Battle of Agrigentum The Battle of Agrigentum ( Sicily , 261 BC ) was the first pitched battle of the First Punic War and the first large - scale military confrontation between Carthaginians and the Republic of Rome . The battle was fought after a long siege which started in 262 BC and resulted both in a Roman victory and the beginning of the Roman control of Sicily . The City . Agrigentum is a city on the island of Sicily , two and a half miles from the southern coast . It is on a plateau , surrounded by steep slopes on all sides except the west . The city was protected by the Hypsas River ( Drago ) to the west and the Akragas River to the east . The natural barriers meant the only way to attack the city was from the west , making the city easily defensible . The city commanded a main route along the southern coast and also routes leading northwards and eastwards to other cities . The major status of Agrigentum meant that it was a target for invading forces , and in 262 BC the Romans attacked the city to prevent the Carthaginians from holding it and using it as a staging ground for a possible attack on Rome . Prelude to the Siege of Agrigentum . In 288 BC , the Mamertines , Italian mercenaries that were hired to attack the Carthaginians , went to the city of Messana to protect it but instead massacred its men , took the land , and forced the women to become their wives . They then used the city as a base of operations for raiding neighboring cities . Hiero II , then leader of Syracuse , campaigned against the Mamertines . At some time between 268 and 265 , Hiero II decisively defeated the Mamertines at the Longanus River , which caused the Mamertines to appeal to Carthage and Rome , the other major powers in the region besides Syracuse , for military aid . A Carthaginian commander in Sicily responded and sent a small force to garrison Messana ’ s citadel . Hiero II did not want openly attack the Carthaginians and invite a war , so he retreated back to Syracuse . Carthage had already been trying to control Sicily for centuries , and their main opposition had been the Greek colonies spread around the island . Syracuse , the wealthiest and most powerful of the Greek colonies in Sicily , had always been Carthage ' s main opposition . Taking control of Messana allowed Carthage to decrease Syracuse ' s power , and since Carthage already controlled North Africa , parts of Spain , Sardinia , and some small islands in the Mediterranean , control of Messana could lead to the conquest of Sicily . Additionally , Messana could be an excellent staging area if the Carthaginians wanted to invade Italy and attack Rome . While the Romans had been steadily expanding their territory for over a century , their army had never fought a battle outside of the Italian Peninsula . Carthage ' s control of an invasion route into Italy threatened Rome ' s newly conquered territory in southern Italy as well as Rome itself . In 264 BC , the Roman Senate voted to send an expedition to Sicily under the command of Appius Claudius Caudex , one of the consuls for that year . Whether the Century Assembly of Rome formally declared war is disputed . Adrian Goldsworthy has maintained that it was highly unlikely , and that , although the Romans knew war with Syracuse was almost a certainty , they believed their military would deter or swiftly defeat any opposition in Sicily . The Romans intended to send two legion s to Sicily in 262 BC , probably willing to negotiate peace with Carthage . Since 264 BC , when they had declared war on Carthage , there had not been much serious fighting between the two except for a small fight in the straits of Messana . The Carthaginians also made conciliatory gestures at the start of the war , but in 262 BC , they started to increase their forces in Sicily . Once the Carthaginians started increasing their forces on the island , the Romans sent consuls there . The consuls were the generals of the Roman army , and with the consuls traveled several legions . The Carthaginians hired Ligurian , Celtic , and Spanish mercenaries to induce their enemies in Sicily to attack the Romans on the half of the island which the Romans controlled . Agrigentum at this point became the main base for the Carthaginians . The Carthaginians began sending forces to Sardinia using sea power , but most of their army was in Sicily . It seems that they were going to use the island as a base for attacks on Italy . The Roman consuls , Lucius Postumius Megellus and Quintus Mamilius Vitulus focused their forces on Agrigentum . The consuls had a combined force of 40 , 000 men . Hannibal Gisco , the commander of Agrigentum and the son of Gisgo , gathered many of the people who lived in the area surrounding the city behind the city walls , swelling the population of the city to about 50 , 000 ; his garrison , however , was relatively small . Hannibal refused to fight outside the city walls , which the Romans might have seen as a sign of weakness . The Romans then set up their camp about a mile from the city and harvested the crops from the area . The Siege . Hannibal finally attacked the Romans while they were harvesting the crops in the fields . The Romans , outnumbered and unarmed , fled the area . The picket guarding their camp was the Romans ' only fortification , and although they lost many men , they were able to defeat another Carthaginian contingent that was attempting to penetrate the camp . This first skirmish made Hannibal realize that he could not afford to lose any more men . He became increasingly reluctant to attack again , and the Romans realized they had underestimated their enemy . The Roman consuls realized that they had to cut off Agrigentum from the outside world and blockade the city to cause starvation in order to force its inhabitants to surrender . The Romans began digging a system of ditches and small forts surrounding the city so the inhabitants would not have enough time to prepare for the siege . The consuls divided their forces with one near the Temple of Asklepios to the south of the city and the other stationed to the west of the city . There was a stalemate for five months until November 262 BC when supplies began to run out in Agrigentum . Hannibal became increasingly concerned over the limited resources , so he sent urgent messages to Carthage appealing for help . Carthage sent a relief force from Africa commanded by Hanno , whom historians believe to have been the son of Hannibal . There are varying accounts as to the details of Hanno ’ s army . Polybius , the Greek historian , says there were about 50 elephants , Numidian cavalry , and mercenaries . Diodoros , another historian , wrote there were 50 , 000 infantry , 6 , 000 cavalry , and 60 elephants . Yet another historian , Orosius says 30 , 000 infantry , 1 , 500 cavalry , and 30 elephants . Hanno first advanced and concentrated his troops at Heraclea Minoa , about 25 miles west of Agrigentum . Hanno managed to capture the Roman supply base at Herbesos , causing shortages in supplies in the Roman camp , which led to disease and privation . This seizure of the Roman supplies also cut off the Roman lines of communication . Hanno then marched on , telling his Numidian cavalry to attack the Roman cavalry and then feign retreat . The Romans pursued the Numidians as they retreated and were brought to the main Carthaginian column . The Romans suffered many losses . Hanno then took position on Toros ( Torus ) , a hill about a mile from the Romans camp , where further skirmishes took place for two months , causing the siege to last from six to seven months . With Hanno camped outside their own camp , the Roman supply lines from Syracuse were no longer available . With their own army at risk of starvation , the consuls chose to offer battle . This time it was Hanno ' s turn to refuse , probably with the intention of defeating the Romans by hunger . Meanwhile , the situation inside Agrigentum after more than six months of siege was close to desperate . Hannibal , communicating with the outside by smoke signals , sent urgent pleas for relief , and Hanno was forced to accept a pitched battle . While there are several accounts giving details of the actual fighting , they are — as is common with ancient records — inconsistent and difficult to reconcile . Two Versions of the Final Battle . Polybius was a Greek historian who was born towards the 3rd century BC . He attempted to find the truths in events and criticized others when they did not . He also was able to speak with participants of the war against Hannibal and was himself an eyewitness to some events of the battle . Zonaras , a Byzantine monk from the 12th century AD , transcribed works that were written by Romans around the time of the Punic Wars . Polybius . Polybius says that for two months , the two enemies were stationed close together outside the city without any direct conflict . However , Hannibal , still in the city , was sending a constant flow of messages and fire - signals stressing the city ’ s food shortages and desertion of the enemy which caused Hanno to fight . The Romans , who were also close to starvation , accepted the fight . After a long struggle , the Romans killed most of the Carthaginians ; the Romans lost 3 , 000 infantry , 200 cavalry . The Carthaginians lost 30 , 000 foot and 540 cavalry and 4 , 000 men were taken prisoner ( throughout the whole siege , not in the battle itself ) . Zonaras . Zonaras wrote that Hanno deployed his army to battle but the Romans declined to fight because of the previous defeat of their cavalry . However , as food shortages became more severe , the consuls finally decided to fight , but Hanno was deterred by their sudden confidence . Hanno originally wanted to co - ordinate his attack with Hannibal ’ s , but the Romans became aware of the plan . The Romans then ambushed the Carthaginian rear , so when Hanno attacked them , he was taken from both front and rear . The Romans also defeated an attack by the Carthaginian garrison . No matter which version is correct , the Romans defeated the Carthaginians and forced Hanno to retreat . The night after the battle , Hannibal managed to escape Agrigentum with his mercenaries by filling the Roman trenches with straw . The next morning , the Romans pursued Hannibal and his garrison , and attacked the rear - guard , but eventually turned back to take control of Agrigentum . While seizing the city without opposition , they plundered the city and sold 25 , 000 inhabitants into slavery . Aftermath . Following this battle ( the first among four pitched land battles fought in the First Punic War ) , the Romans occupied Agrigentum and sold the whole population into slavery . Though acts of brutality like this were commonplace , it proved counterproductive . It hardened the attitude of many other towns which might otherwise have proven friendly to Rome . The taking of Agrigentum was a significant victory for the Romans , although they came close to disaster on multiple occasions . However , since Hannibal and his garrison managed to escape relatively unharmed , there was no Roman triumph for the two consuls , and it detracted from the success of the battle . After 261 BC , Rome controlled most of Sicily and secured the grain harvest for its own use . This victory in the first large - scale campaign fought outside Italy gave the Romans extra confidence to pursue overseas interests . References .