Siege of Syracuse (214–212 BC)
Coordinates: 37 ° 5 ′ 0 ″ N , 15 ° 17 ′ 0 ″ E
Syracuse old map
| date | 214-212 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Syracuse , Sicily |
| output | roman victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
Saguntum - Lilybaeum II - Rhone - Ticinus - Trebia - Cissa - Lake Trasimeno - Ager Falernus - Geronium - Cannae - Nola I - Nola II - Ibera - Cornus - Nola III - Beneventum I - Syracuse - Tarentum I - Capua I - Beneventum II - Silarus - Herdonia I - Upper Baetis - Capua II - Herdonia II - Numistro - Asculum - Tarentum II - New Carthage - Baecula - Grumentum - Metaurus - Ilipa - Crotona - Large fields - Cirta - Zama
The siege of Syracuse by the Romans took place from 214 to 212 BC during the Second Punic War . With the conquest of the rich Greek trading city, the epoch of Hellenism in Sicily ended . With the fall of the city, the Romans also gained control of the entire island, which became the first Roman province after the end of the Second Punic War . During the long siege , the Greeks used, among other things, the weapons of the great mathematician Archimedes . Archimedes, although the Roman general Marcellus had ordered to spare his life, was slain by a soldier while storming the city.
prehistory
Sicily was wrested from the Carthaginians by the Romans during the First Punic War . The kingdom of Syracuse, in the southeast of the island, was a Roman ally for a long time, especially during the reign of Hiero II , but it was also the last obstacle to overall control of the island.
With the death of Hieros and the accession of his grandson Hieronymus to the throne, the voices in Syracuse became more critical of Rome. Jerome came under the influence of an anti-Roman party, especially through the intercession of two uncles, as did large parts of the Syracuse elite, and sided with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War . Despite the murder of Jerome and the disempowerment of the pro-Carthaginian elite, the Romans prepared for a war against Syracuse in order to prevent the continuation of the alliance between Syracuse and Carthage.
After the failure of diplomatic mediation attempts broke in 214 BC. BC, in the middle of the second Punic War, the open conflict between the two parties. Immediately after the declaration of war, Roman forces under General Marcus Claudius Marcellus began to siege the city walls and erect a sea blockade. However, Syracuse was able to withstand all initial attacks through well-developed fortifications and with the help of Archimedes.
The siege
When it became apparent that the city would be difficult to take from the land side, the Romans began the siege from the sea side. For this they built floating siege towers , as well as ships that hurled rope ladders onto the city wall. In order to repel these attacks, Archimedes constructed various defense machines. Among other things, a crane, the so-called Archimedes' claw , catapults and supposedly mirrors that used bundled sunlight to ignite the sails of the Roman ships. In addition to these weapons, onagers and ballistae were also used, which, in combination with the other machines designed by Archimedes, prevented the Romans from attempting a direct attack on the city for a long time. At some point the Roman general Marcellus said, exasperated: "We should finally stop arguing with the mathematician."
The siege developed more and more into a stalemate due to the strong defenses . The Romans did not succeed in storming the city, the besieged alone were too weak to carry out an effective breakout. The Carthaginians were also unable to provide their allies with military support. Due to the ongoing conflict with the Romans in Spain, the majority of their troops were tied to other theaters of war.
End of the siege
In 212 BC The Romans received the information from a defector that the residents of Syracuse were celebrating their annual festival in honor of Artemis . Since the guards were apparently only weakly manned during the festival and the inhabitants of the city felt safe due to their strong defense, a small group of Roman soldiers managed to climb the walls at night. After killing the few guards, they opened the city gates to the main forces of the siege army.
Although Marcellus had given orders not to kill Archimedes, whom he valued as a mathematician and as a designer of the defenses, he was slain by a Roman soldier who did not recognize him. According to legend, the 78-year-old inventor was busy doing mathematical calculations when he was asked to interrupt them. Not following the order, he was killed on the spot. ("Do not disturb my circles!")
After the Romans stormed the outer city walls, part of the population withdrew to the heavily fortified citadel . After eight months of siege, this last refuge finally surrendered. Although a Syracuse negotiator had asked for free exit, the Romans murdered the majority of the surviving hunger and disease-ridden residents and enslaved the rest. All of the city's art treasures were looted and taken to Rome.
Effects
With the conquest of Syracuse, the Romans took control of all of Sicily and at the same time created the first province of the Roman Empire . The island was to prove to be an important base and supply base for the wars against Spain and Greece .
The city of Syracuse itself was rebuilt after the end of the Second Punic War and regained its importance as a trading city.
Web links
- Plutarch's Life of Marcellus (English)
- Polybios' history (English)