Hasdrubal Gisco Hasdrubal Gisco or Hasdrubal son of Gisco ( died 202 BC ) was a Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in Iberia ( Hispania ) and North Africa during the Second Punic War . He should not be confused with Hasdrubal Barca , the brother of Hannibal . Hasdrubal Gisco was sent to Iberia with an army following the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC . He arrived in Iberia in 214 BC . His arrival ended the absolute command of the Barcid family there . In 212 BC , the two Roman commanders in Iberia , Publius Cornelius Scipio and Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus , decided to take the offensive . Publius Scipio marched to encounter the Carthaginian forces commanded by Hasdrubal and Mago Barca , who had been reinforced by Numidian cavalry commanded by Masinissa . In a battle near Castulo the Roman forces were defeated and Publius Scipio killed . Immediately after this victory Hasdrubal hastened to join his army with that of Hasdrubal Barca . The combined Carthaginian forces were able to trap Gnaeus Scipio near Ilorca and won another victory , with Gnaeus Scipio killed less than a month after the death of his brother Publius . In 207 BC Hasdrubal was near Gades in the south of the Iberian peninsula , where he was joined by Mago Barca . In 206 BC Hasdrubal raised fresh troops to increase his army to 70 , 000 infantry and 4 , 500 cavalry . However he and Mago were attacked by Scipio Africanus , the son of Publius Scipio , and heavily defeated at the Battle of Ilipa . Hasdrubal now crossed to North Africa , where he persuaded Syphax , king of the Berber tribe Masaesyli of western Numidia , to ally himself with Carthage against Rome . Hasdrubal achieved this by offering Syphax his daughter Sophonisba in marriage . When Scipio landed in North Africa in 204 BC he was opposed by Hasdrubal and Syphax with a combined force of 80 , 000 infantry and 13 , 000 cavalry . While negotiations continued , Scipio and his new ally Masinissa ( who ironically had switched his allegiances to the Romans at almost the same time that the leader of the other Numidian faction , Syphax , had switched his to the Carthaginians ) approached the Carthaginian - Numidian camp by stealth and set fire to it . According to Polybius the Carthaginians and Numidians lost over 40 , 000 dead . Syphax was apparently persuaded by his wife , Sophonisba , not to desert the Carthaginian cause , and he and Hasdrubal were joined by a force of about 4 , 000 Celtiberians . They offered battle again , but were defeated with great slaughter by Scipio and Masinissa at the Battle of Bagbrades . Hasdrubal returned to Carthage , where he committed suicide in 202 BC to avoid being lynched by a Carthaginian mob . As a general , he was not in the class of the Barcid brothers , although Livy describes him as " the best and most distinguished general this war produced after the three sons of Hamilcar " . In another passage Livy gives a much less complimentary quote from Fabius Maximus , who described Hasdrubal as " a general who showed his speed chiefly in retreat " . He had a prodigious talent for diplomacy and three times raised large armies , in Iberia and in Africa , after severe defeats . Polybius says that he attempted to extract a large sum of money from Andobales , whom he describes as the most faithful friend the Carthaginians had in Iberia . Polybius says that when Andobales refused to pay , Hasdrubal brought a false accusation against him and forced him to give his daughters as hostages .