More than 48,500 killed or captured The Battle of Ilipa (/ˈɪlɪpə/) was an engagement considered by many as Scipio Africanus’s most brilliant victory in his military career during the Second Punic War in 206 BC.

It may have taken place on a plain east of Alcalá del Río, Seville, Spain, near the village of Esquivel, the site of the Carthaginian camp.

[2] Though it may not seem to be as original as Hannibal’s tactic at Cannae, Scipio's pre-battle maneuver and his reverse Cannae formation stands as the acme of his tactical ability, in which he permanently broke the Carthaginian hold in Iberia, thus denying any further land invasion into Italy and cutting off a rich base for the Barca dynasty both in silver and manpower.

[6] In 206 BC, the two Carthaginian commanders, Hasdrubal, son of Gisco, and Mago Barca, Hannibal’s youngest brother, still reeling from a series of defeats by the Romans, reached Ilipa, near present-day Seville, to join their Iberian and Numidian allies.

[13] The Carthaginian army emerged on the battlefield in complete disorder, as their soldiers had been caught off guard and were unprepared to fight (many were still asleep).

[14] The two armies finally engaged, with clashes between the cavalries, Roman legionaries fighting the Iberians in the Carthaginian forces, and the Velites confronting the elephants.

The skill of the legionaries allowed them to overcome Hasdrubal and Mago’s soldiers, while the Velites used javelins and trumpets to drive the elephants into a frenzy, causing them to trample much of the Carthaginian cavalry.

[15] As a result, the African soldiers, unable to assist their comrades (as doing so would have left the center completely exposed, effectively dividing their formation and allowing Scipio’s Iberians to outflank and attack them from the sides and rear), grew demoralized.

He was elected consul in 205 BC with a near-unanimous nomination, and after receiving the Senate's consent, he would have the control of Sicily as proconsul, from where his invasion of the Carthaginian homeland would be realized.