Gaius Hostilius Mancinus

Roman soldier

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June 30, 2026

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Gaius Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul who served during the Roman Republic. He is noted for his military campaigns in Spain. In 136 BCE, Mancinus led Roman forces against the Numantines, a Celtiberian people in Hispania. The campaign ended in disaster when his army was surrounded and forced to surrender. The Senate disavowed the treaty Mancinus made with the Numantines, and he was handed over to the enemy, though they did not harm him. This event highlighted the challenges Rome faced in expanding its control in the western Mediterranean and the harsh realities of Roman warfare during that period.1

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Numantia
…but captured the army of Gaius Hostilius Mancinus. The army was saved by the diplomacy of Tiberius Gracchus, but the treaty was rejected by the Roman Senate on the motion of Scipio Aemilianus. The Senate sent Mancinus back to Numantia, which refused to accept him, and the command was given…
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…but captured the army of Gaius Hostilius Mancinus. The army was saved by the diplomacy of Tiberius Gracchus, but the treaty was rejected by the Roman Senate on the motion of Scipio Aemilianus. The Senate sent Mancinus back to Numantia, which refused to accept him, and the command was given…
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ancient Rome
Roman expansion in the western Mediterranean
…surrender of an army under Gaius Hostilius Mancinus; the Senate later disavowed the agreement of equal terms and handed Mancinus, bound and naked, over to the Spaniards to absolve themselves of responsibility before the gods. The wars in Spain were brought to a conclusion in 133 by Publius Cornelius Scipio…
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…surrender of an army under Gaius Hostilius Mancinus; the Senate later disavowed the agreement of equal terms and handed Mancinus, bound and naked, over to the Spaniards to absolve themselves of responsibility before the gods. The wars in Spain were brought to a conclusion in 133 by Publius Cornelius Scipio…
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Scipio Africanus the Younger
Siege of Numantia
…truce arranged by the commander Gaius Hostilius Mancinus and his young quaestor Tiberius Gracchus, which had saved a Roman army from destruction. The story cannot be repeated here, but, while Mancinus was shamefully condemned for his conduct, Gracchus was spared, thanks to his popularity at Rome for having rescued a…
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…truce arranged by the commander Gaius Hostilius Mancinus and his young quaestor Tiberius Gracchus, which had saved a Roman army from destruction. The story cannot be repeated here, but, while Mancinus was shamefully condemned for his conduct, Gracchus was spared, thanks to his popularity at Rome for having rescued a…
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