Interlude: Carthage

With sales of military equipment and provisions to Rome booming, Carthage was making money hand over fist. Some of this money was then turned to Malik Gisgo's projects in the North, fuelling the development of his northern trade routes to Gaul and Armorica and building up the outposts and Emporion on Vindillis, Lisia, and Angia, as well as on replacement troops for the forces of Hannibal the Bearded, currently fighting in Britannia.

Speaking of Hannibal the Bearded, he had managed to force submission on Lugotorix of the Dumnonii, making him a client of Carthage, but this victory came at a cost. The Kings of the Demetae, Silures, Durotriges, Belgae, and Dobunnii had seen the victory of Hannibal the Bearded over the Dumnonii as a threat and banded together in a confederation that stretched across the majority of Southeast Britannia.

Furthermore, some of the Dumnonii had refused to lay down their arms, disappearing into the inhospitable moors and rugged uplands that formed part of the interior of the peninsula. Hannibal the Bearded had claimed these bands numbered no more than a few hundred men collectively, but they were able to raid the tribute carts of tin coming from the mines to the ports where it would be brought back to Carthage for sale. This meant that less tin than had been expected of the conquest was actually making it to Carthage.

To attempt to quell this nascent uprising, Hannibal the Bearded married Boudicca, the Daughter of King Lugotorix of the Dumnonii, and as winter fell on two-eighty-two, a son was born to the couple whom Hannibal the Bearded named Hamilcar. The Barcid line would continue, now with Briton blood infused within it. This marriage and the winter helped quell some of the unrest, with around a hundred and fifty or so of the revolting Dumnonii warriors slinking back to their homes to lay down their arms, as the Moors and Uplands could not supply enough game to feed even the few hundred rebels there were.

Unfortunately for Carthage, their troubles would not end there, as the Brittanic Confederation had been making noises of Invasion ever since Lugotorix's surrender in the opening months of two-eighty-three. For fifteen months, nothing came of it, but when spring of two-eighty-two dawned, a rapid assault from the lands of the Durotriges caught the Carthaginian Garrison of the Dumnonii lands by surprise.

Hannibal the Bearded did not believe that such a vast confederation could mobilize a joint army so quickly without him noticing, but he and his family had returned to Angia for the winter, where the weather was milder. His deputy was a man named Saphrax, of mixed Punic and Germanic origin. Saphrax's mother was a slave woman of some minor tribe far to the north and his father was a Carthaginian Fortress Commander in Libya. Saphrax himself was an excellent battlefield commander, but his skill at intelligence gathering was rather poor.

Saphrax's dispatches to Hannibal the Bearded claimed that while the Brittanic Confederation was mobilizing, they only had perhaps ten thousand men ready to fight. Saphrax had been deceived by the efforts of the Durotriges, who had done much to hide the full strength of the force arrayed in their territory. When forty-thousand men crossed into Dumnonii territory, it came as a major shock to everyone.

Regardless, Hannibal the Bearded ordered Saphrax to take what forces he could and attempt to stall the Britannic Confederation until he arrived. Against forty-thousand men, Hannibal the Bearded could count on perhaps half that number. Ten Thousand Carthaginian Troops and Ten Thousand Mercenaries, ranging from Greek Hoplites hired in the Mediterranean, Balearic Slingers, Iberian Swordsmen, and Armorican Gallic Cavalry.

Saphrax's position was even worse, having a mere five thousand men in total between Carthaginian, Gallic and Britannic Auxiliaries, and Germanic Mercenaries. Still, he attempted to slow the Britannic Confederation by fighting a series of running engagements with harassing tactics from his small complement of Numidian Horsemen and Germanic Skirmishers. It worked to a degree, delaying the Britannic advance toward Isca long enough for Hannibal the Bearded to send an urgent dispatch to Carthage requesting reinforcements and to arrive in Dumnonia from Angia.

By the last month of Spring, two-eighty-two, things were set for a major set-piece battle near Fluta to the east of Isca. Meanwhile, in Carthage, Hannibal the Bearded's message reached Malik Gisgo, who brought the news to the Assembly of Shophets, as he had been watching the impending attack on Rome itself with much anxiety. If Pyrrhus managed to enforce his will on the Roman Senate, then Carthage may yet have a military campaign in Sicily to wage, assuming Pyrrhus would attempt to seize control of all of Sicily next.

The Shophets debated for a week and then decided to advise Gisgo to recall all forces on the Mainland of Brittania and make peace with the Brittanic Confederation. Gisgo agreed. Unfortunately, by the time his response reached Hannibal the Bearded, the Battle of Fluta had already taken place. In it, a fourth of the Brittanic Confederation's army ground itself down against the better disciplined and better equipped Carthaginian Force, only for Hannibal the Bearded to receive word that King Lugotorix had raised his standard in revolt in Isca.

Furthermore, while the Brittanic Confederation had taken ten thousand casualties and withdrawn from the field, they could easily replace those lost men. Meanwhile, Hannibal the Bearded would be unable to replace his own three thousand casualties. With Isca now in revolt, and no reinforcements forthcoming from Carthage, Hannibal the Bearded was forced to agree to peace. The Dumnonii would be free of Carthage's influence, Carthage would withdraw back to Angia and Lisia, and Carthage would pay an indemnity of goods to Lugotorix for their invasion and forswear all attempts to conquer Britannia for one Generation.

Thus ended Gisgo and Hannibal the Bearded's Britannian adventure, with a Carthaginian withdrawal back to the Channel Isles and with Carthage being forced to pay a number of goods to Lugotorix, including Iron Weapons, Bronze Helmets, Wine, and Olive Oil. Carthage's withdrawal would, however, not herald peace in Britannia, as the Britannic Confederation broke down into infighting now that their opponent was done.

In the meantime, Hannibal the Bearded and his army were recalled back to the Mediterranean in preparation for a war with Epirus. . .

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AN: So yeah, turns out, waging a war of conquest in Southwest Britain was only ever going to force the other tribes to band together to push you out. With Hannibal the Bearded being unable to replace his losses, and with his enemies mounting, a withdrawal had to happen. It didn't help that supply lines were extremely limited thanks to the massive distances involved.

Of course, Gisgo and the Shophets also looking at Pyrrhus' success against Rome meant that it was unlikely they would send reinforcements even if they could have gotten them to Britain in a reasonable timeframe. 

However, because the rest of Gisgo's gains in Iberia, Armorica, and the Channel Isles remain, Gisgo is still technically more successful a Malik than unsuccessful, and at least some of the tin he wanted as tribute out of forcing client status on the British Tribes managed to reach Carthage. The Shophets aren't deposing him yet. That could change soon enough, though. Gisgo is already planning a pre-emptive strike on Syracuse, and war with Epirus is in the offing. 

At any rate, next up we'll be back with Pyrrhus.

Stay tuned. . .