The original Pyrrhic victory came courtesy of Pyrrhus of Epirus, a Greek king who was undone by his costly battles against the Romans. Sparta's one colony, Tarentum, in Italy, was a wealthy commercial center with a navy, but an inadequate army.When a Roman squadron of ships arrived at the coast of Tarentum, in violation of a treaty of 302 that denied Rome access to its harbor, the Tarentines sank the ships, killed the admiral, and added insult to injury by spurning Roman ambassadors. The ensuing Battle of Beneventum was a disaster, as Pyrrhus' flanking maneuver failed, and, whenever he attempted to send in elephants in desperate attempts to turn the tide, the Roman skirmishers repositioned on their flanks, fired javelins at them, and sent them panicking and stomping into their own lines.

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The Pyrrhic War, 280–275 bc. Ancient History Encyclopedia.

With its rising power in the Mediterranean, conflict with the Greek city-states (Magna Graecia) of southern Italy was inevitable.

The Second Latin War (340–338 BC) had placed the Latium region under Roman dominance, if not outright control, and the resistance of the Samnites again… Philocharis of Tarentum views Cornelius' expedition as a violation of an ancient naval treaty, attacks the expedition, sinking 4 ships and capturing 1. Pyrrhus released the prisoners from Heraclea in a gesture of kindness after an honorable Roman diplomat named Fabricius warned him of his physician's plot to poison him for money, having said that Rome would not defeat Pyrrhus through treachery. Rome spent the 280s bc putting down unrest in northern Italy, but its attention was soon directed to the far south as well by a quarrel between the Greek city of Thurii and a Samnite tribe. Tarentum fell to the Roman Republic in 272 BC, the same year as Pyrrhus' death during a riot in Argos. In Beauharnais v. Illinois, a 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving a charge proscribing group libel, Associate Justice Black alluded to Pyrrhus in his dissent. One, from Macedon, announced Ptolemy's death in battle with the Gauls in 279 BC, and they invited Pyrrhus to become their King. In 282 BC, Rome was called by the city of Thurii for military assistance in a dispute it had with another city.

Pyrrhus next offered to negotiate a truce with Rome, but Rome refused to talk as long as Pyrrhus remained on Italian soil. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy!

After the battle, the Romans renamed the town to Beneventum (Good Event) in recognition of their victory over Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus' army included 20,000 Macedonian and Epirote sarissa pikemen, 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, and 20 war elephants. The other envoy came from the Greek Cities of Sicily, who were under threat from the mercenary Mamertines and the Carthaginians. Ancient History Encyclopedia. As a result of the Roman victory, Magna Graecia came under Roman control, and Rome was now in a position to challenge Carthage for control of Sicily.

The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. After fortifying Breed’s Hill—the battle takes it’s name from Bunker Hill, the peak they were originally told to occupy—they faced down a superior force of some 2,200 British soldiers. In early 280 BC, Tarentum sent its fleet to transport Pyrrhus' Epirote army into Italy. The Roman garrison at Rhegium mutinies and seizes the town. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom.

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The Pyrrhic War was fought from 280 to 275 BC when the Greek ruler Pyrrhus of Epirus attempted to expand Epirus into southern Italy and Sicily, with the pretext of defending the city-states of Magna Graecia against the expanding Roman Republic. After King Charles II died without an heir in 1700, the War of the Spanish Succession erupted over who would assume his place on the Spanish throne. The phrase originates from a quote from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose triumph against the Romans in the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC destroyed much of his forces and – while a tactical victory – forced the end of his campaign.

Thurii called upon the assistance… In typically aggressive fashion, he threw his 130,000-strong army against the Russian lines in a frontal assault. The Romans had little difficulty in dealing with his friends and rear guards on the Italian mainland.
Pyrrhus has Thoenon of Syracuse killed on suspicion of treason, and his despotic behaviour makes him unpopular with the Sicilians.


Malplaquet would go down in history as the deadliest battle of the 18th century. Rome was shocked and angered by this incident and sent out diplomats to defuse the situation. (A dozen years later, Rome’s interests in the Mediterranean would come into conflict with those of Carthage, and they went to war.) Pyrrhus leaves Italy; the end of the war between Rome and Pyrrhus.

The Romans lost about 6,000 men while Pyrrhus' army suffered 3,500 casualties.

This opened the way for Roman dominance over the city states of Magna Graecia and advanced … Cineas goes to Rome again, but he is unable to negotiate peace terms. [1][2]

"Pyrrhic War."

Epirus' ruler, Pyrrhus, had already made a name for himself as a military adventurer who had engaged in several failed attempts to create an empire in Macedonia and Greece. Web. As Pyrrhus recovered, two embassies arrived with unique opportunities. Instead of attacking Rome directly, Pyrrhus decided to campaign up the Adriatic coast in Apulia to win over more of Rome's allies and secure his supply line to Epirus.

There, too, new colonies were founded to cement Roman rule. The American Revolution had turned bloody by the summer of 1775, but aside from minor skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the colonials had yet to test their mettle against the British Army. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. [29] Examples include: A "hollow victory" or "empty victory" is one in which the victor gains little or nothing. Pyrrhus now marched north to defeat two Roman armies in detail, sending a contingent of his army to Lucania to delay the approach of a consular army while taking his remanining 35,000 troops to face Manius Curius Dentatus on a hill near the town of Beneventum. Thurii called upon the assistance of Rome, whose naval operations in the area provoked a war with the Greek city of Tarentum. The Confederates sustained a crushing 13,000 casualties, including the friendly fire death of Stonewall Jackson, the brilliant general that Lee had called his “right arm.” The Union Army of the Potomac suffered an even greater 17,000 killed, wounded and captured, but unlike the rebels, it had the manpower and recruitment numbers to replace its losses. Both in Sicily and on the mainland, conflict between all of these groups was ongoing. Roman Republic Marsi Marrucini Paeligni Frentani Daunians Umbrians, Epirus Aetolian League Tarentum Samnites Lucanians Bruttii Macedon Ptolemaic Egypt Rhodes Thessaly, Publius Valerius Laevinus Publius Decius Mus Publius Sulpicius Saverrio Manius Curius Dentatus. Pyrrhus, hoping to build a vast empire, saw this opportunity as a good starting point and accepted. A History of the Pyrrhic War explores the multi-polar nature of a conflict that involved the Romans, peoples of Italy, western Greeks, and Carthaginians during Pyrrhus’ western campaign in the early third century BCE. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. Pyrrhus agrees. The situation only worsened when Napoleon moved on Moscow a few days later. The Roman general Publius Mus managed to use the terrain to reduce the effectiveness of the Greek cavalry and elephants. By the time the French finally escaped from hostile territory, they had suffered a staggering 400,000 casualties.

His Grande Armée had suffered some 30,000 casualties—a full 15,000 fewer than the Russians, but far too many to be sustainable when fighting on unfriendly soil. Napoleon was reluctant to send his elite Imperial Guard into the fray, however, and Kutuzov’s army managed to escape destruction and flee. Pyrrhus marched on Rome, with his army being swelled by the Italian Greeks and Rome's rebellious Italic allies. Appius Claudius, who built the Appian Way, now an old man and blind, exhorted the Romans to refuse negotiations with Pyrrhus, who was really only asking at this point for freedom for Tarentum and her allies. Pyrrhus was once again forced to march back to Tarentum to refill his depleted ranks and recover. The Roman senate declares war on Tarentum. He had scarcely embarked before Tarentum surrendered to the Romans (272 BC).

The phrase originates from a quote from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose triumph against the Romans in the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC destroyed much of his forces and – while a tactical victory – forced the end of his campaign. [4][original research?]. He found his victory prize largely abandoned, and shortly after his arrival, the Russians set fires that burned much of the city to the ground. He then marched west on Agrigentum, whose tyrant was allied to him.

This list comprises examples of battles that ended in a Pyrrhic victory.

He also successfully guarded his flanks using the … Painting showing Stonewall Jackson being wounded.

ancient Rome: The Pyrrhic War, 280–275 bc. The single bloodiest day of Napoleon Bonaparte’s military career unfolded on September 7, 1812, when the French emperor was in the midst of his doomed invasion of Russia.

According to the ancient historian Plutarch, the warrior king was quoted as muttering, “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.” Following a setback at the Battle of Beneventum in 275 B.C., he reluctantly called off his campaign and sailed back to Greece. He then went to capture the outlying fortresses of Panormus before taking the port city itself, taking over the finest harbor in Sicily. This one was of a much greater scale, taking two days in the hills of Apulia. By 1712, it had started to collapse.

Knowing the weakness of the traditional Greek phalanx was its lack of mobility and difficulty in maintaining its formation, especially on rough ground, he effectively used local troops to fill gaps that occurred when the phalanx engaged the enemy.

The Second Latin War (340–338 BC) had placed the Latium region under Roman dominance, if not outright control, and the resistance of the Samnites against Roman control was coming to an end with a few minor conflicts being the only remnants of the Samnite Wars (343–290 BC). But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Modern caricature: "Pyrrhus arrives in Italy with his Troops.".

Stunned, he fell off his horse, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him easily.

Ancient History Encyclopedia, 14 Mar 2016.

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