Battle of Asculum 279 BC
.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 279 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pyrrhic War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Acarnania, Aetolia, Epirus, Lucanians, Roman Republic, Samnites, Umbri | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.2156, 15.5578 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Asculum was a battle that took place near Asculum (modern Ascoli Satriano) in 279 BC, and was thought to have lasted either one or two days, between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus (who by some accounts died before the battle) and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, and the forces of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The battle took place during the Pyrrhic War, after the Battle of Heraclea of 280 BC, which was the first battle of the war. There currently exist accounts of this battle only by three ancient historians: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, although these historians in turn reference other historians whose work is now lost. Asculum was in Lucanian territory, in southern Italy.
The Battle of Asculum was the original "Pyrrhic victory". Two main accounts of the battle survive. Plutarch describes a two-day battle where Pyrrhus attacked the Romans on the first day over rough terrain before on the second day Pyrrhus secured flat terrain which allowed his elephants, infantry and cavalry to defeat the Romans. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, followed by Dio and Zonaras, instead presents a single-day battle in which Roman forces break through the Epirote centre, producing an inconclusive engagement that ended in the night.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Asculum (revision 1370432630), 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 Herdonia (210 BC) 210 BC · 13 km
- Battle of Herdonia (212 BC) 212 BC · 13 km
- Battle of Olivento 1041 · 24 km
- Siege of Arpi 213 BC · 29 km
- Battle of Cerignola 1503 · 29 km
- Siege of Atella 1496 · 40 km
Other battles of the Pyrrhic War
- Battle of Heraclea 280 BC
- Battle of the Strait of Messina 276 BC
- Siege of Lilybaeum (c. 277 BC) 276 BC
- Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) 275 BC
All 5 battles of the Pyrrhic War →
Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · Ancient battles