Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina

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Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina was a Roman politician in the First Punic War .

Scipio was born for the year 260 BC. Was elected consul and had the honor of commanding the first Roman fleet to be launched in the Mediterranean . While he was patrolling the waters of the Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily with the first boats , Scipio received the news that Lipara on the Aeolian Islands was about to switch to the Roman side. Eager to get such an important port and to shower himself with honor, he rushed to the islands without any security measures. It is not certain whether it was a Carthaginian trap, but in fact the fleet was caught in the port of Hannibal Gisko . Without any experience of war at sea, the crews fled ashore in a panic, leaving the ships and Scipio without protection, who then became a prisoner of the Carthaginians. Although there was little fighting, the encounter is known as the Battle of the Aeolian Islands .

According to unprovable assumptions, his mishap earned him the nickname Asina (donkey [!]), Which was appended to him by witty political opponents. Neither the humiliation nor the fact that he was the first Roman admiral to lose a battle ended his career; 254 BC BC Scipio Asina was again elected consul, and this time he succeeded in conquering Panormus together with his partner Aulus Atilius Caiatinus .

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personal data
SURNAME Scipio Asina, Gnaeus Cornelius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cornelius Scipio Asina, Gnaeus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician in the First Punic War
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC BC or 3rd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century BC Chr.