The siege of Syracuse by the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

took place in 213–212 BC. The Romans successfully stormed the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

city of Syracuse after a protracted siege, giving them control of the entire island of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. During the siege, the city was protected by weapons developed by the prominent

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse ( ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Greek mathematics, mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and Invention, inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse in History of Greek and Hellenis ...

, who was slain at the conclusion of the siege by a Roman soldier, in contravention of the Roman

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Marcellus's instructions to spare his life.

Prelude

Sicily, which was wrested from Carthaginian control during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

(264–241 BC), was the first province of the Roman Republic not directly part of Italy. The Kingdom of Syracuse was an allied independent region in the south east of the island and a close ally of Rome during the long reign of King Hiero II. In 215 BC, Hiero's grandson, Hieronymus, came to the throne on his grandfather's death and Syracuse fell under the influence of an anti-Roman faction, including two of his uncles, amongst the Syracusan elite. Despite the assassination of Hieronymus and the removal of the pro-Carthaginian leaders, Rome's threatening reaction to the danger of a Syracusan alliance with Carthage would force the new republican leaders of Syracuse to prepare for war. Despite diplomatic attempts, war broke out between the

and the Kingdom of Syracuse in 214 BC, while the Romans were still busy battling with

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

at the height of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

(218–201 BC). A Roman force led by the

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

supported by the

propraetor In ancient Rome, a promagistrate () was a person who was granted the power via '' prorogation'' to act in place of an ordinary magistrate in the field. This was normally ''pro consule'' or ''pro praetore'', that is, in place of a consul or praet ...

Appius Claudius Pulcher consequently laid siege to the port city by sea and land in 213 BC. The city of Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of

was renowned for its significant fortifications, great walls that protected the city from attack. Among the Syracuse defenders was the mathematician and scientist

Siege

The city was fiercely defended for many months against all the measures the Romans could bring to bear. Realising how difficult the siege would be, the Romans brought their own unique devices and inventions to aid their assault. These included the ''

sambuca Sambuca () is an Italian anise-flavoured liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as "white sambuca" to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue ("black sambuca") or bright red ("red sambuca"). Like other anise-fla ...

'', a floating

siege tower A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...

with grappling hooks, as well as ship-mounted scaling ladders that were lowered with pulleys onto the city walls. Within the city, Archimedes devised defensive devices to counter the Roman efforts including a huge crane-operated hook – the Claw of Archimedes – that was used to lift the enemy ships out of the sea before dropping them to their doom. Legend has it that he also created a giant

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

(see heat ray) that was used to deflect the powerful Mediterranean sun onto the ships' sails, setting fire to them. These measures, along with the fire from

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...

s and onagers mounted on the city walls, frustrated the Romans and forced them to attempt costly direct assaults.

Stalemate

The siege bogged down to a

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...

with the Romans unable to force their way into the city or keep their blockade tight enough to stop supplies reaching the defenders, and the Syracusans unable to force the Romans to withdraw. The

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

realised the potential hindrance a continuing Syracusan defence could cause to the Roman war effort and attempted to relieve the city from the besiegers but were driven back. Though they planned another attempt, they could not afford the necessary troops and ships with the ongoing war against the Romans in

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

, and the Syracusans were on their own. However, the Carthaginians were successful in resupplying the city, while their land forces under Himilco were able to capture several Sicilian cities, including the old Carthaginian stronghold of Agrigentum, due to the Roman preoccupation with the siege.

Conclusion

The successes of the Syracusans in repelling the Roman siege had made them overconfident. In 212 BC, the Romans received information that the city's inhabitants were to participate in the annual festival to their goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

. A small party of Roman soldiers approached the city under the cover of night and managed to scale the walls to get into the outer city and with reinforcements soon took control, but the main fortress remained firm. Marcus Claudius Marcellus had ordered that Archimedes, the well-known mathematician – and possibly equally well-known to Marcellus as the

of the mechanical devices that had so dominated the siege – should not be killed. Archimedes, who was now around 78 years of age, continued his studies after the breach by the Romans and while at home, his work was disturbed by a Roman soldier. Archimedes protested at this interruption and coarsely told the soldier to leave; the soldier, not knowing who he was, killed Archimedes on the spot. The Romans now controlled the outer city but the remainder of the population of Syracuse had quickly fallen back to the fortified inner

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

, offering continued resistance. The Romans now put siege to the citadel and were successful in cutting off supplies to this reduced area. After a lengthy eight-month siege which brought great hardship onto the defenders through hunger, and with parleys in progress, an Iberian captain named Moeriscus, one of the three prefects of Achradina, decided to save his own life by letting the Romans in near the Fountains of Arethusa. On the agreed signal, during a diversionary attack, he opened the gate. After setting guards on the houses of the pro-Roman faction, Marcellus gave Syracuse to plunder.Norman Davies, Europe: A History, page 144 Frustrated and angered after the lengthy and costly siege, the Romans rampaged through the citadel and slaughtered many of the Syracusans where they stood and enslaved most of the rest. The city was then thoroughly looted and sacked.

Aftermath

The city of Syracuse was now under the control of Rome again, which united the whole of Sicily as a Roman province by 210 BC. The taking of Syracuse ensured that the Carthaginians could not get a foothold in Sicily, which could have led to them giving support to

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

's Italian campaign, and this allowed the Romans to concentrate on waging the war in Spain and Italy. The island was used as a vital gathering point for the final victorious campaign in Africa 10 years later and would prove to be an important step onto both

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in coming Roman conflicts. Syracuse was later extensively rebuilt and repopulated and would be an important city for the Roman empire until well into the 5th century, playing both a military and economic part in the creation of the empire.

In popular culture

* Book XIV of Sillius Italicus's Punnica, relating the events of the

second punic war The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, focuses on the Siege of Syracuse. * Archimedes and the siege of Syracuse are dramatically re-enacted in the classic early Italian silent film ''

Cabiria ''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian Epic film, epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows the story o ...

'' (1914). * The 1960 film '' Siege of Syracuse'' dramatizes the events of the siege. * The events surrounding the siege are the basis for the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

''Heureka'' by Hitoshi Iwaaki. * The Siege of Syracuse is a campaign mission in the ''Rise of Rome'' expansion of

Age of Empires ''Age of Empires'' is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first title in the series, ''Age of Empires'', focused on events in Europe, Afri ...

, where players play as the Roman civilization to defeat the Carthaginians. * The climax of the 2023 film ''

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ''Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'' is a 2023 American action-adventure film directed by James Mangold and written by Mangold, David Koepp, Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. It is the fifth and final installment in Indiana_ ...

'' is set during the Siege of Syracuse. The setting also features the use of

Classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

Citations

Bibliography

*Evans, R. J. (2009). ''Syracuse in Antiquity: History and Topography'': Chapter 4
"The Four Great Sieges of Syracuse"
University of South Africa Press. *Govan, K. (2016
"Fortifications of Syracuse: Dionysius I, 405 to 396 BCE"
University of Oregon Thesis. (Contains maps) * * Rossi, A. (2000)
"The Tears of Marcellus: History of a Literary Motif in Livy"
''Greece & Rome'', Vol. 47, No. 1 (Apr., 2000), pp. 56-66.

External links

* Livius, ''Syracuse: History'

* Roman-empire.net, ''Capture of Syracuse'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Syracuse (214-212 BC) 212 BC 214 BC 213 BC Syracuse Archimedes Syracuse 213 BC Syracuse Syracuse 214 BC Syracuse 214 BC