The Roman Senate, and especially its hawkish faction, no longer could tolerate a small city like Numancia was causing so many problems with his army, victorious and unstoppable around the Mediterranean. It was designated a general reputation, P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, who headed the pro-war group and reached the highest award in the destruction of the city of Carthage, and which again was an exception, as with Marcelo, to appoint him consul in January of 134 without yet 10 years have elapsed since his previous appointment.
Scipio was found with a very diminished army, 20,000 men and above all extremely unruly, so his first effort was subjected to harsh training to give it moral, discipline and efficiency. Rome could only carry 4,000 volunteers and some men who provided Macipsa, king of Numidia, but had the financial support of Antiochus of Syria and Pergamum Attalus which enabled it to recruit a number of mercenaries, until a number of 50,000 or 60,000 men.
According to Appian, following a campaign against vacceos, in 134 BC, Scipio moved to winter in the region of Numancia. Not long after, having installed two camps near Numancia, put one on the orders of his brother Fabius Maximus, and the other under their own control. As Numancia incited the Romans to enter battle, lock them up and preferred to starve. To do so, up 7 castles around the city and ordered to surround with a moat and a fence.
