Atlas of Battles

siege, notable, ancient

Siege of Syracuse

Siege of Syracuse was a siege conducted in 278 BC at Syracuse, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Pyrrhic War, which ran from 280 BC to 275 BC. The recorded result: Epirote and Syracusan victory. Recorded strength: 50,000 land troops; 100 ships against 20,000 land troops; 140 ships.

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L'antica città di Syracusae
L'antica città di Syracusae. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_shepherd_1911.html Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd 1911 editio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought278 BC
WhereSyracuse, Italy37.069N, 15.287E
OutcomeEpirote and Syracusan victory
BelligerentsCarthageagainstSyracuse; Epirus
Part ofPyrrhic War280 BC to 275 BC

Where it sits in the Pyrrhic War

Battle of Heraclea, 280 BCBattle of Asculum, 279 BCSiege of Venusia, 279 BCSiege of Syracuse, 278 BCBattle of Rhegium, 278 BCSiege of Eryx, 277 BCBattle of the Cranita hills, 277 BCBattle of Kroton, 277 BCSiege of Lilybaeum, 276 BCBattle of the Strait of Messina, 276 BCBattle of Beneventum, 275 BC280 BC275 BCSiege of Syracuse, 278 BC
11 placed engagements of the Pyrrhic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date278 BC (year precision)
PlaceSyracuse, Italy
37.069N, 15.287E
KindSiege, ancient
Strength50,000 land troops; 100 ships20,000 land troops; 140 ships
Commanders
Siege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracusePalermoVallettaCataniaMessina100 km37.069N, 15.287E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 13 times between 415 BC and 1710.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 278 BC

Siege of Syracuse is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q18924894, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Syracuse (278 BC), revision 1380733598, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.