian Senate negotiated a reconciliation between Hamilcar and Hanno. The two generals agreed to serve together. The rebels, aware that they would not be able to resist an united Carthaginian army, fled Tunis to Leptis Parva (Lemta, close to Monastir), one of the first rebel cities. The Carthaginian army pursued them. The final battle was fought in late 238: all the remaining rebel fighters were killed. This was the end of the rebellion.
The last remaining rebel cities immediately sought an agreement with Carthage. The last ones would be Utica and Hippo Diarrhytus, as they feared reprisals for their treason.
Aftermath
In Sardinia, the indigenous populations rose up against the rebel troops in 237 and expelled them from the island. The rebels fled to the continent, and called on Rome for help. This time, Rome agreed to intervene, and took control of Sardinia and Corsica. Carthaginian resentment due to the Roman conquest of Sardinia would strongly contribute to the resumption of war between Rome and Carthage.
The Mercenary War inspired the historical novel Salammbô, by French writer Gustave Flaubert.
