216 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 216 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Varro and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 538 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 216 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Varro and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 538 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 216 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman Republic
- The CarthaginianCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
general, Hannibal, moves his forces southward through Italy and seizes the large army supply depot at CannaeCannaeCannae is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Barletta.-Geography:It is situated near the river Aufidus , on a hill on the right Cannae (mod. Canne della Battaglia) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a...
on the Aufidus RiverOfantoThe Ofanto, known in ancient times as Aufidus, from the Greek Ophidus, Ωφιδους, meaning snake, is a 170 km river in southern Italy...
. - August 2 – The Battle of CannaeBattle of CannaeThe Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
(east of NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) ends in victory for Hannibal whose 40,000-man army defeats a RomanRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
force of 70,000 led by consulConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s Lucius Aemilius Paullus (who is killed in the battle) and Gaius Terentius VarroGaius Terentius VarroGaius Terentius Varro was a Roman consul and commander. Along with his colleague, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, he commanded at the Battle of Cannae during the Second Punic War, in 216 BC, against the Carthaginian general Hannibal. The battle resulted in a decisive Roman defeat.Varro had been a praetor...
. - A loanLoanA loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
of money and supplies for the Roman army in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
is sought and obtained from Hiero II of SyracuseHiero II of SyracuseHieron II , king of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC, was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of the First Punic War....
. - The Roman historian Quintus Fabius PictorQuintus Fabius PictorQuintus Fabius Pictor was one of the earliest Roman historians and considered the first of the annalists. A member of the Fabii gens, he was the grandson of Gaius Fabius Pictor, a painter . He was a senator who fought against the Gauls in 225 BC, and against Carthage in the Second Punic War...
is sent to DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
in GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
to consult the Oracle for advice about what Rome should do after its defeat in the Battle of Cannae. - Following Hannibal's victory, many regions begin to defect from Rome, while others are conquered by Hannibal's forces. In ApuliaApuliaApulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
, LucaniaLucaniaLucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, SamniumSamniumSamnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
and in Bruttium, Hannibal finds many supporters. - The city of CapuaCapuaCapua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
switches sides to join Hannibal and the Carthaginian army winters there. - After the defeat at Cannae, Roman general, Marcus Claudius MarcellusMarcus Claudius MarcellusMarcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
, commands the remnants of the Roman army at Canusium and saves the city of NolaBattle of Nola (216 BC)The First Battle of Nola was fought in 216 BC between the forces of Hannibal and a Roman force led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Hannibal was attempting to seize the town of Nola: He failed, and would make two more unsuccessful attempts on the city in the next two years....
and southern CampaniaCampaniaCampania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
from occupation by Hannibal. - A Roman force of 25,000 led by Lucius Postumius AlbinusLucius Postumius Albinus (consul 234 and 229 BC)Lucius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus was a Roman consul of the third century BC. Most of our knowledge about his career and his demise comes from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita. From his filiation, "A. f. A. n.", we know that he was probably the son of Aulus Postumius Albinus, consul in 242 BC.He was...
is ambushed by Gauls near Litana and almost completely wiped out.
Spain
- Hasdrubal is ordered by the Carthaginian government to march to Italy.
- Roman forces in Spain led by Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio CalvusGnaeus Cornelius Scipio CalvusGnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus was a Roman general and statesman.His father was Lucius Cornelius Scipio, son of the patrician censor of 280, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus. His younger brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio, father of the most famous Scipio – Scipio Africanus...
and Publius Cornelius ScipioPublius Cornelius ScipioPublius Cornelius Scipio was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic.A member of the Corneliagens, Scipio served as consul in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War, and sailed with an army from Pisa to Massilia , with the intention of arresting Hannibal's advance on Italy...
successfully thwart Hasdrubal's attempt to march to Italy.
Syracuse
- The CarthaginianCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
fleet ravages the territory of The Kingdom of Syracuse.
Greece
- Philip V of MacedonPhilip V of MacedonPhilip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
, still resenting Rome's interference in IllyriaIllyriaIn classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
n politics, seizes his opportunity to invade Illyria. Ambassadors from Philip V visit Hannibal at his headquarters in Italy. These actions mark the beginning of the First Macedonian WarFirst Macedonian WarThe First Macedonian War was fought by Rome, allied with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War against Carthage...
between Rome and Macedonia.
Egypt
- A revolt of the Egyptian peasants is put down by Ptolemy IVPtolemy IV PhilopatorPtolemy IV Philopator , son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II of Egypt was the fourth Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt...
.
Deaths
- August 2
- Lucius Aemilius Paullus, RomanRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
consulConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
and general (killed in the Battle of Cannae) - Gnaeus Servilius GeminusGnaeus Servilius GeminusGnaeus Servilius Geminus was a Roman consul, serving as both general and admiral of Roman forces, during the Second Punic War....
, Roman consul 217 BC (killed in the Battle of Cannae) - Marcus Minucius RufusMarcus Minucius Rufus (consul 221 BC)Marcus Minucius Rufus was a Roman consul in 221 BC. He was also Magister Equitum during dictatorship of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus known as Cunctator....
, Roman consul 221 BC, Master of the Horse 217 BC (killed in the Battle of Cannae)
- Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Roman
- After August 2 – Gelo, son of Hiero IIGelo, son of Hiero IIGelo, son of Hiero II was the eldest son of Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse. After the huge defeat suffered by the Romans at Cannae, Gelo went over to the Carthaginian side and began making friendly overtures to the cities allied to Rome. Not long after these events, in 216 BC Gelo died. Livy suggests...