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siege, major, ancient

Siege of Carthage

Siege of Carthage was a siege conducted in 149 BC at Carthage, in what is now Tunisia; it lasted about 3 years. It was part of Third Punic War, which ran from 149 BC to 146 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 36,000–46,000 infantry; 4,000 cavalry against 30,000 soldiers; Large number of armed civilians (around 60,000).

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Siege of Carthage
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought149 BClasted about 3 years
WhereCarthage, Tunisia36.853N, 10.323E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstCarthage
Casualties and lossesUnknownand50,000 enslaved
Part ofThird Punic War149 BC to 146 BC

Where it sits in Third Punic War

Siege of Carthage, 149 BCFirst Battle of Nepheris, 149 BCBattle of Lake Tunis, 149 BCBattle of Lake Tunis, 149 BCBattle of the Port of Carthage, 147 BCSecond Battle of Nepheris, 147 BC149 BC147 BCSiege of Carthage, 149 BC
6 placed engagements of Third Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date149 BC (year precision)
to 146 BC
PlaceCarthage, Tunisia
36.853N, 10.323E
KindSiege, ancient
Strength36,000–46,000 infantry; 4,000 cavalry30,000 soldiers; Large number of armed civilians (around 60,000)
Casualties and lossesUnknown50,000 enslaved
Commanders
  • Scipio Aemilianus
  • Manius Manilius
  • Lucius Marcius Censorinus (consul 149 BC)
  • Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (consul 148 BC)
  • Hasdrubal the Boeotarch
Siege of CarthageSiege of CarthageBattle of CarthageBattle of TricamarumBattle of CarthageAction of May 1612Action of 29 June 1609Battle of CarthageSousseQairouanBizerteNabeulBéjaEl KefJendoubaSiliana100 km36.853N, 10.323E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Carthage
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Carthage today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-04. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 55 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -6 to 131 m, 138 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 45% built-up, 31% water, 10% grassland.

built-up: 45%water: 31%grassland: 10%tree cover: 8%cropland: 4%built-up 45%water 31%grassland 10%tree cover 8%cropland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 61 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 56 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 7 times between 149 BC and 1612.

In the same war

Siege of Carthage is one of 91 engagements of the 2nd century BC in the atlas and one of 119 in present-day Tunisia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q815160, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War), revision 1383918496, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.