30 ships sunk 64 ships captured 30,000–40,000 men killed or captured
Cape Ecnomus
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Location of the battle, off the south coast of Sicily
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First Punic War
Treaties
Messana
Agrigentum
1st Mytistratus
Lipari Islands
Mylae
Thermae
2nd Mytistratus
Sulci
Tyndaris
Cape Ecnomus
Aspis
Adys
Bagradas (Tunis)
Cape Hermaeum
Panormus
Lilybaeum
Drepana
Phintias
Drepana (siege)
1st Mt Eryx
2nd Mt Eryx
Aegates Islands
Treaty of Lutatius
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Punic Wars
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The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos (Ancient Greek: Ἔκνομος) was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by Hanno[note 1] and Hamilcar; the Roman fleet jointly by the consuls for the year, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus. It resulted in a clear victory for the Romans.
The Roman fleet of 330 warships plus an unknown number of transports had sailed from Ostia, the port of Rome, and had embarked approximately 26,000 picked legionaries shortly before the battle. They planned to cross to Africa and invade the Carthaginian homeland, in what is now Tunisia. The Carthaginians were aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered all available warships, 350, off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. With a combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and marines, the battle was arguably the single largest battle of ancient history, and was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved.[4][5][note 2]
When the fleets met, the Carthaginians took the initiative and the battle devolved into three separate conflicts, where the Carthaginians hoped that their superior ship-handling skills would win the day. After a prolonged and confusing day of fighting, the Carthaginians were decisively defeated, losing 30 ships sunk and 64 captured to Roman losses of 24 ships sunk.
^Lazenby 1996, p. 85.
^Lazenby 1996, p. 86.
^Hoyos 2007, p. 15; p.15, n. 1.
^Lazenby 1996, p. 87.
^Mills, Eric (2020). "The Great Sea's Greatest Battle". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^Goldsworthy 2000, pp. 110–111.
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