Battle of the Aegates
Off the Aegadian Islands, western Sicily, Italy
What happened
A Roman fleet under Gaius Lutatius Catulus and Quintus Valerius Falto fought a Carthaginian fleet under Hanno. Carthage sent a fleet to carry supplies to its last strongholds in western Sicily. The Romans had taken down their masts and sails to make their ships lighter, and met the heavily loaded Carthaginian ships in strong winds. Rome won, though a change in the wind let some Carthaginian ships escape.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the final, deciding battle of the First Punic War. Rome became the leading military power in the western Mediterranean.
What came next
Under the Treaty of Lutatius, Carthage gave up Sicily, freed its Roman prisoners and agreed to pay a large sum of silver. Sicily became Rome's first province.
Did you know?
Since 2010, archaeologists have found 27 bronze warship rams on the seabed off western Sicily, from both Roman and Carthaginian ships.
Timeline
- 10 March 241 BCERome wins off the Aegates Islands.
- 241 BCEThe Treaty of Lutatius ends the First Punic War.
- 237 BCECarthage also gives up Sardinia and Corsica.
- 218 BCEThe Second Punic War begins.
- 2010Archaeologists begin finding warship rams on the seabed.