battle of Aegates Islands

Aegates Islands, battle of (battle of Isole Egadi) (241 bc). This was the last battle of the first Punic war, fought on 10 March 241 bc between a Carthaginian fleet of about 250 quinqueremes commanded by Hanno, and 200 Roman quinqueremes commanded by the Consul Caius Lutatius Catulus and the praetor urbanus Quintus Valerius Falto. Although it had more warships, the Carthaginian fleet had been hastily raised, may have been undermanned, and was hampered by the supplies for the army in Sicily it was either escorting or carrying. Its intention was to land these supplies and only to fight when it had taken on board some of the veteran soldiers from that army. The Roman ships, on the other hand, had been modelled on a particularly fast captured vessel, and were manned by the best crews available. The stormy conditions thus favoured the Romans, and they won decisively, disabling or capturing about 120 Carthaginian vessels, for the loss of perhaps only about 30. Only the fact that the wind shifted to the east, enabling the remnant of the Carthaginian fleet to hoist sails and flee, saved it from complete destruction.

Bibliography

• Lazenby, J. F., The First Punic War (London, 1996).
• Polybius, 1. 59-61

— John Lazenby