CART 
fiorfe, recroiTed tliC liver, and flew to the affiftance of his 
countrymen. Coming up with the Carthaginians who 
kept them inverted, he fell upon them with fuch deter¬ 
mined bravery, that, in fpite of all oppofition, he opened 
a way for his fellow-foldiers to efcape. On his return to 
the army, his companions, who had given him over for 
loft, carried him to the Roman camp in triumph. The 
war in Africa now falling by lot to the direction of the 
conful L. Calpurnius Pifo, he continued to employ yEmi- 
lianus in feveral important enterprises, in which he was 
attended with great fuccefs. He took feveral cattles ; 
and, in one of his excurfions, found means to have a pri¬ 
vate conference with Phanreas, a general under Afdru- 
bal, and brought him over, with 2200 of his horfe, to 
the Roman intereft. Under Pifo himfelf, however, the 
Roman arms were unfuccefstul. He inverted Clupea ; 
but was obliged to abandon the enterprife, with tire lots 
of a great number of men. After this lie laid liege to 
Hippagrcto, which employed the Roman fleet and army 
the whold Cummer ; and, on the approach of winter, he 
retired to Utica, without performing a Angle adtion worth 
notice during the whole campaign. 
The next year Scipio vEmilianus was chofen conful, 
and ordered to pal's into Africa; where, upon his arrival, 
the face of affairs was greatly changed. At the time of 
bis entering the port of Utica, 3500 Romans were in dan¬ 
ger of being cut in pieces before Carthage. They had 
f'eized Megalia, one of the fuburbs of the city : but, being 
clofely inverted by the enemy’s troops, the praetor Man- 
cinus, who commanded this detachment, feeing the dan¬ 
ger into which he had fallen, difpatched a boat to Utica, 
to acquaint the Romans with his (ituation. oEntilianus 
received this lettei* a few hours after his arrival; and im¬ 
mediately fetting off to their relief, obliged the Carthagi¬ 
nians to retire within their walls, and fafely conveyed his 
countrymen to Utica. He then drew together all the 
troops, and applied himfelf wholly to the fiege of the ca¬ 
pital. His firrt attack was upon Megalia; which h.e car¬ 
ried by aftault, the Carthaginian garrifon retiring into the 
citadel of Byrfa. Afdrubal, who had commanded the 
Carthaginian forces in the field, and was now governor of 
the city,'was fo enraged at the lofs of Megalia, that he 
caufed all the Roman captives taken in the two years the 
war had larted, to be brought upon the ramparts, and 
thrown headlong, in the fight of the Roman army, from 
the top of the wall ; after having, with unheard-of cru¬ 
elty, commanded their hands and feet to be cut off, and 
their eyes and tongues to be torn out. fEnfilianus, un¬ 
moved, was bufy in drawing lines of circumvallation 
acrofsthe neck of land which joined the ifthmus on which 
Carthage rtood, to the continent. By this means, ail the 
avenues on the land fide of Carthage were (hut up, and the 
city could receive no provifions that way. His next care 
was to raife a mole in the fea, in order to block up the 
old port, the new one being already fhut up by the Ro¬ 
man fleet ; and this great work he effected with incredible 
labour. The mole reached from the weftern neck of land, 
of which the Romans were matters, to the entrance of the 
port ; and was ninety feet broad at the bottom and eighty 
at the top. The befieged, when the Romans firrt began 
this immenfe work, laughed at the attempt ; but were no 
lefs alarmed than furprifed, when they beheld this vaft 
fabric arifing above tire water, and by that means the port 
rendered inacceflible to fliips, and quite ufelefs. Urged 
by defpair, however, the Carthaginians, with aftonifbing 
ji'iduftry, dug a new bafon, and cut a paffage into the fea, 
by which they could receive provifions lent them by their 
troops in the field. With the fame diligence and expedi¬ 
tion,, they fitted out a fleet of 50 veflels, which, to the 
great furprife of the Romans, appeared fuddenfy advanc¬ 
ing into the fea through this new canal, and even ven¬ 
tured to give the enemy battle. The action lafled the 
whole day, with little advantage on either fide. The day 
following, the conful endeavoured to make himfelf maf- 
ierof a terrace which covered the city on the fide next 
5 
H A G E. 
851 
the fea ; and on this occafion the Carthaginians fignalized 
themfelves in a mort remarkable manner. Great num¬ 
bers of them, naked and unarmed, went into the water in 
the dead of night, with unlighted torches in their hands ; 
and having, partly by fwimming, and partly by wading, 
got within reach of the Roman engines, they ftmek fire, 
lighted their torches, and threw them with fury againrt the 
machines. The hidden appearance of thefe naked men, 
who looked like fo many monffers (farting out of the fea, 
fo terrified the Romans who guarded the machines, that 
they retired in the utmort confufion. The conful, who 
commanded tlu> detachment in.perfon, and had continued 
all night at the foot of the terrace, endeavoured to flop 
his men, and even ordered thofe who fled to be killed. 
But the Carthaginians, taking advantage of the confufion 
they were in, fet fire 10 the machines, and entirely con- 
fumed them. This, however, did not difeourage the con¬ 
ful : he renewed the attack a few days after, carried tlie 
terrace by aflault, and lodged 4000 men upon it. As this 
was an important port, .Emilianus took care to fortify and 
fecure it againrt the tallies of the enemy ; and then, winter 
approaching, he flifpended all further attempts upon the 
city till the return of good weather. During the winter, 
however, the conful was not inactive. The Carthagi¬ 
nians had a numerous army under the command of Dio¬ 
genes, ftrongly encamped near Nepheris, whence provi¬ 
fions were lent by fea to the befieged, and brought into 
the new bafon. To take Nepheris, therefore, was to de¬ 
prive Carthage of her chief refources. This iEmilianus 
undertook, and fucceeded in the attempt. He forced 
the enemy’s entrenchments, put 70,000 of them to the 
fword, and made 10,000 prifoners ; all the inhabitants of 
the country, who could not retire to Carthage, having 
taken refuge in this camp. After this he laid fiege to 
Nepheris, which was reduced in twenty-tw’o days. Af¬ 
drubal being difheartened by the defeat of the army, and 
touched with the mifery of the belieged, now reduced to 
the utmoft extremity for want of provifions, ottered to 
fubmit to what conditions the Romans pleafed, provided 
the city was fpared ; but this was pofitively refufed. 
Early in the fpring, yEmilianus renewed the liege of 
Carthage ; and, in order to open away into the city, he 
ordered Ltelius to attempt the reduction of Cotho, a fmall . 
ifland which divided the two ports. yEmilianus in perfon 
made a falfe attack on the citadel, in order to draw the 
enemy thither. This rtratagem fucceeded ; and Latins, 
with incredible celerity, having fealed the walls of the 
fortrefs which the Carthaginians had built to defend Co- 
tho, made himfelf matter of that important port. The 
proconful no fooner found, by the fhouts of the troops of 
Laelius, that he had made himfelf matter of Cotho, than 
he abandoned the falfe attack, and unexpectedly fell on 
the neighbouring gate of the city, which he broke down, 
notwithrtanding the (bowers of darts that were incefiantly 
difeharged upon his men from the ramparts. Night 
coming on, prevented him from proceeding farther; yet 
he made a lodgment within the gate, and waited there 
for the return of day, with a defign to advance to the ci¬ 
tadel, and attack it on that fide which was but weakly 
fortified. Purfuant to this defign, at day-break, he or¬ 
dered 4600 frefti troops to be lent from his camp; and, 
folenmfy fwearing to conquer or die.,, he advanced to the 
market-place, on his way to the citadel. The houfes on 
both fides were very high, and filled with Carthaginians, 
who overwhelmed the Romans as they advanced with 
darts and flones; lo that they could not proceed till they 
had cleared them. To-this end /Emilianus in perfon, at¬ 
tacked the firrt houfe, and made himfelf matter of it fword 
in hand. His example was followed by the officers and 
foldiers, who went from houfe to houfe, putting all they 
met with to the fword. As foon as the houfes were clear¬ 
ed on both Tides, the Romans advanced to the. citadel ; 
but met with a vigorous reflrtance from the Carthagi¬ 
nians, who on this occalion behaved with uncommon re- 
folation. From the market-place to the citadel, two bo¬ 
dies i 
