Military Career
Tiberius's military career started in the Third Punic War, as military tribune appointed to the staff of his brother in law, Scipio Aemilianus. During his tenure as military tribune under Aemilianus, Tiberius became known for his bravery and discipline, recorded as the first to scale the enemy walls. In 137 BC he was appointed quaestor to consul Gaius Hostilius Mancinus and served his term in Numantia (Hispania province). The campaign was part of the Numantine War and was unsuccessful; Mancinus's army suffered major defeats and Mancinus himself had tried to disgracefully withdraw at night and caused his rearguard to be cut to pieces and the Roman camp looted.
It was Tiberius, as quaestor, who saved the army from destruction by signing a peace treaty with the Numantines, an action generally reserved for a Legate. In the negotiations, Tiberius recalled the exploits of his father Tiberius, who had also waged war in Spain but had struck a peace agreement with the Numantines. The Numantines so respected Tiberius that when they learned he had lost his ledgers when they had despoiled the Roman camp, they invited him back to their city, offering him a banquet and allowing Tiberius to take back not only his ledgers but anything else he wanted from the spoils. Tiberius, however, refused to take anything else save some incense used for sacrificial rituals.
Tiberius' actions stirred up a frenzy in Rome; his opponents argued that Tiberius' negotiation made Rome appear weak and the losers of the war, while his proponents maintained that it was the general Mancinus who was several times defeated and had tried to ignobly retreat and it was Tiberius' actions that saved the lives of many citizen-soldiers.
The people voted to have Mancinus sent back to the Numantines in chains, a proposition Mancinus himself accepted, though later the Numantines refused to accept him as a prisoner. Scipio Aemilianus played a significant role in supporting Tiberius and his officers, but failed to prevent further punishment meted out to Mancinus nor did he support the ratification of Tiberius' treaty. Despite this, Plutarch mentions that this caused little friction between the two men, and even posits that Tiberius would have never fallen victim to assassination had Scipio not been away campaigning against the very same Numantines given the amount of political clout that Scipio wielded in Rome.
Read more about this topic: Tiberius Gracchus
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