Battle of Telamon
Campo Regio, near Talamone, Tuscany, Italy
What happened
Two Roman consular armies under Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus fought a large Celtic army led by the kings Concolitanus and Aneroëstes. Celtic tribes from northern Italy marched south through Etruria toward Rome, then turned back toward the coast. One Roman army followed them, while another, arriving by sea from Sardinia, blocked their path near Telamon. Caught between the two Roman armies, the Celtic army was defeated; the consul Regulus fell in the fighting.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It ended the Celtic threat to Rome. Rome went on to extend its control over northern Italy.
What came next
In the following three years Roman armies invaded Celtic lands and forced the tribes to give up territory. Anger over these losses led many Celts to join Hannibal when he crossed the Alps in 218 BCE.
Did you know?
Garibaldi is said to have stopped at Talamone in 1860 for water and weapons on his way to Sicily.
Timeline
- 225 BCECeltic armies march into Etruria.
- 225 BCEThe Romans win at Telamon.
- 224 BCERoman armies force the Boii to submit.