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Qart-Hadasht
The Carthage Encyclopedia

battlefield

Zama (battle site)

Modern: North-west Tunisia, near the Algerian border

Names

Greek
ฮ–ฮฌฮผฮฑ
Latin
Zama
Modern
Disputed, most likely Naraggara (Sakiet Sidi Youssef, Tunisia)

The battlefield where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal in October 202 BCE, ending the Second Punic War. Despite giving its name to the battle, the precise location of "Zama" is contested even among the ancient sources: Polybius locates Scipio's camp at Naraggara, Livy at Zama, and the two are ~80 km apart. The Naraggara identification (modern Sakiet Sidi Youssef) is generally preferred today on the strength of Polybius's earlier and more reliable account.

Candidate locations. Marker color reflects scholarly confidence in each identification.
certain probable possible speculative reference

Candidate locations

The location of this place is contested. The candidates below reflect the main proposals in the textual and archaeological evidence.

  • Naraggara (modern Sakiet Sidi Youssef)

    probable

    36.2261, 8.3550

    Polybius (15.5.14) names Naraggara as the location of Scipio's camp before the battle. Modern scholarship, including Lancel's topographic survey, treats this as the most likely battle site.

  • Zama Regia (Jama, near Siliana)

    possible

    36.1167, 9.4500

    Livy (30.29) places the engagement at Zama, ~5 days' march from Carthage. The toponym gave the battle its traditional name, but the site lies ~80 km south-east of Naraggara. Some reconstructions use this site.

  • A site between Naraggara and Zama Regia

    speculative

    36.1700, 8.9000

    Some 20th-century reconstructions, attempting to reconcile Polybius and Livy, place the battle at an intermediate location. Lacks direct textual support.