The Roman evacuation of Africa in 255 BC succeeded militarily but ended in one of antiquity's worst maritime disasters, destroying most of the Roman fleet.
Key Facts
- Roman warships deployed
- 390 warships (464 total with reinforcements)
- Carthaginian ships captured
- 114 ships
- Carthaginian ships sunk
- 16 ships
- Roman ships lost in storm
- 384 warships and 300 transports ships
- Men lost in storm
- more than 100,000 men
- Survivors evacuated from Aspis
- 2,000 besieged troops rescued
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Rome's invasion of Carthaginian Africa in 256 BC, a wintering force of 15,500 men under Marcus Atilius Regulus was decisively defeated at the Battle of Tunis in spring 255 BC. Regulus was captured, and roughly 2,000 survivors were besieged at the port of Aspis, prompting Rome to dispatch a relief fleet.
A Roman fleet of 390 warships under Servius Fulvius Paetinus Nobilior and Marcus Aemilius Paullus sailed to Aspis, defeated an intercepting Carthaginian fleet of 200 ships off Cape Hermaeum—capturing 114 vessels and sinking 16—then landed, dispersed the besiegers, and evacuated the survivors before heading back to Italy.
As the Roman fleet rounded the south-east corner of Sicily, a violent summer storm struck, sinking 384 warships and 300 transports and killing more than 100,000 men in one of antiquity's greatest maritime disasters. Despite these catastrophic losses on both sides, the First Punic War continued for another 14 years before ending in Roman victory.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Servius Fulvius Paetinus Nobilior, Marcus Aemilius Paullus.
Side B
1 belligerent