Second Battle of Lilybaeum
Coordinates: 37 ° 48 ′ 0 ″ N , 12 ° 26 ′ 0 ″ E
Lilybaeum (Marsala) in Sicily
| date | Summer 218 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Near Lilybaeum (now Marsala ) in Sicily |
| output | roman victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
unknown |
|
| Troop strength | |
| about 30 ships | about 30 ships |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
7 ships captured by the Romans, 1,700 prisoners |
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 Second Battle of Lilybaeum was the first naval battle between the Romans and Carthaginians in the Second Punic War.
prehistory
The Second Punic War began with the Carthaginian attack on the Roman-friendly city of Saguntum . After the successes in the First Punic War , the Roman governor ( praetor ) of Sicily , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , wanted to attack the Carthaginians near Sicily as an act of revenge, which he did with a fleet of 30 quinquerems . Many Carthaginians lived in Lilybaeum (present-day Marsala ) even after the city was ceded in accordance with the treaty. After Hannibal's violation of the peace treaty, the Romans discriminated them.
Aemilius also attacked the Carthaginians living on the Aeolian Islands . During these raids, a Carthaginian fleet had traveled north from Carthage to attack Sicily, buying Hannibal time. They now wanted to attack the Roman city of Lilybaeum. Aemilius seized this fleet in the summer of 218 BC. Chr.
The battle
The day before the battle, a storm broke out that damaged several of the 30 Carthaginian ships. When the Roman fleet arrived the next day, the Carthaginians tried to outmaneuver the Roman ships. In this battle Aemilius used the Corvus , which had already proven itself in the First Punic War, and so it was easy for the Roman legionaries to defeat the lightly armed Carthaginian warriors. The Romans captured seven ships and captured a total of 1,700 men. The remaining Carthaginian ships fled.
consequences
After this defeat, the Carthaginians made no further attempt to attack Sicily. The island remained in Roman hands throughout the Second Punic War.
swell
- Titus Livius 21, 49-50
literature
- Peter Connolly : Hannibal, and the Enemies of Rome , ISBN 3-7886-0182-5
- Nigel Bagnall: The Punic Wars , 1990, ISBN 0-312-34214-4