Pyrrhic War
Encyclopedia
The Pyrrhic War was a complex series of battles and shifting political alliances among the Greeks
(specifically Epirus
, Macedon
ia, and the city states of Magna Graecia
), Romans
, the Italian peoples (primarily the Samnites and the Etruscans), and the Carthaginians
The Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict between Rome
and the city of Tarentum
over a naval treaty violation by one of the Roman consul
s. Tarentum had, however, lent aid to the Greek
ruler Pyrrhus of Epirus
in his conflict with Corcyra, and requested military aid from Epirus. Pyrrhus honored his obligation to Tarentum and joined the complex series of conflicts involving Tarentum and the Romans
, Samnites, Etruscans, and Thurii
(as well as other cities of Magna Graecia
). Pyrrhus also involved himself in the internal political conflicts of Sicily
, as well as the Sicilian struggle against Carthaginian
dominance.
Pyrrhus' involvement in the regional conflicts of Sicily reduced the Carthaginian influence there drastically. In Italy, his involvement seems to have been mostly ineffectual but had long term implications. The Pyrrhic war proved both that the states of ancient Greece
had essentially become incapable of defending the independent colonies of Magna Graecia
and that the Roman legion
s were capable of competing with the armies of the Hellenistic kingdoms — the dominant Mediterranean powers of the time. This opened the way for Roman dominance over the city states of Magna Graecia and advanced the Roman consolidation of power in Italy greatly. Rome's proven record in international military conflicts would also aid its resolve in its rivalry with Carthage
, which was eventually to culminate in the Punic Wars
.
Linguistically, the Pyrrhic War is the source of the expression "Pyrrhic victory
," a term for a victory won at too high a cost. Its origin can be seen in Plutarch
's description of Pyrrhus' reaction to the report of a victorious battle:
To the north of Roman-controlled Latium lay the Etruscan
cities, and to the south of Roman-controlled Samnium
lay the Greek
city states of Magna Graecia
: politically independent cities in southern Italia and Sicily
, settled by Greek colonists in the 7th and 8th centuries BC. Both in Sicily
and on the mainland, conflict between all of these groups was ongoing. The Latin War
(340–338 BC) had placed the Latium
region under Roman dominance, if not outright control, and the resistance of the Samnites against Roman control was coming to an end with a few minor conflicts being the only remnants of the Samnite Wars
(343–290 BC).
The patchwork of Italian and Sicilian cultures and nations had resulted in continuing conflicts and territory changes, which in recent decades had seen an expansion of Roman influence over Italy. Rome was, however, a "local Italian concern", never having tried its hand in the larger international affairs of the Mediterranean, nor pitted its military strength against any of the dominant Greek cultures. The Pyrrhic war would change both of these facts.
, Rome was called by the city of Thurii
for military assistance in a dispute it had with another city. In response, Rome sent out a fleet of ships that entered the Bay of Tarentum. This act violated a longstanding treaty between it and the city of Tarentum
, which forbade Rome from entering Tarentine waters. Enraged by what it considered a hostile aggression, the city attacked the fleet, sinking several ships and sending the rest away. Rome was shocked and angered by this incident and sent out diplomats to defuse the situation. However, negotiations turned sour, leading to a declaration of war against Tarentum.
Seeking reinforcements, Tarentum then turned to mainland Greece for military aid and called on the King of Epirus to help it defeat the Romans. Pyrrhus, hoping to build a vast empire, saw this opportunity as a good starting point and accepted.
In 280 B.C. Pyrrhus landed with 25,000 troops, including a score of war elephants, in Italy. A Roman army of 50,000 led by Publius Laevinius
was sent into the Lucania
n territory, where the first battle took place near the city of Heraclea
. During this battle, a wounded elephant made the other beasts panic, thereby ruining what would otherwise have been a complete victory for Pyrrhus. Casualty lists differ, ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 for the Romans and 4,000 to 13,000 for the Greeks.
This battle proved to be crucial in showing the stability of the Roman republic. Pyrrhus had expected the Italic tribes to rebel against the Romans and join him. However, by now the Romans had stabilized the area, and only a few Italics actually joined the Greeks.
. This one was of a much greater scale, taking two days in the hills of Apulia
. The Roman general Publius Mus
managed to use the terrain to reduce the effectiveness of the Greek cavalry and elephants. Thus the first day ended with a stalemate. The second day Pyrrhus made another attack with war elephants supported by infantry, which finally overwhelmed Mus's position. The Romans lost about 6,000 men while Pyrrhus' army suffered 3,500 casualties.
The battle still was not quite as glorious, and according to the Greek historian Plutarch
, Pyrrhus said that "that one other such (victory) would utterly undo him." Thus, the phrase "Pyrrhic victory
" entered the language.
, who built the Appian Way
, now an old man and blind, exhorted the Romans to refuse negotiations with Pyrrhus, who was really only asking at this point for freedom for Tarentum and her allies.
Pyrrhus tried to ally with Carthage
against Rome, but the Carthaginians, seeing Pyrrhus as the greater threat, refused and sent a squadron up to the Tiber
mouth to offer help against him. The third Roman treaty with Carthage now concluded an effectual alliance between them and against Pyrrhus. (A dozen years later, Rome’s interests in the Mediterranean would come into conflict with those of Carthage, and they went to war.) The effect was to limit Pyrrhus' career in the west to aggression against the Greek states which he had nominally come to protect.
, settled now at Messana, offered their help, but Campania and most of the south gave Pyrrhus no encouragement. Only Etruria thought the tide had turned against Rome, quickly to discover its mistake.
After two campaigns in which, though he always won battles, Pyrrhus was losing more men than he could afford, he moved on to Sicily
(278 BC
) to aid the Greeks there, who were being hard pressed by the Carthaginians. The Romans had little difficulty in dealing with his friends and rear guards on the Italian mainland.
The Carthaginians had not waited to be attacked. When Pyrrhus sailed for Sicily, they were besieging Syracuse
, his necessary base, and looking for him with their fleet. He evaded their ships, however, and drove off their field army, captured the cities of Panormus and Eryx
and refused their offer to surrender everything in Sicily except for Lilybaeum, which they direly needed if they sought to keep their hold on Sardinia
.
All the while, his losses had been heavy and his reinforcements few. Tarentum was hard pressed by the Romans, and between them and the Carthaginian fleet he might have been trapped in Sicily. So in a desperate attempt he returned once more to Italy, to fight one more campaign.
, Pyrrhus was back in Italy. He faced the Romans at the town of Maleventum
(translation: Bad Event) in southern Italy and was severely defeated, as the Romans had learned how to deal with his spearmen and elephants. The Romans had learned that they could wound the elephants in the side using their pila
, the short throwing spears that had come into use during the Samnite Wars
. This would in turn panic the elephants, which ran out of control and trampled their own troops. (This was more than sixty years before the famous campaign of Hannibal of Carthage in which he crossed the Alps
with an army employing elephants.)
After the battle, the Romans renamed the town to Beneventum (Good Event) in recognition of their victory over Pyrrhus. He then retreated into Tarentum for the duration of the war. Pyrrhus soon left Italy forever and returned to the Greek mainland, leaving a sufficient force to garrison Tarentum. He had lost two thirds of his army during the fighting and had little to show for his efforts. His parting words were memorable, What a battlefield I am leaving for Carthage and Rome!
He had scarcely embarked before Tarentum surrendered to the Romans (272 BC
). Rome treated the Tarentines leniently, allowing them the same local self-rule it allowed other cities. Tarentum in turn recognized Rome's hegemony in Italy and became another of Rome's allies, while a Roman garrison remained in Tarentum to ensure its loyalty. Other Greek cities and the Bruttian tribes with their valuable forest-country surrendered likewise, undertaking to supply Rome with ships and crews in future. Some Greek cities may still have seen themselves as allies, rather than subjects, of Rome.
The victory over Pyrrhus was a significant one as it was the defeat of a Greek army which fought in the tradition of Alexander the Great and was commanded by the most able commander of the time. In 272 BC
Pyrrhus' life came to an end - one version is that, during a street battle in Argos
, a woman threw a roof tile down upon his head. Stunned, he fell off his horse, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him easily.
After its defeat of Pyrrhus, Rome was recognized as a major power in the Mediterranean, as evidenced by the opening of a permanent embassy of amity by the Macedonian
king of Egypt
in Rome in 273 BC
.
New Roman colonies were founded in the south to further secure the territory to Roman domination. In the north the last free Etruscan city, Volsinii
, revolted and was destroyed in 264 BC
. There, too, new colonies were founded to cement Roman rule.
Rome was now mistress of all the peninsula from the Straits of Messina to the Apennine
frontier with the Gauls
along the Arnus and the Rubicon
rivers.
280 BC
279 BC
278 BC
Ancient Greece
Ancient 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...
(specifically Epirus
Epirus (ancient state)
Epirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...
, Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia, and the city states of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
), Romans
Roman Republic
The 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...
, the Italian peoples (primarily the Samnites and the Etruscans), and the Carthaginians
Carthage
Carthage , 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...
The Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict between Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and the city of Tarentum
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
over a naval treaty violation by one of the Roman consul
Consul
Consul 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. Tarentum had, however, lent aid to the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient 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...
ruler Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
in his conflict with Corcyra, and requested military aid from Epirus. Pyrrhus honored his obligation to Tarentum and joined the complex series of conflicts involving Tarentum and the Romans
Roman Republic
The 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...
, Samnites, Etruscans, and Thurii
Thurii
Thurii , called also by some Latin writers Thurium , for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris, whose place it may be considered as having taken...
(as well as other cities of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
). Pyrrhus also involved himself in the internal political conflicts of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily 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,...
, as well as the Sicilian struggle against Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , 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...
dominance.
Pyrrhus' involvement in the regional conflicts of Sicily reduced the Carthaginian influence there drastically. In Italy, his involvement seems to have been mostly ineffectual but had long term implications. The Pyrrhic war proved both that the states of ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient 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...
had essentially become incapable of defending the independent colonies of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
and that the Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s were capable of competing with the armies of the Hellenistic kingdoms — the dominant Mediterranean powers of the time. This opened the way for Roman dominance over the city states of Magna Graecia and advanced the Roman consolidation of power in Italy greatly. Rome's proven record in international military conflicts would also aid its resolve in its rivalry with Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , 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...
, which was eventually to culminate in the Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
.
Linguistically, the Pyrrhic War is the source of the expression "Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
," a term for a victory won at too high a cost. Its origin can be seen in Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
's description of Pyrrhus' reaction to the report of a victorious battle:
Background
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
cities, and to the south of Roman-controlled Samnium
Samnium
Samnium 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...
lay the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient 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...
city states of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
: politically independent cities in southern Italia and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily 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,...
, settled by Greek colonists in the 7th and 8th centuries BC. Both in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily 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,...
and on the mainland, conflict between all of these groups was ongoing. The Latin War
Latin War
The Latin War was a conflict between the Roman Republic and its neighbors the Latin peoples of ancient Italy. It ended in the dissolution of the Latin League, and incorporation of its territory into the Roman sphere of influence, with the Latins gaining partial rights and varying levels of...
(340–338 BC) had placed the Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
region under Roman dominance, if not outright control, and the resistance of the Samnites against Roman control was coming to an end with a few minor conflicts being the only remnants of the Samnite Wars
Samnite Wars
The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites...
(343–290 BC).
The patchwork of Italian and Sicilian cultures and nations had resulted in continuing conflicts and territory changes, which in recent decades had seen an expansion of Roman influence over Italy. Rome was, however, a "local Italian concern", never having tried its hand in the larger international affairs of the Mediterranean, nor pitted its military strength against any of the dominant Greek cultures. The Pyrrhic war would change both of these facts.
Tarentum asks for help
In 282 BC282 BC
Year 282 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscinus and Papus...
, Rome was called by the city of Thurii
Thurii
Thurii , called also by some Latin writers Thurium , for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris, whose place it may be considered as having taken...
for military assistance in a dispute it had with another city. In response, Rome sent out a fleet of ships that entered the Bay of Tarentum. This act violated a longstanding treaty between it and the city of Tarentum
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
, which forbade Rome from entering Tarentine waters. Enraged by what it considered a hostile aggression, the city attacked the fleet, sinking several ships and sending the rest away. Rome was shocked and angered by this incident and sent out diplomats to defuse the situation. However, negotiations turned sour, leading to a declaration of war against Tarentum.
Seeking reinforcements, Tarentum then turned to mainland Greece for military aid and called on the King of Epirus to help it defeat the Romans. Pyrrhus, hoping to build a vast empire, saw this opportunity as a good starting point and accepted.
Beginning
Publius Valerius Laevinus
Publius Valerius Laevinus was commander of the Roman forces at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, in which he was defeated by Pyrrhus of Epirus. In his Life of Pyrrhus, Plutarch wrote that Caius Fabricius said of this battle that it was not the Epirots who had beaten the Romans, but only Pyrrhus who...
was sent into the Lucania
Lucania
Lucania 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...
n territory, where the first battle took place near the city of Heraclea
Heraclea (Lucania)
Heraclea was an ancient city of Magna Graecia, situated in Lucania on the Gulf of Tarentum , but a short distance from the sea, and between the rivers Aciris and Siris , the site of which is located in the modern comune of Policoro, Province of Matera, Basilicata,...
. During this battle, a wounded elephant made the other beasts panic, thereby ruining what would otherwise have been a complete victory for Pyrrhus. Casualty lists differ, ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 for the Romans and 4,000 to 13,000 for the Greeks.
This battle proved to be crucial in showing the stability of the Roman republic. Pyrrhus had expected the Italic tribes to rebel against the Romans and join him. However, by now the Romans had stabilized the area, and only a few Italics actually joined the Greeks.
Battle of Asculum
In 279 B.C. Pyrrhus fought the second major battle of the war at AsculumAsculum
Asculum, also known as Ausculum, was the ancient name of two Italian cities.The first is Ascoli Piceno, the Ausculum in ancient Picenum . It is situated in the valley of the Truentus river on the via Salaria. It was originally a Sabine city . Following its defeat by the Romans in 268 BC...
. This one was of a much greater scale, taking two days in the hills of Apulia
Apulia
Apulia 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...
. The Roman general Publius Mus
Publius Decius Mus (279 BC)
Publius Decius Mus was a Roman politician and general. As consul in 279 BC, he and his fellow consul, Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, combined their armies against Pyrrhus of Epirus at the Battle of Asculum. Pyrrhus was victorious, but at such a high cost that the security of Asculum was guaranteed...
managed to use the terrain to reduce the effectiveness of the Greek cavalry and elephants. Thus the first day ended with a stalemate. The second day Pyrrhus made another attack with war elephants supported by infantry, which finally overwhelmed Mus's position. The Romans lost about 6,000 men while Pyrrhus' army suffered 3,500 casualties.
The battle still was not quite as glorious, and according to the Greek historian Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Pyrrhus said that "that one other such (victory) would utterly undo him." Thus, the phrase "Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
" entered the language.
Roman alliance with Carthage
Pyrrhus next offered to negotiate a truce with Rome, but Rome refused to talk as long as Pyrrhus remained on Italian soil. Appius ClaudiusAppius Claudius Caecus
Appius Claudius Caecus was a Roman politician from a wealthy patrician family. He was dictator himself and the son of Gaius Claudius Crassus, dictator in 337 BC.-Life:...
, who built the Appian Way
Appian Way
The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
, now an old man and blind, exhorted the Romans to refuse negotiations with Pyrrhus, who was really only asking at this point for freedom for Tarentum and her allies.
Pyrrhus tried to ally with Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , 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...
against Rome, but the Carthaginians, seeing Pyrrhus as the greater threat, refused and sent a squadron up to the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
mouth to offer help against him. The third Roman treaty with Carthage now concluded an effectual alliance between them and against Pyrrhus. (A dozen years later, Rome’s interests in the Mediterranean would come into conflict with those of Carthage, and they went to war.) The effect was to limit Pyrrhus' career in the west to aggression against the Greek states which he had nominally come to protect.
Sicilian campaign
Veterans of AgathoclesAgathocles
Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
, settled now at Messana, offered their help, but Campania and most of the south gave Pyrrhus no encouragement. Only Etruria thought the tide had turned against Rome, quickly to discover its mistake.
After two campaigns in which, though he always won battles, Pyrrhus was losing more men than he could afford, he moved on to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily 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,...
(278 BC
278 BC
Year 278 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscinus and Papus...
) to aid the Greeks there, who were being hard pressed by the Carthaginians. The Romans had little difficulty in dealing with his friends and rear guards on the Italian mainland.
The Carthaginians had not waited to be attacked. When Pyrrhus sailed for Sicily, they were besieging Syracuse
Syracuse, Italy
Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
, his necessary base, and looking for him with their fleet. He evaded their ships, however, and drove off their field army, captured the cities of Panormus and Eryx
Eryx
In Greek mythology, Eryx was a king of the city of Eryx in Sicily. He was either the son of Poseidon or Aphrodite and King Butes of the Elymian people of Sicily. Eryx was an excellent boxer but died when Heracles beat him in a match....
and refused their offer to surrender everything in Sicily except for Lilybaeum, which they direly needed if they sought to keep their hold on Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
.
All the while, his losses had been heavy and his reinforcements few. Tarentum was hard pressed by the Romans, and between them and the Carthaginian fleet he might have been trapped in Sicily. So in a desperate attempt he returned once more to Italy, to fight one more campaign.
Battle of Beneventum
In 275 BC275 BC
Year 275 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dentatus and Caudinus...
, Pyrrhus was back in Italy. He faced the Romans at the town of Maleventum
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
(translation: Bad Event) in southern Italy and was severely defeated, as the Romans had learned how to deal with his spearmen and elephants. The Romans had learned that they could wound the elephants in the side using their pila
Pilum
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...
, the short throwing spears that had come into use during the Samnite Wars
Samnite Wars
The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites...
. This would in turn panic the elephants, which ran out of control and trampled their own troops. (This was more than sixty years before the famous campaign of Hannibal of Carthage in which he crossed the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
with an army employing elephants.)
After the battle, the Romans renamed the town to Beneventum (Good Event) in recognition of their victory over Pyrrhus. He then retreated into Tarentum for the duration of the war. Pyrrhus soon left Italy forever and returned to the Greek mainland, leaving a sufficient force to garrison Tarentum. He had lost two thirds of his army during the fighting and had little to show for his efforts. His parting words were memorable, What a battlefield I am leaving for Carthage and Rome!
He had scarcely embarked before Tarentum surrendered to the Romans (272 BC
272 BC
Year 272 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cursor and Maximus...
). Rome treated the Tarentines leniently, allowing them the same local self-rule it allowed other cities. Tarentum in turn recognized Rome's hegemony in Italy and became another of Rome's allies, while a Roman garrison remained in Tarentum to ensure its loyalty. Other Greek cities and the Bruttian tribes with their valuable forest-country surrendered likewise, undertaking to supply Rome with ships and crews in future. Some Greek cities may still have seen themselves as allies, rather than subjects, of Rome.
Aftermath
272 BC
Year 272 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cursor and Maximus...
Pyrrhus' life came to an end - one version is that, during a street battle in Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
, a woman threw a roof tile down upon his head. Stunned, he fell off his horse, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him easily.
After its defeat of Pyrrhus, Rome was recognized as a major power in the Mediterranean, as evidenced by the opening of a permanent embassy of amity by the Macedonian
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
king of Egypt
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos...
in Rome in 273 BC
273 BC
Year 273 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinus and Canina...
.
New Roman colonies were founded in the south to further secure the territory to Roman domination. In the north the last free Etruscan city, Volsinii
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii , is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis , and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium and Forum Cassii...
, revolted and was destroyed in 264 BC
264 BC
Year 264 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudex and Flaccus...
. There, too, new colonies were founded to cement Roman rule.
Rome was now mistress of all the peninsula from the Straits of Messina to the Apennine
Apennine
-Other places on Earth:*The Apennine or Italian peninsula*Apennins, a department of the first French Empire-Plants and animals:*The Apennine , a modern breed of domestic sheep.*Apennine Shrew, an insectivore endemic to Italy...
frontier with the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
along the Arnus and the Rubicon
Rubicon
The Rubicon is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red"...
rivers.
Conflict chronology
281 BC281 BC
Year 281 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Barbula and Philippus...
- The city of TarentumTarantoTaranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
helps Pyrrhus of EpirusPyrrhus of EpirusPyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
regain control of Corcyra. - Roman 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...
Publius Cornelius DolabellaPublius Cornelius Dolabella (consul 283 BC)Publius Cornelius Dolabella was a consul of the Roman Republic in 283 BC. He is best noted for having defeated the Boii tribe at the Battle of Lake Vadimo...
mounts a 10-ship exploratory expedition along the southern coast of ItaliaItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. - Philocharis of Tarentum views Cornelius' expedition as a violation of an ancient naval treaty, attacks the expedition, sinking 4 ships and capturing 1.
- Tarentum attacks the Roman garrison at ThuriiThuriiThurii , called also by some Latin writers Thurium , for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris, whose place it may be considered as having taken...
, and defeats it, sacking the city. - Rome dispatches an embassy to Tarentum, which is rejected and insulted by The Tarentines.
- The Roman senate declares war on Tarentum.
- 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...
Lucius Aemilius BarbulaLucius Aemilius BarbulaLucius Aemilius Barbula , or Lucius Aemilius Q.f. Q.n. Barbula, was a Roman politician and general from the patrician gens Aemilia. He was elected consul for 281 BCE and was given a command against the Samnites. He invaded the territory of Tarentum, which summoned Pyrrhus of Epirus for help...
ceases hostilities with the Samnites, and moves against Tarentum. - The Tarentines call on Pyrrhus to protect them against the Romans; Pyrrhus is encouraged to go by an oracle from Delphi.
- Pyrrhus makes an alliance with Ptolemy KeraunosPtolemy KeraunosPtolemy Keraunos was the King of Macedon from 281 BC to 279 BC. His epithet Keraunos is Greek for "Thunder" or "Thunderbolt".He was the eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter, ruler of Egypt, and his third wife Eurydice, daughter of the regent Antipater. His younger half-brother, also called Ptolemy,...
and gets help from MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia for his expedition to Italy.
280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...
- Pyrrhus sends CineasCineasIn Roman history, Cineas was a minister of Thessaly and friend of King Pyrrhus of Epirus.In the war with Rome, after his victory in the Battle of Heraclea, Pyrrhus sent Cineas to Rome to sue for peace...
ahead to Tarentum. - Pyrrhus sets sail for Italy.
- Pyrrhus arrives in Italy, bringing war elephants to back up his army.
- The Samnites join Pyrrhus.
- Pyrrhus offers to negotiate with the Romans.
- A Roman garrison is sent to Rhegium.
- Pyrrhus defeats the Romans at the Battle of HeracleaBattle of HeracleaThe Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the command of Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus and the combined forces of Greeks from Epirus, Tarentum, Thurii, Metapontum, and Heraclea under the command of King Pyrrhus of Epirus....
. - LocriLocriLocri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
and other places desert from the Romans. - Two new legionsRoman legionA Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
levied for consul Publius Valerius LaevinusPublius Valerius LaevinusPublius Valerius Laevinus was commander of the Roman forces at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, in which he was defeated by Pyrrhus of Epirus. In his Life of Pyrrhus, Plutarch wrote that Caius Fabricius said of this battle that it was not the Epirots who had beaten the Romans, but only Pyrrhus who...
are deployed against Pyrrhus, reinforced by the existing legions of consul Tiberius CoruncaniusTiberius CoruncaniusTiberius Coruncanius was Roman consul, and military commander in 280 BC – 279 BC, who was known for his military contests with Pyrrhus...
from EtruriaEtruriaEtruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
. - Pyrrhus advances on Rome, as far as Anagnia in Latium.
- Pyrrhus retires to Campania.
- Cineas arrives at Rome as the ambassador of Pyrrhus, and unsuccessfully attempts to win support with bribes.
- The senate rejects Pyrrhus' peace terms, after a speech by Ap. Claudius Caecus.
- Cineas returns to Pyrrhus, and calls the Roman senate "a parliament of kings".
- Gaius Fabricius LuscinusGaius Fabricius LuscinusGaius Fabricius Luscinus Monocularis , son of Gaius, was said to have been the first of the Fabricii to move to ancient Rome, his family originating from Aletrium....
is sent on a mission to Pyrrhus to negotiate the release of Roman prisoners of war. Pyrrhus attempts to bribe Fabricius, and when he cannot, releases the prisoners without ransom. - Pyrrhus invades Apulia, and is confronted by the Roman army.
- Pyrrhus defeats the Romans at the Battle of Asculum, but suffers heavy losses.
- Mago the Carthaginian admiral offers support to the Romans, and a further treaty is signed between Rome and Carthage.
- Mago visits the camp of Pyrrhus on his way back from Rome.
279 BC
279 BC
Year 279 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saverrius and Mus...
- When Fabricius discovers a plot by Pyrrhus' doctor Nicias to poison him, he sends warning to Pyrrhus.
- The Roman garrison at Rhegium mutinies and seizes the town.
- The Sicilians send an embassy to Pyrrhus, asking him to help them against the Carthaginians. Pyrrhus agrees.
- The MamertinesMamertinesThe Mamertines were mercenaries of Italian origin who had been hired from their home in Campania by Agathocles, the king of Syracuse. After Syracuse lost the Third Sicilian War, the city of Messana was ceded to Carthage in 307 BC. When Agathocles died in 289 BC he left many of his mercenaries idle...
make an alliance with the Carthaginians and try to stop Pyrrhus crossing to Sicily. - Cineas goes to Rome again, but he is unable to negotiate peace terms.
- Pyrrhus leaves Italy and crosses over to Sicily.
- Pyrrhus arranges peace between Thoenon and his opponents at Syracuse.
- Embassies from many Sicilian cities come to Pyrrhus offering their support.
- Pyrrhus is proclaimed king of Sicily.
- Pyrrhus takes control of Acragas and thirty other cities which previously belonged to Sosistratus.
- Pyrrhus attacks the territory of the Carthaginians in Sicily.
- Pyrrhus captures Eryx
- The rest of the Carthaginian possessions in Sicily go over to Pyrrhus.
- Pyrrhus defeats the Mamertines.
278 BC
278 BC
Year 278 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscinus and Papus...
- Negotiations begin between Pyrrhus and the Carthaginians.
- Pyrrhus prepares to attack Lilybaeum.
- Pyrrhus has Thoenon of Syracuse killed on suspicion of treason, and his despotic behaviour makes him unpopular with the Sicilians.
- Pyrrhus abandons the siege of Lilybaeum.
- The Italians appeal to Pyrrhus to return to help them.
- Pyrrhus defeats the Carthaginians in a final battle.
- Pyrrhus leaves Sicily and returns to Italy; he is attacked and defeated by the Carthaginian fleet en route.
- Manius Curius Dentatus enlists an army to fight against Pyrrhus.
- Pyrrhus sacks the town of LocriLocriLocri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
, together with the temple of PersephonePersephoneIn Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....
. - Pyrrhus' fleet is caught in a storm after leaving Locri.
- Pyrrhus asks Antigonus of MacedonAntigonus II GonatasAntigonus II Gonatas was a powerful ruler who firmly established the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had invaded the Balkans.-Birth and family:...
for aid to continue the war in Italy. - HieroHiero 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....
, general of SyracuseSyracuse, ItalySyracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
, makes an alliance with Pyrrhus. - Pyrrhus attempts to raise recruits in Samnium.
- The Romans defeat Pyrrhus at the Battle of Beneventum.
- Pyrrhus punishes some of the Tarentines for treachery.
- Pyrrhus leaves Italy; the end of the war between Rome and Pyrrhus.