Battle of the Upper Baetis

Battle of the Upper Baetis
Part of the Second Punic War
Date 211 BC Location Near Upper Baetis (modern-day Guadalquivir) River, Spain Result Carthaginian victory
Belligerents
Carthage	Roman Republic
Commanders and leaders
Hasdrubal Barca Mago Barca Hasdrubal Gisco	Publius Cornelius Scipio† Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†
Strength
Total: 48,500, 35,000 infantry, 3,000+ cavalry, 3,000 Numidians, 7,500 Iberian tribals,	Total: 53,000, 30,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 20,000 Celt-Iberian mercenaries
Casualties and losses
Unknown	About 22,000

The Battle of the Upper Baetis was a double battle, comprising the battles of Castulo and Ilorca, fought in 211 BC during the Second Punic War between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal's brother) and a Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus. The immediate result was a Carthaginian victory in which both Roman brothers were killed. Before this defeat, the brothers had spent seven years (218BC - 211BC) campaigning in Hispania, which had limited the resources available to Hannibal, who was simultaneously fighting the Romans in Italy.

This double battle also represents the only Carthaginian victory in a major land battle during the Second Punic War in which Hannibal was not in command of the Carthaginian armies.

After the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca in the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC, the Romans had secured their bases north of the Ebro. They then proceeded to win over some Iberian tribes, raid Carthaginian lands south of the Ebro, with Publius Scipio raiding as far as Saguntum in 214 BC. Both the Romans and Carthaginians faced and put down Iberian tribal revolts. The Scipios received no reinforcement from Italy, where Hannibal Barca had the Romans hard pressed.

Meanwhile, Hasdrubal had been reinforced by two armies, led respectively by his younger brother, Mago Barca, and Hasdrubal Gisco. These armies fought several indecisive battles with the Scipio brothers during 215-211 BC. The Scipios had persuaded Syphax, a Numidian king, to open hostilities against Carthage with a Roman trained army in 213 BC. On the whole, the situation in Iberia was stable enough for Hasdrubal Barca to shift his attention to Africa in 213/212 BC in order to put down this rebellion. Hasdrubal Barca returned to Iberia in late 212 BC, bringing with him 3,000 Numidians under Masinissa, the future king of Numidia.

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