Battle of Utica (81 BC)

In 88 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla marched his legions on Rome, starting a series of civil wars. After Sulla took the city he murdered a number of his political opponents and secured the exile of Gaius Marius, his main rival. In 87 BC Sulla left for the east to fight Mithridates VI of Pontus (see: First Mithridatic War), Lucius Cornelius Cinna one of the new consuls turned against Sulla and together with Marius who had returned from exile he recovered Italy from the Sullan faction. When Sulla returned in 83 BC his main opponents had already died (Marius in 86, Cinna in 84) but he still had to fight a fierce civil war against Marius' faction (called the Marians). After Sulla's victory at the Battle of the Colline Gate the Marian resistance in Italy crumbled. Sulla's remaining opponents were either killed or fled.

Papirius Carbo, the Marian consul, fled to Sicily which was being held for the Marians by Marcus Perperna. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus who had already fled to Africa before the fall of Italy was in the process of building an army near Utica. Quintus Sertorius held the Roman provinces on the Iberian Peninsula and was also building up his forces. Sulla now started the next phase of the war by sending out his armies to hunt down his remaining enemies.

In 81 BC, Sulla chose his new son-in-law (Pompey was married to his step-daughter Aemilia) for the important task of recovering Sicily and Africa. Although Pompey had held no previous senatorial office, he was invested with the rank and imperium of propraetor, and given an army of six legions and a fleet of 120 warships with 800 transport ships. Both men and ships were immediately available: the men from Sulla's own armies and the ships from the fleet Sulla had used to transport them from Greece in 83.^[1]

Hearing of the size and nature of Pompey's force, Perpenna abandoned the island (no military action is recorded). Pompey soon installed himself in the western capital of Lilybaeum and started hunting down the Marian leadership. His men caught Carbo on the little island of Cossyra (today Pantellaria) and brought him to Pompey who had him executed (probably on Sulla's orders). This episode, with many colourful embellishments, was later on used against Pompey and resulted in his opponents calling him the insulting name of adulescentulus carnifex, 'the teenage butcher'.^[2]

The opposition to Sulla in Africa presented a far more serious threat than Carbo and Perpenna. The influence of the great Gaius Marius was still strong there, and many exiled Marian leaders under Domitius had raised a large army of about 27,000 men, supported by a Numidian prince, Hiarbas. They were encamped near the city of Utica.^[3]

After the execution of Carbo, Pompey handed over control of Sicily to his brother-in-law Gaius Memmius and sailed for Africa. He landed his forces in two divisions at Carthage and Utica. Once more size and speed produced an immediate effect: 7,000 Marians defected or deserted. This must probably have been one of the main reasons for Domitius to offer battle before the morale of his men fell even further.