Battle Of Cape Ecnomus: One Of The Greatest Naval Battles In History

MessageToEagle.com – In 256 BC, during the First Punic War (264-241 B.C.) one of the greatest naval battles in history took place off the coast of Sicily, Italy. As many as 330 ancient Roman ships confronted 350 Carthaginians ships. The struggle was long and many lives were lost. The fight between these two huge ancient powers is today known as the Battle Of Cape Ecnomus.

Ancient Romans tried to control the Mediterranean Sea, but they had a great enemy that could not be easily defeated – the Carthaginians.

Carthage was without doubt one of Rome’s toughest adversaries in regards to control of the Mediterreanean Sea.

In 256, the Romans sent a fleet of no less than 330 ships from Sicily to Africa, where the army aboard was supposed to strike at the Carthaginian homeland. Before crossing the Mediterranean, it encountered a Carthaginian navy of 350 ships, not far from modern Licata, at Ecnomus, an early third-century city founded by refugees from Gela, The site has been identified at Poggio di Sant’ Angelo.

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Both sides thought that they fought now on equal terms, and both threw themselves most thoroughly into the task of organizing naval forces and disputing the command of the sea.

Each of the ships had around 300 rowers and 120 combat troops, which adds up to a total of some 300,000 men. Even though they had fewer ships, the Romans won after a long struggle and only suffered around 10,000 casualties while the Carthaginians lost more than 40,000.

The war was not over yet, though. Carthage would stay a formidable archenemy of the Roman Empire for many years to come.

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