Siege of Syracuse (278 BC) 278 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 278 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 | Pyrrhus' campaign in Sicily | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ancient Carthage, Epirus, Syrakousai | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.0692, 15.2875 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Syracuse in 278 BC was the last attempt of Carthage to conquer the city of Syracuse. Syracuse was weakened by a civil war between Thoenon and Sostratus. The Carthaginians used this opportunity to attack and besiege Syracuse both by land and sea. Thoenon and Sostratus then appealed to king Pyrrhus of Epirus to come to the aid of Syracuse. When Pyrrhus arrived, the Carthaginian army and navy retreated without a fight.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Syracuse (278 BC) (revision 1380733598), 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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Other battles of the Pyrrhus' campaign in Sicily
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Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · Ancient battles