Battle of the Aegatic Islands

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Battle of the Aegatic Islands
Part of: First Punic War
Area of ​​battle
Area of ​​battle
date March 10, 241 BC Chr.
place Off the west coast of Sicily
output Victory of Rome,
end of the First Punic War
Parties to the conflict

Roman Republic

Carthage

Commander

Gaius Lutatius Catulus (Consul)

Hanno the Great

Troop strength
about 200 ships under 200 ships
losses

30 ships sunk

70 ships captured and 30 sunk

The Battle of the Aegatic Islands or Aegusa off the west coast of Sicily on March 10, 241 BC. Was the last naval battle between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic in the First Punic War . The result of the battle was a decisive Roman victory that also put an end to the war.

prehistory

The years before the Battle of the Aegean Islands had been relatively calm. Rome lacked the navy - the one it had at the beginning of the war had been destroyed in the Battle of Drepana and the storm that followed - and Carthage made little use of that advantage. The war focused on small land operations in Sicily, which slowly resulted in a superiority on the island for Hamilkar Barkas . Presumably this was the reason that Rome was founded in 242 BC. BC decided to build a new fleet to regain control of the sea.

After 20 years of war, however, the finances of the republic were in a shambles and the state treasury was empty. In order to implement the resolution, a typical Roman solution to the financing problem was found: wealthy citizens, alone or in groups, showed their patriotism by paying for the construction of a ship, although with the guarantee of a refund of the funds in the event of a Roman victory over Carthage. The result was a fleet of over 200 quinquerems , built, equipped and manned with no public expenditure.

The new fleet was 241 BC. Ready to start. It was entrusted to Consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus , who was assisted by Praetor Quintus Valerius Falto . Lessons had also been learned from the blows of fate in the past: the ships were now more resistant to adverse weather conditions, especially since the Corvus was not installed. Catulus and Falto also tried to practice the maneuvers with the crews before leaving safe waters. The result was a fleet in the best possible condition.

In Carthage, news of the enemy's activities could not go unanswered. Here, too, a new fleet was built, consisting of around 250 ships, completely overloaded (Carthage no longer had transport ships and therefore had to use warships for this purpose) and manned by a completely inexperienced crew, and under the command of Hannos , the general, of had already lost the Battle of Agrigento and the Battle of Cape Ecnomus , launched.

Aegatic islands

Bronze ram of one of the sunk Cathargic ships
Sebastiano Tusa with a find (2012)

Catulus' first activity was the re-siege of Lilybaion (today: Marsala) by a blockade of the port and a cutting of the connection to Carthage, whereby Hamilkar Barkas should be cut off from all supply lines and all information. The Carthaginian fleet reached the area a short time later. Hanno stopped near the Aegatic Islands (now the Egadi Islands or Isole Egadi) to wait for a favorable wind that would bring him quickly to Lilybaeum. However, the fleet was discovered by Roman scouts, whereupon Catulus gave up the blockade to face the enemy.

On the morning of March 10th, the wind blew in the direction Hanno wanted and he gave the order to set sail. Catulus now had to weigh the risk of an attack against the wind against the risk of letting Hanno go to Sicily and freeing Hamilkar Barkas and Lilybaeum. Despite these unfavorable conditions, the consul decided to intercept the Carthaginians and ordered the formation of the battle. It is not clear whether because of the food and their additional weight, or because of the inexperience of the quickly recruited crew, in any case Hanno could not take advantage of the favorable wind and lost the following battle. More than half of the Carthaginian fleet was captured or sank, with the remainder fled when the wind turned.

End of the First Punic War

After the victory, Catulus resumed the siege of Lilybaion, again isolating Hamilkar Barkas and his army in Sicily, which were also spread over the few fortresses that Carthage still held. Without the means to build a new fleet or to reinforce the land forces, Carthage gave up the fight and signed a peace treaty with Rome that put an end to the First Punic War and awarded Sicily to the Romans, and Sardinia and Corsica three years later occupied.

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