Xanthippus of Carthage

Xanthippus of Carthage

Xanthippus (Ancient Greek: Ξάνθιππος) of Lacedaemon, or of Carthage, was a Spartan mercenary general employed by Carthage during the First Punic War. He led the Carthaginian army to considerable success against the Roman Republic during the course of the war, training the army to a professional standard before defeating the Romans at the Battle of Tunis, where Carthaginian forces routed the Roman expeditionary force and captured the Roman consul Marcus Atilius Regulus in 255 BC. Diodorus says that Xanthippus was the leader of a small band of Spartan mercenaries drafted by Carthage during the war. Xanthippus was hired as a Spartan drillmaster by the Carthaginians in 255 BC. Polybius tells us that he first came to the attention of the Carthaginian leaders when he criticised the behaviour of Carthage's generals, arguing that it was they, and not the Romans, who were causing setbacks. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Xanthippus of Carthage has received more than 192,129 page views. His biography is available in 20 different languages on Wikipedia. Xanthippus of Carthage is the 888th most popular military personnel (down from 755th in 2019), the 416th most popular biography from Greece (down from 386th in 2019) and the 31st most popular Greek Military Personnel.