Battle of Beneventum (275 BC)

Battle of Beneventum
Part of the Pyrrhic War
Most important places in the Pyrrhic War
Date 275 BC Location Beneventum (modern Benevento), Campania, Italy Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Roman Republic	Epirus
Commanders and leaders
Manius Curius Dentatus	Pyrrhus of Epirus
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) was the last battle of the Pyrrhic War. It was fought between the forces of Pyrrhus the king of Epirus, in Greece, and the Romans, led by consul Manius Curius Dentatus. It was fought near Beneventum, in southern Italy. At the time of the battle this city still had its original name: Maleventum. Six years later (268 BC) the Romans sought to further secure the city and its area by establishing a Roman colony there. The name was changed from Maleventum, a name which the Romans associated with bad omens, to Beneventum, a name which to them had more fortunate connotations.

The Pyrrhic War broke out when Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, in Greece sailed to southern Italy, ostensibly to aid the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy in a dispute with the Romans. Ancient historians agreed that his real motive was the conquest of Italy. Besides the Tarentines, three Italic peoples of southern Italy, the Samnites, Lucani and Bruttii, who were in conflict with the Romans, fought alongside the forces of this Greek king. Pyrrhus won two battles (the Battle of Heraclea and the Battle of Asculum) which were highly wasteful for him because he suffered heavy casualties. He realised that he could not sustain more battles with the Romans. They depleted his forces, whereas the pool of military manpower of the Romans was far superior. Consequently, when he was asked by the Greek city-states of eastern and southern Sicily to help them against the Carthaginians in the western part of the island, he accepted and went to Sicily. This aggrieved his allies in southern Italy, who were left to their own devices against the Romans. Pyrrhus seized all the Carthaginian domains except for Lilybaeum, which he failed to capture. He then decided to build a large fleet to attack the Carthaginians in Africa. In order to man and equip this fleet he treated the Greek city-states despotically. Many of them turned against him. This forced him to leave Sicily and return to Italy.

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