Battle of Asculum
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The Battle of Asculum was a poorly documented battle that took place near Asculum in 279 BC, and was thought to have lasted either one or two days, between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, and the forces of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The battle took place during the Pyrrhic War, after the Battle of Heraclea of 280 BC, which was the first battle of the war. There currently exist accounts of this battle only by three ancient historians: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, although these historians in turn reference other historians whose work is now lost. Asculum was in Lucanian territory, in southern Italy. The Battle of Asculum was the original "Pyrrhic victory". Two main accounts of the battle survive. Plutarch describes a two-day battle where Pyrrhus attacked the Romans on the first day over rough terrain before on the second day Pyrrhus secured flat terrain which allowed his elephantry and cavalry to defeat the Romans. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, followed by Dio and Zonaras, instead presents a single-day battle in which Roman forces break through the Epirote centre, producing an inconclusive engagement that ended in the night. Plutarch's narrative however is the more reliable. A third variant tradition, rather than marking a Epirote victory or indecision, instead reports that the Romans won; the historian Patrick Kent dismisses these claims as products of patriotic Roman historiography, attributing them to the poet Ennius and later Roman historians' biases. Jeff Champion suggests that it was a narrow tactical victory to Pyrrhus.
Heinrich Leutemann - The Battle of Asculum 279 BC (engraving)
Trophies seized by the Greeks in the battle of Asculum, 279 BC| Type | Subtype | Date | Description | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| event | armed conflict | 209 | Battle of Herdonia | battle | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 211 | Battle of Herdonia | battle | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 212 | Siege of Arpi | Roman Republic, siege, Ancient Carthage | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 278 | Battle of Asculum | Roman Republic, Aetolia, battle, Umbri, Acarnania, Samnites, Epirus, Lucanians | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 1392 | Battle of Ascoli | battle, Ladislaus of Naples, Louis II of Naples, Alberico da Barbiano | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 1462 | Battle of Troia | battle | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 1503 | Battle of Cerignola | Kingdom of France, battle, Catholic Monarchy | Wikidata |
| event | armed conflict | 1528 | Siege of Melfi | siege | Wikidata |
| event | war | 629 | Arab–Byzantine wars | Aghlabids, Emirate of Crete, Ghassanids, Mardaites, Emirate of Bari, Hamdanid dynasty, Kingdom of Italy, Umayyad Caliphate, Rashidun Caliphate, series of wars, Medieval Armenia, Mirdasid dynasty, Italian city-state, Muslim Sicily, Byzantine Empire, Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, First Bulgarian Empire | Wikidata |
| site | fort | 1500 | Fortress Pappacoda | fortress | Wikidata |
| commons | image | Heinrich Leutemann - The Battle of Asculum 279 BC (engraving) | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Trophies seized by the Greeks in the battle of Asculum, 279 BC | Commons | ||
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