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What was the Battle of Mylae (260 BC)?

Introduction The Battle of Mylae took place in 260 BC during the First Punic War and was the first real naval battle between Carthage and the Roman Republic. This battle was key in the Roman victory of Mylae (present-day Milazzo) as well as Sicily itself. It also marked Rome’s first naval triumph and also the… Read More

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What was the Battle of Lipari Islands (260 BC)?

Introduction The Battle of the Lipari Islands or Battle of Lipara was a naval encounter fought in 260 BC during the First Punic War. A squadron of 20 Carthaginian ships commanded by Boödes surprised 17 Roman ships under the senior consul for the year Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio in Lipara Harbour. The inexperienced Romans made a… Read More

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What was the Battle of Leptis Parva (238 BC)?

Introduction The Battle of Leptis Parva was fought in 238 BC between a Carthaginian army of over 30,000 commanded by Hamilcar Barca and Hanno and approximately 20,000 mutinous Carthaginian soldiers and North African rebels under Matho in the North African province of Byzacium (in modern Tunisia). The battle was the final major conflict of the… Read More

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What was the Battle of the Saw (238 BC)?

Introduction The Battle of the Saw was a major event, mostly a protracted siege rather than a battle in the Mercenary War between Carthage and her former mercenary armies from the First Punic War. It takes its name from its location: a box-like canyon known as “The Saw” because of its shape. Background In 238… Read More

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The Defection of Naravas (240 BC)

Introduction The battle following the defection of Numidian chieftain Naravas to Hamilcar Barca was fought between Carthaginian forces commanded by Hamilcar Barca and part of the combined forces of Carthage’s former mercenary armies during the Mercenary War, which Carthage had formerly employed during the First Punic War, and those of rebelling Libyan cities supporting the… Read More

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What was the Battle of Bagradas River (240 BC)?

Introduction The Battle of the Bagradas River or the Macar (c. 240 BC) was fought between Carthaginian forces and part of the combined forces of Carthage’s former mercenary armies during the Mercenary War which it used to conduct the First Punic War and those of rebelling Libyan cities. After the forces of Hanno the Great were… Read More

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What was the Mercenary War (241-238)?

Introduction The Mercenary War, also known as the Truceless War, was a mutiny by troops employed by Carthage at the end of the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC), backed by an uprising of African settlements revolting against Carthaginian control. It lasted from 241 to late 238 or early 237 BC and ended with… Read More