Gaius Lutatius Catulus
Gaius Lutatius Catulus from the gens Lutatia was a Roman politician and general in the end times of the First Punic War .
He was consul of the year 242 BC. In which the Roman Senate decided that after the Battle of Drepana in 249 BC To rebuild the lost fleet in order to regain the naval rule of Carthage , since the state finances were completely shattered after more than twenty years of war - at the expense of the individual senators.
The new fleet was in early 241 BC. And was entrusted to Catulus, who used it to besiege the port city of Lilybaeum , Carthage's supply bastion for Sicily . A Carthaginian relief fleet under Hanno reached the same area a little later. On March 10, 241 BC Both fleets met in the battle of the Aegatic Islands , which ended in a victory for Rome. Since Catulus himself suffered from a wound from the battle of Drepana, the praetor Quintus Valerius Falto represented him , who then litigated with him for the right to his own triumph . Catulus triumphed de Poenis in October 241 BC. Chr.
After the losses in this naval battle, Carthage was unable to build a new fleet or reinforce the land forces in Sicily, so the Punians gave up the fight and signed a peace treaty with Rome . The First Punic War was over.
literature
- Hans Georg Gundel : Lutatius 2. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, Col. 791 f.
Remarks
- ↑ Valerius Maximus 2, 8, 2.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lutatius Catulus, Gaius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman politician and general in the end times of the First Punic War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 242 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd century BC Chr. |