Battle of Nepheris (149 BC)
Part of Siege of Carthage of the Third Punic War
Date 149 BC Location Nepheris, South of Carthage 36°36′54.382″N 10°22′59.045″E / 36.61510611°N 10.38306806°E / 36.61510611; 10.38306806 Result Carthaginian victory[1]
Belligerents
Roman Republic	Carthage
Commanders and leaders
Manius Manilius Scipio Aemilianus	Hasdrubal the Boetharch
Casualties and losses
500 men
class=notpageimage| Location within Tunisia

The Battle of Nepheris is a military clash that took place in 149 BC during the Third Punic War.^[2][3][4]

During the Battle of Carthage in 149 BC, a clash took place near the town of Nepheris on the Qued Bon Abid River. Here, Roman troops under the command of Consul Manilius clashed with the field army of Hasdrubal.

As the Romans were besieging Carthage, Manius Manilius (consul of the Romans) marched against Nepheris (the mountain fortress held by Hasdrubal, a Carthaginian general).^[5] Accompanying him were almost all of his military tribunes, including Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus.^[6] Scipio of all the officers present at the battle was the only one to object to this course of action, in particular, to the dangers inherent in fighting in difficult terrain against troops who were familiar with that terrain.^[7] Upon reaching Nepheris and coming to a halt approximately 600 yards from the location of Hasdrubal's forces, Scipio again recommended that they withdraw from battle and that they should prepare to establish a fortified camp should they need to retire from the area. Manilius ignored Scipio's warnings and the recommendations of other officers and continued to advance toward Hasdrubal's position.^[8]

While the Romans engaged Hasdrubal's forces, both armies suffered considerable numbers of casualties from combat before Hasdrubal's forces retreated to their own camp.^[9][10] Once the Romans were exposed on the battlefield, Manilius ordered his troops to withdraw across the river, in response.^[11] While the Roman troops were crossing back over the river, Hasdrubal re-attacked them from an extremely vulnerable position, resulting in even greater losses to the Roman forces than those suffered during the entire day of combat.^[12] In order to relieve some of the pressure being placed on the Romans by the attack of Hasdrubal's troops during their withdrawal, Scipio led a party of 300 cavalry and combat servicemen.^[13][14] He organized his cavalry into two separate units using a three-company structure. The continuous attacks ultimately compelled the Punic forces to turn against their antagonists, thereby permitting the Roman infantry to complete their escape. After the battle, the consul's defeated troops returned to the camp.^[15][16]

These were now gathered on the crest of a hill and surrounded by Carthaginians. Scipio immediately selected some squadrons of cavalry and rushed to their aid. Once these reinforcements reached the location of the fighting, they seized some high ground adjacent to the trapped infantry. The enemy troops quickly understood that they were at risk of a mounted attack, abandoned the siege and returned to Nepheris. The four cohorts were then able to escape.^[17]