Ptolemy Keraunos
Before he left Epirus, Pyrrhus formed an alliance and borrowed soldiers and money from the pretender to the Macedonian throne, Ptolemy Keraunos. His long-time friend and ally Ptolemy II Philadelphus, king of Ptolemaic Egypt, also promised to send 9,000 soldiers and 50 war elephants. He also recruited cavalry from Thessaly and archers and slingers from Rhodes — as their rulers wanted to avoid a war with Epirus. In the spring of 280 BC Pyrrhus landed without losses in Italy.