Battle of Drepana 249 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 249 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 | First Punic War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ancient Carthage, Roman Republic | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 38.0100, 12.5050 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The naval Battle of Drepana (or Drepanum) took place in 249 BC during the First Punic War near Drepana (modern Trapani) in western Sicily, between a Carthaginian fleet under Adherbal and a Roman fleet commanded by Publius Claudius Pulcher.
Pulcher was blockading the Carthaginian stronghold of Lilybaeum (modern Marsala) when he decided to attack their fleet, which was in the harbour of the nearby city of Drepana. The Roman fleet sailed by night to carry out a surprise attack but became scattered in the dark. Adherbal was able to lead his fleet out to sea before it was trapped in harbour; having gained sea room in which to manoeuvre he then counter-attacked. The Romans were pinned against the shore, and after a day of fighting were heavily defeated by the more manoeuvrable Carthaginian ships with their better-trained crews. It was Carthage's greatest naval victory of the war; they turned to the maritime offensive after Drepana and all but swept the Romans from the sea. It was seven years before Rome again attempted to field a substantial fleet, while Carthage put most of its ships into reserve to save money and free up manpower.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Drepana (revision 1375084419), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Trapani 1266 · 2 km
- Battle of Eryx 277 BC · 8 km
- Battle of Falconaria 1299 · 8 km
- Siege of Motya 398 BC · 16 km
- Siege of Lilybaeum (c. 277 BC) 276 BC · 24 km
- Siege of Lilybaeum (368 BC) 368 BC · 24 km
Other battles of the First Punic War
- Battle of Adys 255 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 the Aegates 241 BC
All 14 battles of the First Punic War →
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