Mathos came to the fore as a member of the army most vocal in resisting this, and when the disagreement broke down in full-scale mutiny he was elected a general by his comrades and became their de facto leader.

With their relief effort repulsed, the Carthaginian Senate accepted defeat and ordered their commander on Sicily, Hamilcar Barca to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romans, on whatever terms he could obtain.

Not wishing the freshly idle soldiers to combine for purposes of their own, Gisco split the army into small detachments based on their regions of origin.

This "tumultuous licentiousness" so alarmed the city's authorities that before the full 20,000 had arrived they were relocated to Sicca Veneria (modern El Kef), 180 km (110 mi) away, even though a significant portion of their arrears had to be paid before they would go.

[5] Freed of their long period of military discipline and with nothing to do, the men grumbled among themselves and refused all attempts by the Carthaginians to pay them less than the full amount due.

It was at this point that Mathos came to prominence as one of the most outspoken of the 20,000 strong army; he was totally opposed to anything less than full payment, including the fulfilment of all verbal promises.

[12] In mid- or late September 241 BC, frustrated by the Carthaginian negotiators' attempts to haggle, all 20,000 troops marched to Tunis, 16 km (10 mi) from Carthage.

Gisco, who had a good reputation with the army, was brought over from Sicily in late 241 BC and despatched to the camp with enough money to pay most of what was owed.

The discontent seemed to have abated until Mathos stirred up the North African contingent with a vision of the Carthaginians wreaking vengeance on them once their comrades had been sent home[14] and their discipline broke down.

[15] Spendius, an escaped Roman slave from Campania who faced death by torture if he were returned home, had also been strongly against a settlement; so he and Mathos were jointly declared generals by the mutineers.

[17] Mathos sent messengers to the main African settlements under Carthaginian suzerainty with the news that a formed, experienced, anti-Carthaginian army now existed in the heart of its territory and many cities and towns rose in rebellion.

[22][23] Mathos ordered the rebels north and blockaded the two main cities – other than Carthage – that had not already come over: the major ports of Utica and Hippo (modern Bizerte).

[25] In early 240 BC Hanno, whose whereabouts during the mutiny are unknown, set off with the army to relieve Utica;[26] he took with him 100 elephants and a siege train.

[27][29] The modern historian Dexter Hoyos assesses Mathos as a passable strategist but an inept field commander and notes that he put Spendius in charge of all major mobile operations until his death.

[30] Hoyos speculates that Mathos took charge of logistics and attempted to both maximise and coordinate the war effort of the rebellious African towns.

[34] While Hanno manoeuvred against Mathos to the north near Hippo,[35] Hamilcar confronted various towns and cities which had gone over to the rebels, bringing them back to Carthaginian allegiance with varying mixtures of diplomacy and force.

He was shadowed by a superior-sized rebel force under Spendius, which kept to rough ground for fear of the Carthaginians' cavalry and elephants, and harried his foragers and scouts.

To remove the possibility of any goodwill between the sides, they had 700 Carthaginian prisoners, including Gisco, tortured to death: they had their hands cut off, were castrated, their legs broken and were thrown into a pit and buried alive.

[42][43] At some point between March and September 239 BC the previously loyal cities of Utica and Hippo slew their Carthaginian garrisons and joined the rebels.

[41] In early 238 BC the lack of supplies forced Mathos to lift the close siege of Carthage; he maintained a more distant blockade from Tunis.

Pinned against mountains and with their food exhausted, the rebels ate their horses, their prisoners and then their slaves, hoping that Mathos would sortie from Tunis to rescue them.

Eventually, the surrounded troops forced their leaders, including Spendius and Autaritus, to parley with Hamilcar, but on a thin pretext he took the mutineers prisoner.

The city was difficult to access from both the east and the west, so Hamilcar occupied a position to the south with half the army, and his deputy Hannibal[note 2] was to the north with the balance.

[2] Most of the towns and cities which had not already come to terms with Carthage now did so, with the exceptions of Utica and Hippo, whose inhabitants feared vengeance for their massacre of Carthaginians.