Naval battle of the First Punic War fought off Cape Ecnomus (modern day Poggio di Sant'Angelo in Licata, Sicily) and one of the largest naval battles of the ancient world
One of the largest naval battles in history, Cape Ecnomus enabled Rome to invade North Africa during the First Punic War.
Key Facts
- Roman warships
- 330 warships plus transports
- Carthaginian warships
- 350
- Combined combatants
- Up to 290,000 crew and marines
- Carthaginian losses
- 30 sunk, 64 captured ships
- Roman losses
- 24 sunk ships
- Roman legionaries embarked
- ~26,000
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Rome planned an amphibious invasion of Carthage's North African homeland in Tunisia to bring the First Punic War to a decisive conclusion. The Romans assembled a massive fleet of 330 warships and loaded approximately 26,000 legionaries at Ostia. Carthage, aware of these intentions, mustered all available warships—350 in total—off the southern coast of Sicily to intercept and destroy the Roman expedition before it could cross the Mediterranean.
The two fleets met off Cape Ecnomus in 256 BC in a battle involving roughly 680 warships and up to 290,000 men. The Carthaginians, commanded by Hanno and Hamilcar, took the initiative and split the engagement into three separate sub-battles, hoping superior seamanship would prevail. After prolonged and confused fighting, the Romans under consuls Regulus and Vulso Longus defeated the Carthaginians decisively, sinking 30 enemy vessels and capturing 64, while losing only 24 ships themselves.
The Roman victory at Cape Ecnomus cleared the sea lane to North Africa, allowing the invasion fleet to proceed to Tunisia. Roman forces subsequently landed in Africa and conducted a campaign against Carthage on its own territory, marking a major strategic escalation of the First Punic War. Although the subsequent African campaign ultimately failed, the battle demonstrated Roman naval supremacy and the capacity to project power far beyond Sicily.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Marcus Atilius Regulus, Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus.
Side B
1 belligerent
Hanno, Hamilcar.