The Battle of the Cranita Hills was fought in 277 BC between a Roman and a Samnite army during the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A sk ...

(280-275 BC). The Samnite people allied with King

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

against the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

to regain the independence that they had lost during the Roman Samnite wars, but when Pyrrhus left Italy in 278 BC for

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Pyrrhus' Italian allies were left to defend against the Romans on their own. In 277 the consuls

Publius Cornelius Rufinus Publius Cornelius Rufinus was a dictator during the Roman Republic. Rufinus belonged to the famous patrician gens Cornelia, as well as being the earliest recorded member of the branch of the family, the gens Cornelii Rufinii et Sullae. He was a ...

and Caius Junius Bubulcus invaded

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The ...

, devastating the country as they went, and took several deserted forts.Historia Romana The Samnites had retreated to a range of hills called Cranita, because of the large growths of cornel-wood (crania) they bore, where they had conveyed their most valuable treasures.Historia Romana Despite the difficulty of the terrain the Romans ascended the hills, but the undergrowth and the steep climb made them easy prey for the Samnite attack, which killed and took prisoner many Romans.Historia Romana After their defeat at the Cranita hills both Roman consuls blamed each other for the debacle and no longer worked together. Junius went on ravaging a portion of Samnium, while Rufinus campaigned against the Lucanians and

Bruttians The Bruttians (alternative spelling, Brettii) ( la, Bruttii) were an ancient Italic people. They inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra. This roughly corresp ...

and captured Croton.Historia Romana

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranita Cranita hills Cranita hills Samnites 277 BC 270s BC conflicts 3rd century BC in the Roman Republic