Battle of Nola (216 BC) 216 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 216 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, Roman Republic | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.9261, 14.5275 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The First Battle of Nola was fought in 216 BC between the forces of Hannibal and a Roman force led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Hannibal was attempting to seize the town of Nola: He failed to do so, and would make two more unsuccessful attempts on the city over the next two years.
Hannibal moved to capture the city of Nola due to some leaders in the city offering to open their gates to him. A Roman force under the command of Marcellus arrived before Hannibal and was able to enter the city. Hannibal camped near the city, and daily skirmishes took place between the two armies. Marcellus learnt that the only support he enjoyed was the senators in the city. Marcellus took action to prevent betrayal by undermining the pro-Hannibal faction in the city. Marcellus learnt that some leaders in the city had been conspiring with Hannibal, and he discovered that should he make any sortie from the town or draw up for battle outside, they planned on plundering the baggage and closing the gates behind him. After this, Marcellus decided his situation was not sustainable.
He took action to protect himself from a revolt, pulled his troops from the walls, and secretly organized them behind the gates. Hannibal drew up his men in battle order in anticipation of an attack or at least another skirmish.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Nola (216 BC) (revision 1370451828), 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.
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- Battle of Ebro River 217 BC
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- Battle of Lake Trasimene 217 BC
- Battle of Cannae 216 BC
- Battle of Silva Litana 216 BC
- Battle of Cumae (215 BC) 215 BC
- Battle of Decimomannu 215 BC
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