Battle of Adys 255 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 255 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Tunisia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Punic War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 36.6085, 10.1717 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The battle of Adys (or Adis) took place in late 256 BC during the First Punic War between a Carthaginian army jointly commanded by Bostar, Hamilcar and Hasdrubal and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. Earlier in the year, the new Roman navy had established naval superiority and used this advantage to invade the Carthaginian homeland, which roughly aligned with modern Tunisia in North Africa. After landing on the Cape Bon Peninsula and conducting a successful campaign, the fleet returned to Sicily, leaving Regulus with 15,500 men to hold the lodgement in Africa over the winter.
Instead of holding his position, Regulus advanced towards the Carthaginian capital, Carthage. The Carthaginian army established itself on a rocky hill near Adys (modern Uthina) where Regulus was besieging the town. Regulus had his forces execute a night march to launch twin dawn assaults on the Carthaginians' fortified hilltop camp. One part of this force was repulsed and pursued down the hill. The other part then charged the pursuing Carthaginians in the rear and routed them in turn. At this the Carthaginians remaining in the camp panicked and fled.
The Romans advanced to and captured Tunis, only 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Carthage. Despairing, the Carthaginians sued for peace.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Adys (revision 1370105950), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Ad Decimum 533 · 18 km
- Battle of Nepheris (147 BC) 147 BC · 19 km
- Siege of Tunis (Mercenary War) 238 BC · 21 km
- Battle of the Bagradas River (255 BC) 255 BC · 21 km
- Conquest of Tunis (1535) 1535 · 21 km
- Conquest of Tunis (1574) 1574 · 21 km
Other battles of the First Punic War
- Battle of Mylae 260 BC
- Battle of the Lipari Islands 260 BC
- Battle of Sulci 258 BC
- Battle of Tyndaris 257 BC
- Battle of Cape Ecnomus 256 BC
- Battle of the Bagradas River (255 BC) 255 BC
- Siege of Aspis 255 BC
- Battle of Panormus 251 BC
- Siege of Lilybaeum (250–241 BC) 250 BC
- Battle of Drepana 249 BC
All 14 battles of the First Punic War →
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