Battle of Cumae (215 BC) 215 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 215 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 | Second Punic War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ancient Carthage, Campanians, Roman Republic | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.8486, 14.0536 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The battle of Cumae in 215 BC was a defensive victory for the Romans and the city of Cumae against aggression from Capua and its ally, Carthage, during the Second Punic War. It is described in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, book 23.
The Capuans were the driving force in the confrontation over Cumae that began early in 215. When the Cumaeans refused their encouragement to rebel against Rome, the Capuans prepared an ambush for the Cumaean contingent travelling to a religious festival at Hamae. The Cumaeans, suspecting a ruse, warned the Roman commander Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus based at Sinuessa. Gracchus surprised the Capuans and inflicted a heavy defeat on them. Livy reports over 2,000 dead. Gracchus then retreated to the safety of Cumae. The Carthaginian commander, Hannibal, who had not been apprised of the Capuans' intentions, marched from his winter camp to secure the battlefield and bring the wonded back to Capua.
The next day, at the urging of his allies, Hannibal marched on Cumae with "all the siege equipment for attacking a city", in Livy's words, including a siege tower. The Romans beat him off and he returned to his winter camp.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cumae (215 BC) (revision 1375837424), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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