who had given Gnaeus Scipio hostages, to revolt. Their men ravaged the fields of the local Roman allies. Gnaeus Scipio came out of his winter camp and devastated the territory of the Ilergetes, drove them to their capital, Atanagrus, besieged it, subdued the Ilergetes and exacted hostages and money. He then attacked the Ausetani, near the Ebro, who were Carthaginian allies and ambushed the Lacetani, who had come to the assistance to their neighbours, killing 12,000 of them. The siege of Atanagrus lasted for 30 days. After the chief of the Ilergetes fled to Hasdrubal, the town surrendered. Gnaeus Scipio established winter quarters in Tarraco. In 217 BC, Hasdrubal marched his army along the coast while his ships sailed near the shore. Gnaeus Scipio embarked with his best troops on 35 ships. His scouts spotted the enemy fleet at the mouth of the Ebro. The Carthaginians hastily prepared for battle, but in the Battle of the Ebro River the Roman ships approached in battle formation and the enemy ships fled. The Carthaginian line was overstretched and they did not manage to make it up the mouth of the river and ran ashore. The men disembarked at the mouth of the river and joined the infantry. The Romans dragged the beached ships into the water and seized 25 of them. Hasdrubal withdrew to Cartago Nova. The Romans devastated the coastal land as far as the pass of Castulo, which led through the Sierra Morena, north of Cartago Nova. Gnaeus Scipio then headed north gaining the submission of many of the communities north of the Ebro. However, Mandonius and Indibilis, the chieftains of the Ilergetes, got their tribesmen to ravage the lands of the Roman allies. Gnaeus Scipio sent a detachment that easily defeated them. Meanwhile, the Celtiberians (who lived in east-central Hispania) invaded the area near Cartago Nova. They seized three fortified towns, defeated Hasdrubal, killed 15,000 and took 4,000 prisoners. Publius Scipio, whose command was extended, re-joined his brother, and brought a reinforcement of 30 warships, 8,000 troops, and a large supply convoy. As Hasdrubal was occupied fighting the Celtiberians, the brothers marched to Saguntum. Gnaeus Scipio took charge of the army and Publius Scipio commanded the fleet. In 216 BC, after he received reinforcements of 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry from Africa, Hasdrubal gave orders for the Carthaginian fleet to be put into readiness to protect the Balearic Islands