Battle of Cissa The Battle of Cissa was part of the Second Punic War . It was fought in the fall of 218 BC south of the Greek town of Tarraco in north - eastern Iberia . A Roman army under Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus defeated an outnumbered Carthaginian army under Hanno , thus gaining control of the territory north of the Ebro River that Hannibal had just subdued a few months prior in the summer of 218 BC . This was the first battle the Romans ever fought in Iberia . Strategic situation . After the successful conclusion of the Siege of Saguntum , Hannibal Barca had rested his army , then in the summer of 218 BC had started out for Italy with either 90 , 000 foot and 12 , 000 cavalry ( according to Polybius ) , or with 46 , 000 foot and 10 , 000 horse . He had spent the summer conquering the area north of the Ebro River . After subduing the Iberian tribes but leaving the Greek cities unmolested , Hannibal crossed over into Gaul to continue his march to Italy , leaving a contingent to guard the newly conquered territories and sending 10 , 000 less reliable troops home . Roman preparations . The Roman navy had been mobilized in 219 BC , fielding 220 quinquereme s for the Second Illyrian War . Consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus received 4 legions ( 2 Romans and 2 allied , 8 , 000 Roman and 16 , 000 allied infantry and 600 Roman and 1 , 800 allied horse ) and instructions to sail for Africa with 160 quinqueremes . Publius Cornelius Scipio received 4 legions ( 8 , 000 Roman and 14 , 000 allied infantry and 600 Roman and 1 , 600 allied horse ) and was to sail for Iberia escorted by 60 ships . However , Gauls of the Boii and Insubre tribes in north Italy had attacked Roman colonies , causing part of Scipio ’ s forces to deploy there and fresh legions were raised to replace them , delaying his departure . While Hannibal was marching through Gaul , Scipio had landed with his army at the allied Greek city of Massilia . He then sent a cavalry patrol north , up the eastern bank of the Rhone River , which clashed with a similar force of Numidian light cavalry and , after a hard fought skirmish , drove off the Carthaginians . Scipio marched north from his base , while Hannibal marched east towards the Alps . Arriving at the deserted Carthaginian camp , Scipio learned that Hannibal was 3 days march away and decided to send his forces to Iberia under the command of his elder brother Gnaeus , who had been consul in 221 BC , while he himself returned to Northern Italy to organize the defences against Hannibal . Prelude . Hasdrubal Barca , the younger brother of Hannibal , had 12 , 650 infantry , 2 , 550 cavalry and 21 elephants to guard the Carthaginian possessions south of the Ebro . Hannibal had left a certain Hanno with 10 , 000 infantry and 1 , 000 cavalry to garrison the newly conquered territory north of the Ebro . This Hanno has been identified by various authors as Hannibal ’ s nephew ( son of Hasdrubal the Fair ) , a brother or no Barcid relation . Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus , with 20 , 000 infantry ( 2 Roman and 2 allied legions ) 2 , 200 cavalry and 60 quinqueremes , sailed from Massilia and landed at Emporiae in Iberia . The Greek cities of Emporiae and Tarraco welcomed the Romans , and Gnaeus began to win over the Iberian tribes north of the Ebro . Hasdrubal Barca , after being warned of the Roman expedition , marched north with an army of 8 , 000 foot soldiers and 1 , 000 cavalry to join Hanno . The battle . Hanno had been completely surprised by the arrival of the Romans in Iberia . Seeing the grip of the Carthaginians on the newly conquered Iberian tribes loosening because of the activities of Scipio , he decided to offer battle . Hanno marched and attacked the Romans just north of Tarraco , near a place called Cissa or Kissa . There were no brilliant manoeuvres or ambush es , the armies formed up and faced off . Being outnumbered two to one , Hanno was defeated relatively easily , losing 6 , 000 soldiers in battle . Furthermore , the Romans managed to capture the Carthaginian camp , along with 2 , 000 more soldiers and Hanno himself . The camp contained all the baggage left by Hannibal . The prisoners also included Indibilis , an influential Iberian chieftain who would cause severe trouble for the Romans later . The Romans also stormed the town of Cissa , though to the frustration of the Romans it did not contain any valuable booty . Aftermath . Gnaeus became master of Iberia north of the Ebro . Hasdrubal , arriving too late to aid Hanno and not being strong enough to attack the Romans , still crossed the river and sent a flying column of light cavalry and infantry on a raid . This force caught some Roman sailors foraging and inflicted such casualties that the effectiveness of the Roman fleet in Iberia was reduced from 60 to 35 ships . The Roman fleet however , raided the Carthaginian possessions in Iberia . Roman prestige was established in Iberia , while the Carthaginians had suffered a significant blow . After punishing the officers in charge of the naval contingent for their lax discipline , Scipio and the Roman army wintered at Tarraco . Hasdrubal retired to Cartagena after garrisoning allied towns south of the Ebro . If Hanno somehow had won the battle , it might have been possible for Hannibal to get reinforcements from Barcid Iberia as early as 217 BC . This battle brought the same results for Scipio in Iberia as the Battle of Trebia would bring for Hannibal in Italy : securing a base of operation , and winning over some of the native tribes as a source of provisions and recruits , also cutting off the overland communication of Hannibal from his base in Iberia . Unlike Hannibal , Scipio did not immediately launch a major campaign on enemy territory south of the river . Nor would he cut lose from his base like Hannibal did in the near future . Scipio took time to consolidate his holdings , subjugate or befriend Iberian tribes and raid Carthaginian territory . These activities laid the foundation for the future Roman operations in Iberia .