# Battle of Tunis (255 BC)
The Battle of Tunis (also called the Battle of the Bagradas or Battle of Tunes) was a land battle fought in 255 BC on level plains near Tunis in modern Tunisia, in which a Carthaginian army organized and led by the Spartan mercenary Xanthippus destroyed the Roman invasion force under the consul Marcus Atilius Regulus and captured him. It was a major Carthaginian victory in a land battle of the [First Punic War](https://www.edgepedia.org/first-punic-war), but not Carthage's only one, and it ended Rome's first invasion of Africa.[1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php) • [2](https://doi.org/10.14195/0871-9527_26_6) • [8](https://cristoraul.org/english/readinghall/THIRDMILLENNIUMLIBRARY/HELLENISTIC-MONARCHIES-AND-RISE-OF-ROME/CAH_VOLUME7-CHAPTER21_ROME-AND-CARTHAGE-THE-FIRST-PUNIC-WAR.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 255 BC (Olympiad 131.2; consuls Ser. Fulvius Paetinus Nobilior and M. Aemilius Paullus) [3](http://www.attalus.org/bc3/year255.html) |
| Location | Level plains near Tunes (Tunis), on or near the Bagradas plain; exact site unknown [1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php) |
| Commanders | Xanthippus of Lacedaemonia for Carthage; Marcus Atilius Regulus for Rome [4](https://publires.unicatt.it/en/publications/la-battaglia-di-tunisianno-255-a-c-per-un-riesame-della-tradizion/) |
| Forces | Carthage: 12,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, nearly 100 elephants; Rome: 15,000 infantry, 500 cavalry [1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php) |
| Result | Roman army destroyed; Regulus and 500 men captured; 2,000 escaped to Aspis [1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php) |
| Consequence | End of Rome's African expedition [2](https://doi.org/10.14195/0871-9527_26_6) |
## Background: the Roman invasion of Africa
In 256 BC the [Roman Senate](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-senate) decided to move the center of operations against Carthage from Sicily to Africa.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127) A Roman fleet of 350 ships was sent to Africa, captured a number of towns, and left Atilius Regulus in command of the army.[6](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DPun.%3Achapter%3D1)
The Carthaginians had first met this army badly. At **Adys** they encamped on steep, difficult ground that nullified the two arms Polybius identifies as their best hopes, cavalry and elephants, and the Romans defeated them there.[7](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D30) The Romans then seized the town of Tunes, well situated as a base of operations against Carthage itself.[7](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D30) Negotiations between Regulus and Carthage followed and failed.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127)
## Xanthippus and the Carthaginian army
When diplomacy failed, the Carthaginians rebuilt their army, recruiting African and Greek mercenaries, and entrusted it to a Spartan general, Xanthippus.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127) In 255 BC, for the first and only time in the records, a foreigner assumed full command of a Carthaginian army.[2](https://doi.org/10.14195/0871-9527_26_6)
The army he led mustered 12,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and nearly 100 elephants, combining troops recently recalled under Hamilcar with 500 cavalry and 5,000 infantry.[1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php) • [7](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D30) Regulus, in the early spring of 255 BC and not waiting for reinforcements, accepted battle.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127)
## The battle
The deployment reversed the disadvantage of Adys: the Carthaginians now fought on the open plain their cavalry and elephants needed.[7](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D30) The battle ended with the victory of the Carthaginians.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127) On the Roman left, 2,000 legionaries broke through the opposing mercenaries and escaped in good order, eventually reaching Aspis. The rest of the army was enveloped and destroyed; Regulus and 500 companions initially made off but were quickly captured.[1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php)
## By the numbers
Appian's account is sweeping: of the 30,000 men Regulus led, only a few escaped with difficulty to Aspis, all the rest being killed or taken prisoner, the consul among the prisoners.[6](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DPun.%3Achapter%3D1) Modern accounts based on Polybius, with an army of 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, show the Carthaginian advantage in cavalry to have been the decisive arithmetic: eight times the Roman horse.[1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php)
## Sources, the Regulus legend and the fate of Xanthippus
The battle is attested principally in Polybius 1.33-35, with supporting passages in Diodorus 23.14-15.[3](http://www.attalus.org/bc3/year255.html) Polybius's precise and detailed version has been accepted by scholars, but several other, often discordant, ancient versions of the battle's course exist.[4](https://publires.unicatt.it/en/publications/la-battaglia-di-tunisianno-255-a-c-per-un-riesame-della-tradizion/)
**The captivity legend** that dominates later Roman memory is a case in point. Appian and later authors tell that Regulus was put to death in Carthage, in Appian's version shut in a cage stuck full of spikes.[6](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DPun.%3Achapter%3D1) Goldsworthy rejects the entire tradition as probably invented, since Polybius, our principal and near-contemporary narrative, mentions none of these events.[1](https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php)
Xanthippus's end is similarly uncertain. Polybius says he left Carthage soon after the victory and returned to Sparta.[3](http://www.attalus.org/bc3/year255.html) Later traditions differ, whether he was killed by the actions of his employers, or survived to fight under Egyptian orders.[2](https://doi.org/10.14195/0871-9527_26_6)
## Aftermath: the wrecked fleet and the end of the invasion
On the way back from Africa, the Roman fleet was caught in a strong storm near Camarina, which caused the loss of important troops.[5](https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127) • [3](http://www.attalus.org/bc3/year255.html)
## References
*This article cites Polybius 1.30-36 and the parallel ancient accounts as transmitted in the editions listed below.*
1. Adrian Goldsworthy, The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146 BC (chapter on the African campaign 256-255 BC), https://erenow.org/ancient/thefallofcarthagethepunicwars265-146bc/10.php
2. 'Xanthippus of Lacedaemonia: a foreign commander in the army of Carthage', https://doi.org/10.14195/0871-9527_26_6
3. '255 B.C. - events and references', Attalus.org, http://www.attalus.org/bc3/year255.html
4. Maria Chiara Mazzotta, 'La battaglia "di Tunisi" (anno 255 a.C.): per un riesame della tradizione', Rivista Storica Italiana CXXXVIII (2026), pp. 12-42, https://publires.unicatt.it/en/publications/la-battaglia-di-tunisianno-255-a-c-per-un-riesame-della-tradizion/
5. Decebal Nedu & Cristina Andrei, 'The Campaign of Marcus Atilius Regulus in Africa, Military Operations by Sea and by Land (256-255 B.C.)', Constanta Maritime University Annals 13 (2010), https://trid.trb.org/View/1105127
6. Appian, Punic Wars, Chapter I (Horace White translation, Perseus Digital Library), http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DPun.%3Achapter%3D1
7. Polybius, Histories, Book 1, ch. 30 (Shuckburgh translation, Perseus Digital Library), http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D30
8. CAH_V7_C21_ROME AND CARTHAGE: THE FIRST PUNIC WAR, https://cristoraul.org/english/readinghall/THIRDMILLENNIUMLIBRARY/HELLENISTIC-MONARCHIES-AND-RISE-OF-ROME/CAH_VOLUME7-CHAPTER21_ROME-AND-CARTHAGE-THE-FIRST-PUNIC-WAR.html
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Periods and civilizations › Ancient Near East, Egypt, Nubia, and the Punic world › Phoenicia and Carthage › Carthage in the Punic Wars › Carthage in the Punic Wars: wars, battles, and events*
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