Scipio Aemilianus (c.185-129 bc), in full Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Minor. He was the adoptive grandson of Scipio ‘Africanus’ and served with distinction under his father, Aemilius Paulus, at Pydna, and later in 151 in Spain. The only Roman commander to emerge with credit from the disasters at the start of the third Punic war, he was elected consul by popular demand, despite being below the legal age, and sent to take command against the Carthaginians. Through caution and careful preparation he concluded the siege of Carthage, razing it to the ground in 146. After a series of Roman humiliations he was sent to Spain in 134 where he starved the stronghold of Numantia into submission.
— Adrian K. Goldsworthy
