Editing First Punic War (section)

==Sicily 264–256 BC==
{{Main|Battle of Messana|Battle of Agrigentum}}
[[File:Sicilia - prima guerra punica.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=A relief map of Sicily showing the main cities at the time of the First Punic War|{{center|Sicily, the main theatre of the war}}]]
Much of the war was to be fought on, or in the waters near, Sicily. Away from the coasts, its hilly and rugged terrain made manoeuvring large forces difficult and favoured defence over offence. Land operations were largely confined to [[Raid (military)|raids]], [[siege]]s, and [[interdiction]]; in 23 years of war on Sicily there were only two full-scale pitched battles{{snd}}[[Battle of Agrigentum|Akragas]] in 262&nbsp;BC and [[Battle of Panormus|Panormus]] in 250&nbsp;BC. Garrison duty and land [[blockade]]s were the most common operations for both armies.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=82}}

It was the long-standing Roman procedure to appoint two men each year, known as [[Roman consul|consuls]], to each lead an army. In 263&nbsp;BC both consuls were sent to Sicily with a force of 40,000.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=74}} Syracuse was again besieged, and with no Carthaginian assistance anticipated, Syracuse rapidly made peace with the Romans: it became a Roman ally, paid an indemnity of 100 [[talent (measurement)|talents]] of silver{{#tag:ref|100 talents was approximately {{convert|2.6|lt|lk=out|kg|disp=flip|abbr=off}} of silver.{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|p=158}}|group=note}} and, perhaps most importantly, agreed to help supply the Roman army in Sicily.{{sfn|Erdkamp|2015|p=71}} Following the defection of Syracuse, several small Carthaginian dependencies switched to the Romans.{{sfn|Warmington|1993|p=171}}{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=72–73}} Akragas (Latin: Agrigentum; modern [[Agrigento]]), a port city halfway along the south coast of Sicily, was chosen by the Carthaginians as their strategic centre. The Romans marched on it in 262&nbsp;BC and besieged it.{{sfn|Miles|2011|p=179}} The Romans had an inadequate supply system, partly because the Carthaginian naval supremacy prevented them from shipping supplies by sea, and they were not in any case accustomed to feeding an army as large as 40,000 men. At harvest time most of the army was dispersed over a wide area to harvest the crops and to forage. The Carthaginians, commanded by [[Hannibal Gisco]], sortied in force, taking the Romans by surprise and penetrating their camp; the Romans rallied and routed the Carthaginians; after this experience both sides were more guarded.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=77}}

[[Image:Romanadvance (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|upright=1|alt=a map of Sicily showing Rome and Carthage's territories, movements and the main military clashes 260–256 BC|Continued Roman advance 260–256&nbsp;BC]]

Meanwhile, Carthage had recruited an army, which assembled in Africa and was shipped to Sicily. It was composed of 50,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 60 elephants, and was commanded by [[Hanno, son of Hannibal]]; it was partly made up of [[Ligures|Ligurians]], [[Celts]] and [[Iberians]].{{sfn|Miles|2011|p=179}}{{sfn|Warmington|1993|pp=171–172}} Five months after the siege began, Hanno marched to Akragas's relief.{{sfn|Miles|2011|p=179}} When he arrived, he merely camped on high ground, engaged in desultory skirmishing and trained his army. Two months later, in spring 261&nbsp;BC, he attacked. The Carthaginians were defeated with heavy losses at the Battle of Akragas. The Romans, under both consuls{{snd}}[[Lucius Postumius Megellus (consul 262 BC)|Lucius Postumius Megellus]] and [[Quintus Mamilius Vitulus]]{{snd}} pursued, capturing the Carthaginians' elephants and [[Train (military)|baggage train]]. That night the Carthaginian garrison escaped while the Romans were distracted. The next day the Romans seized the city and its inhabitants, selling 25,000 of them into slavery.{{sfn|Miles|2011|pp=179–180}}

After this success for the Romans, the war became fragmented for several years, with minor successes for each side, but no clear focus. In part this was because the Romans diverted many of their resources to an ultimately fruitless campaign against Corsica and Sardinia, and then into the equally fruitless expedition to Africa.{{sfn|Bagnall|1999|p=65}} After taking Akragas the Romans advanced westward to besiege [[Mytistraton]] for seven months, without success.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=82}} In 259&nbsp;BC they advanced toward [[Termini Imerese|Thermae]] on the north coast. After a quarrel, the Roman troops and their allies set up separate camps. [[Hamilcar (Drepanum)|Hamilcar]] took advantage of this to launch a [[counterattack|counter-attack]], taking one of the contingents by surprise as it was breaking camp and killing 4,000–6,000. Hamilcar went on to seize [[Enna]], in central Sicily,{{sfn|Bagnall|1999|pp=65–66}} and [[Kamarina, Sicily|Camarina]], in the south east, dangerously close to Syracuse. Hamilcar seemed close to overrunning the whole of Sicily.{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|pp=75, 79}} The following year the Romans retook Enna and finally captured Mytistraton. They then moved on Panormus (modern [[Palermo]]), but had to withdraw, although they did capture [[Hippana]]. In 258&nbsp;BC they recaptured Camarina after a lengthy siege.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=82–83}}{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|p=75}} For the next few years petty raiding, skirmishing and the occasional defection of a smaller town from one side to the other continued on Sicily.{{sfn|Lazenby|1996|pp=77–78}}