Battle of Mount Tifata
82 BCE battle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Mount Tifata was fought in 83 BC as part of Sulla's Second Civil War.[1]
| Battle of Mount Tifata | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Sulla's Second Civil War | |||||||
Sulla Coin | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Optimates | Populares | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lucius Cornelius Sulla[1] | Gaius Norbanus[1] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 40,000[1] | 60,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 124 killed[1] |
7,000 killed[1] 6,000 captured[1] | ||||||
  Location within Italy | |||||||
History
It was fought in the foothills of Mount Tifata,[1] a spur of the Apennines,[2] close to the River Vulturnus, and is alternatively known as the Battle of Casilinum.[1] The location of the battle suggests that Sulla was moving on Capua.[1] The Optimate forces were led by Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his officer Quintus Caecilius Metellus, while the Populares were led by Gaius Norbanus.[1] The battle started when Sulla “immediately attacked” Norbanus, even though Velleius claims Norbanus attacked Sulla.[1] As an army under Scipio was currently moving to support Norbanus it is likely that Sulla attacked Norbanus by surprise before he could link up with Scipio.[1] In total, Scipio's and Norbanus’ armies numbered 100,000 as compared to at most 40,000 under Sulla.[1] At Mount Tifata, Sulla had the bulk of his army with him, while Norbanus commanded 60,000 men (the rest were with Scipio). Sulla was victorious.[1][2]
