# Punicus

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Lusitanian chief during the Lusitanian war

Punicus Native name Púnico, Punicus Born Lusitania Died 153 BC Allegiance Lusitania Service years 155–153 BC Conflicts Lusitanian War

**Punicus** (known as *Púnico* in [Portuguese](/source/Portuguese_language) and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the [Lusitanians](/source/Lusitanians), a proto-[Celtic](/source/Celts) tribe from western [Hispania](/source/Hispania). He became their first military leader during the [Lusitanian War](/source/Lusitanian_War), and also led their first major victories against [Rome](/source/Roman_Empire).[1][2]

## Biography

Punicus's origin was placed by some authors in *Herminius Mons* ([Serra da Estrela](/source/Serra_da_Estrela)), like his later countryman [Viriathus](/source/Viriathus), but this has been doubted by others.[1] Others place his origin in [Braga](/source/Braga), though it would make him one of the [Bracari](/source/Bracari) instead of a Lusitanian proper.[3] It is probable that he served at some point as a [mercenary](/source/Mercenaries_of_the_ancient_Iberian_peninsula) in [Phoenician](/source/Phoenicia) or [Punic](/source/Carthage) territories in the south of the [Iberian Peninsula](/source/Iberian_Peninsula), as Lusitanians and other Celtiberian tribes used to do.[1][2] He might have taken part in the war between Carthage and the [Numidians](/source/Numidians) led by [Masinissa](/source/Masinissa), an ally to Rome.[4]

In 155 BC, Punicus instigated a Lusitanian uprising and started sacking and pillaging through Roman territories. To crush the rebellion, Roman praetors [Calpurnius Piso](/source/Lucius_Calpurnius_Piso_Caesoninus_(consul_148_BC)) and proconsul [Manius Manilius](/source/Manius_Manilius) marched at the head of an army of 15,000 legionaries, but Punicus defeated them, inflicting losses of around 6000 men.[2][5] This victory enabled Punicus to ally himself with the neighboring [Vettones](/source/Vettones); he moved south and sacked the Mediterranean Roman provinces, including [Hispania Baetica](/source/Hispania_Baetica) and the territories of the [Blastophoenicians](/source/Phoenicia), a people vassal to Rome.[2][6] His campaign also saw the death of Roman quaestor [Terentius Varro](/source/Terentius_Varro).[1] However, Punicus's leadership ended abruptly in 153 BC when he was killed by a throwing stone. He was replaced by his lieutenant [Caesarus](/source/Caesarus), who continued his campaign.[2]

## Etymology

The word *Punicus* comes from ''*Punic*, a Latin word for "[Phoenician](/source/Phoenicia)" borrowed from [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) *Phonikeos*.[7] It has been suggested that Punicus received this name not from birth,[2] but as a title after gaining military experience around the still culturally Punic southern Hispania.[1][8] Alternatively, it is also possible that he was a Phoenician by blood,[9] a Lusitanian of Phoenician ancestry,[10] or merely a Hispanic whose name sounded like *Punicus* to Roman chroniclers.[9]

An 18th-century chronicle gives Punicus the alternate name of "Appimanus".[3]

## See also

- [History portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:History)

- [Caesarus](/source/Caesarus)

- [Viriathus](/source/Viriathus)

- [Olyndicus](/source/Olyndicus)

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Vila_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Vila_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Vila_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Vila_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Vila_1-4) Luciano Pérez Vilatela (2000). *Lusitania: historia y etnología* (in Spanish). Real Academia de Historia. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-84-895126-8-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-84-895126-8-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Lopez_2-5) Toni Ñaco del Hoyo, Fernando López Sánchez (2017). *War, Warlords, and Interstate Relations in the Ancient Mediterranean*. Brill. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-043540-5-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-043540-5-0).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Braga_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Braga_3-1) Juan Bautista Verdussen (1730). *Historia del reyno de Portugal* (in Spanish). Biblioteca Estatal de Baviera.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Francisco Javier Lomas Salmonte (2005). *Historia de Cádiz* (in Spanish). Sílex. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-84-773715-4-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-84-773715-4-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Narciso Santos Yanguas (1982). *Viriato, terror de Roma* (in Spanish). Historia 16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** José María Blázquez Martínez (2006). *Roma y la explotación económica de la Península Ibérica* (in Spanish). Instituto Español de Antropología Aplicada.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Etymology of Punicus](http://etimologias.dechile.net/?pu.nico)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Francisco Oliveira, José Luís Brandão (2015). *História de Roma Antiga: vol. I: das origens à morte de César* (in Portuguese). Coimbra University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-98-926095-9-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-98-926095-9-1).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Boc_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Boc_9-1) Toni Ñaco del Hoyo, Fernando López Sánchez (2011). *Lucius Cornelius Bocchus escritor lusitano da Idade de Prata da Literatura Latina – Volumen 1 de Archaeologia hispanica*. Real Academia de la Historia. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-84-150693-6-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-84-150693-6-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Negre_10-0)** Javier Negrete (2018). *La conquista romana de Hispania* (in Spanish). La Esfera de los Libros. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-84-916428-5-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-84-916428-5-5).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Punicus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punicus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punicus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.