Battle of Heraclea
| date | 280 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Heraclea |
| output | Epirotic Victory (a " Pyrrhic Victory ") |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 30,000 soldiers (6 legions) | 20,000 phalangites 500 slingers 2000 archers 3000 cavalry 20 elephants |
| losses | |
|
approx. 7000 dead, thousands prisoners |
approx. 4000 dead |
In the battle of Heraclea there were 280 BC. BC the Romans under the command of Publius Valerius Laevinus and the allied Greeks of Epirus with the cities of Tarento , Thurii , Metapont , Herakleia in southern Italy under the leadership of King Pyrrhus of Epirus . It ended with a victory for the Greeks.
background
Tarentum was a Greek colony, part of Magna Graecia . The democrats in Tarentum under Philocharis or Ainesias knew that they would lose their independence if Rome attacked the city, and feared after the end of the Third Samnite War in 290 BC. The Roman urge to expand. This fear was nourished by the establishment of Roman colonies in Puglia and Lucania , the most important of which was Venusia .
282 BC After a battle against the Samnites , Lucanians , Bruttier and Thurioi, the Romans occupied Kroton , Lokroi and Rhegium , and the democrats from Tarentum knew that the Romans would immediately after the end of the war against the Celts , Lucanians, Etruscans , Samnites and Bruttians would also occupy Tarentum.
The second faction in Tarentum were the aristocrats, led by Agis, who were positive about submission to Roman suzerainty, as it would increase their own power. Knowing that direct submission was unpopular, the aristocrats came up with a different plan: in the autumn of 282, when Tarentum was celebrating its Dionysus festival, the inhabitants discovered ten Roman ships sitting in the theater overlooking the sea, which were sailing into the Gulf of Introduce Tarentum . According to the Polish historian Krzysztof Kęciek, the aristocrats had asked the Roman commanders Publius Cornelius and Lucius Valerius to arrest and execute the Democrats and their supporters, which would have allowed the aristocrats to submit. The Democrats, referring to a treaty with the Romans that prohibited them from entering the Gulf, prepared their fleet for the attack. A quarter of the ships sank in the battle and one was captured.
The Democrats knew they still had a chance to win against the Romans. They decided to turn to Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, for help. The army and fleet from Tarentum were moved to Thurii and helped the local democrats to banish the aristocrats. The Roman garrison stationed in Thurii withdrew.
Rome sent diplomats to Tarentum, but the Greeks broke off the talks. 281 BC BC Roman legions under Lucius Aemilius Barbula conquered Tarentum and sacked it. Subsequently, Tarentum lost a battle against the Romans despite Samnite and Salentine reinforcements. Agis was tasked with signing a ceasefire and initiating peace talks, but these were broken off the moment 3,000 soldiers from Epirus entered the city under the command of Milon. The Roman consul withdrew and suffered losses from attacks by Greek ships.
Pyrrhus decided to help Tarentum because he owed them: they had previously helped him to conquer the island of Corfu (Kerkyra). He also knew that he could count on the support of the Samnites, Lucanians, Bruttians and some Illyrian tribes. His goal was to conquer Macedonia , but he didn't have enough money to pay mercenaries. He therefore planned to help Tarentum, then cross over to Sicily and attack Carthage - after a victory and the conquest of southern Italy he would have had enough money to raise an army strong enough to conquer Macedonia.
preparation
Before he left Epirus, he borrowed some phalangites from the Macedonian king , as well as ships and money from the Syrian king and Antigonus II Gonatas . The Egyptian king promised 9,000 soldiers and 50 war elephants - all forces to defend Epirus while Pyrrhus was absent. He also recruited soldiers in Greece. In the spring of 280 BC BC transferred Pyrrhus to Italy. He had 20,000 phalangites, 500 slingers, 2,000 archers, 3,000 elite cavalrymen from Thessaly and 20 war elephants with him.
After hearing of Pyrrhus' landing, the Romans mobilized eight legions and auxiliaries, a total of around 80,000 soldiers, who they divided into four armies:
- The first army under the command of Barbula had the task of employing the Samnites;
- the second army stayed behind to protect Rome;
- the third army, under the command of the consul Tiberius Coruncanius , turned against the Etruscans
- the fourth army under Laevinus marched to Tarentum and sacked Lucania on the way.
The battle
Pyrrhus did not turn against the Romans as he awaited reinforcements from his allies. When he realized that this would not come in time, he decided to put the Romans on a plain on the Siris river between Pandosia and Heraclea, but still sent diplomats with the suggestion that he should mediate between the Romans and the southern Italian population. He claimed that his allies would recognize him as a judge and asked the Romans to do the same. The Romans declined his suggestion and also went to the plain to the right of the Siris River and made their camp there.
It is not known how many troops Pyrrhus left in Tarentum, but he probably had between 25,000 and 30,000 soldiers with him. He set them up on the left bank of the Siris in the hopes that the Romans would have trouble crossing the river, which would have given him time to prepare for his attack. He set up guards on the river, waited for the river to begin crossing, so that at the same moment he attacked the Romans with the cavalry and the elephants. Valerius Laevinus had about 30,000 soldiers under his command, including cavalry, slingers and spear throwers.
When Pyrrhus was informed of the beginning of the river crossing, he ordered his cavalry to attack. His infantry, supported by slingers, archers, and heavy infantry, are also moving. The Greek cavalry successfully disrupted the Roman battle formation and then withdrew. Pyrrhus' slingers and archers used their weapons, and the Phalangites began their attack as well.
The phalangites attacked three times and the Romans replied three times. When Pyrrhus saw the Roman infantry line split open, he sent his elephants into battle. The Romans were terrified when they spotted the elephants and their cavalry refused to ride against them. Pyrrhus' cavalry now attacked the wings of the Roman infantry; they fled and the Greeks conquered the Roman camp, whereupon the Romans withdrew to Venusia.
According to Hieronymus von Cardia, the Romans lost 7,000 soldiers, thousands were taken prisoner, and Pyrrhus lost around 4,000 soldiers.
Aftermath
After the battle, reinforcements from southern Italy joined Pyrrhus. The Greeks of Rhegium who wanted to support him were killed by Roman soldiers under Decius Vibelius , who was subsequently appointed ruler of the city. Pyrrhus set out for Etruria with his army. He conquered small towns in Campania , his soldiers sacked Lazio . His advance was halted at Anagnia , two days' march from Rome, when he encountered another Roman army under Coruncanius. Pyrrhus feared that he would not have enough soldiers to fight, also knew Laevinus and Barbula behind him - he turned back and the Romans let him go.
See also
literature
- Krzysztof Kęciek: Benewent 275 pne Bellona, Warsaw 2001
- Information about this war can be found in Plutarch , Polybius , Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Livy .
