Key Facts
- Duration
- 9 years (250–241 BC)
- Roman besieging force
- More than 100,000 men
- Deciding engagement
- Battle of the Aegates, 241 BC
- War total duration
- 23 years (264–241 BC)
- Treaty ending conflict
- Treaty of Lutatius, 241 BC
Strategic Narrative Overview
Rome besieged Lilybaeum in mid-250 BC with over 100,000 troops, but a direct assault failed and the siege stagnated. Roman attempts to neutralize the Carthaginian fleet ended in the naval defeats at Drepana and Phintias, allowing Carthage to resupply the city freely. Only in 242 BC did Rome construct a new fleet capable of blockading Lilybaeum and intercepting Carthaginian supply convoys.
01 / The Origins
Rome and Carthage went to war in 264 BC, fighting primarily over Sicily. Over decades of campaigning, Rome steadily pushed Carthaginian forces westward across the island. By 250 BC, Carthage retained only the heavily fortified coastal cities of Lilybaeum and Drepana on Sicily's western tip, both accessible by sea and beyond easy reach of Rome's dominant land forces.
03 / The Outcome
At the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC, Rome destroyed the Carthaginian relief fleet. Carthage, unable to sustain its Sicilian garrisons, sued for peace. Under the Treaty of Lutatius, Carthage withdrew all forces from Sicily, including Lilybaeum, ending 23 years of war with a Roman victory and establishing Rome as the dominant power in the western Mediterranean.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.