264 BC
The crossing and the Syracusans
Appius Claudius crosses the strait with two legions, about 9,000 men. Despite the strength of the Carthaginian navy the crossing meets little opposition, and Polybius writes that it is made at night. The Romans enter Messana, which the Mamertines hold for them.
Hiero II of Syracuse wearing a diadem, on a bronze coin of his reignWikimedia Commons, Stella, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Moneta Gerone II.png)
The besiegers lie in two separate camps. Polybius places the Carthaginian army north of the city and its fleet at Cape Pelorus, and Hiero’s army on a hill outside the city. The Romans march out and attack the Syracusans, leaving the Carthaginians for later. They defeat the Syracusans, and Hiero withdraws his army to Syracuse.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 1, 11 to 12.
- John Lazenby, The First Punic War (1996).
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