Battle of Lilybaeum The Battle of Lilybaeum was the first naval clash between the navies of Carthage and Rome during the Second Punic War . The Carthaginians had sent 35 quinqueremes to raid Sicily , starting with Lilybaeum . The Romans , warned by Hiero of Syracuse of the coming raid , had time to intercept the Carthaginian contingent with a fleet made of 20 quinqueremes and capture several Carthaginian ships . Background . Carthage and the Roman Republic had peaceful , if not friendly relations since signing the first treaty in 509 BC , which had detailed the rights of each power . Treaties were signed in 348 and 306 BC that further established the spheres of influence of each state . Carthage and Rome cooperated against King Pyrrheus and signed a treaty of cooperation in 279 BC . However , Roman involvement in Messina in Sicily 264 BC led to the First Punic War , which cost Carthage her Sicilian holdings , naval supremacy and a large indemnity . The Roman actions during the Mercenary War favoured Carthage , but they seized Sardinia and Corsica after that war concluded . Carthage rebuilt her fortunes by conquering parts of Iberia under the leadership of Hamilcar , Hasdrubal and Hannibal during 237 - 218 BC . Rome , at the instigation of Massalia , signed a treaty with Hasdrubal the Fair in 226 BC which established the Ebro as the limit of Carthaginian power in Iberia . The city of Saguntum , located south of the river , became an ally of Rome some time after 226 BC . When Iberian allies of Hannibal Barca came into conflict with Saguntum , Romans warned Hannibal not to intervene . Faced with the choice of backing down and losing face , Hannibal opted to attack Saguntum . This was the start of the Second Punic War . Strategic Situation . The Roman Senate had declared war on Carthage after Hannibal Barca had attacked , besieged and finally taken the city of Saguntum in Iberia in 219 BC . Rome had declared Saguntum an ally but had done nothing to help the city during the eight month long siege . Once the siege was over , the combatants started to make ready for the coming struggle , which was to last 18 years . Roman preparations . The Roman navy had been mobilized in 219 BC , fielding 220 quinquereme s for fighting Illyrians . Publius Cornelius Scipio received 4 legions ( 8 , 000 Roman and 14 , 000 allied infantry and 600 Roman and 1 , 600 allied horse ) and was to sail for Iberia escorted by 60 ships . However , Gauls of the Boii and Insuber tribes in north Italy attacked the Roman colonies of Placentia and Cremona , causing the Romans to flee to Mutina , which the Gauls then besieged . Praetor L . Manlius Vulso marched with 2 Roman legions , 600 Roman Horse , 10 , 000 allied infantry and 1 , 000 allied cavalry towards Cisalpine Gaul from Ariminium . This army was ambushed twice on the way , lost 1 , 200 men , and although the siege of Mutina was raised , the army itself fell under a loose siege a few miles from Mutina . This event prompted the Roman Senate to send one of Scipio ' s legions and 5 , 000 allied troops to aid Vulso . Scipio had to raise troops to replace these and thus could not set out for Iberia until September 218 BC . Consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus received 4 legions ( 2 Romans and 2 allied , 8 , 000 Roman and 16 , 000 allied infantry and 600 Roman and 1 , 800 allied horse ) and instructions to sail for Africa with escorted by 160 quinqueremes . Sempronius had set sail for Sicily , where he was to complete his preparations for invading Africa . Punic preparations . Hannibal had dismissed his army to winter quarters after the Siege of Saguntum . In the summer of 218 BC , Hannibal stationed 15 , 000 soldiers and 21 elephants in Iberia under his brother Hasdrubal Barca , and sent 20 , 000 soldiers in Africa with 4 , 000 garrisoning Carthage itself . The army that marched for Italy from Cartagena is supposed to have numbered 90 , 000 foot and 12 , 000 cavalry , and 37 elephants . Hannibal divided his army into three columns before crossing the Ebro River , and attacked the Iberian tribes of Ilergetes , Bergusii and Ausetani in Catalonia . In a two month long campaign , Hannibal subdued parts of Catalonia between the Ebro , the Pyrenees and the Sicoris river in a swift , if costly campaign . The Iberian contingent of the Punic navy numbered 50 quinqueremes ( only 32 were manned ) and 5 triremes , which remained in the Iberian waters , having shadowed Hannibal ' s army for some way . Carthage mobilized at least 55 Quinqueremes for immediate raids on Italy Prelude . The Carthaginian navy struck the first blow of the war when a fleet of 20 quinqueremes , loaded with 1 , 000 soldiers , raided the Lipari Islands . Another group of eight ships attacked Vulcano island , but were blown off - course in a storm towards the Straits of Messina . The Syracusan navy , then at Messina , managed to capture three of the ships , which surrendered without resistance . Learning from the captured crew that a Carthaginian fleet was to attack Lilybaeum , Hiero II , who was at Messina awaiting the arrival of Sempronius , warned the Roman praetor Marcus Amellius at Lilybaeum about the impending raid . The battle . The Carthaginian fleet was hampered by bad weather and had to wait before commencing their operation . Although the Romans only had 20 ships present at Lilybaeum , the praetor , after receiving the warning from Hiero , provisioned his ships for a long sail and put in a proper contingent of Roman legionaries on board each ship before the Carthaginian fleet appeared . He also posted lookouts along the coast to watch for the Carthaginian ships , giving him early warning and minimizing the risk of surprise . The Carthaginians had broken their journey at the Aegates Islands , and when they sailed for Lilybaeum on a moonlit night , they intended to make their approach coincide with the dawn . The Roman lookouts spotted them well before they reached the harbour . As the Romans sallied forth , the Carthaginians lowered their sails for battle and moved to the open sea . The Carthaginians outnumbered the Romans , but their ships were undermanned and the Romans had the advantage of containing a larger number of soldiers aboard their ships . Playing to their individual strengths , the Roman ships tried to close with the Carthaginian ships and grapple them , while the Carthaginians tried to evade the onrushing Roman ships and ram them if possible . In the melee , the Romans managed to board and capture seven Carthaginian ships and take 1 , 700 prisoners . The remaining Carthaginian ships managed to retreat . The Roman losses are unknown . Aftermath . The Romans had managed to thwart the attempt by the Carthaginians to establish a base in Sicily . The Consul T . Sempronius Longus soon arrived with his army and fleet in Sicily . He sailed with his fleet to Malta , where he captured the island and bagged 2 , 000 prisoners , along with the Carthaginian garrison commander , Hamilcar Gisco . He then sailed to intercept a Carthaginian naval contingent raiding the Vulcan islands . The Carthaginian contingent had sailed and raided the Roman territory around Vibo in Bruttium . Sempronius received the news of the Battle of Ticinus and was summoned by the Roman senate to aid Scipio . He posted 50 ships at Lilybaeum under Marcus Amellius , another 25 in Vibo , then sent his army via land and sea to Ariminium .