Atlas of Battles

battle, ancient

Battle of the Strait of Messina

Battle of the Strait of Messina was a battle fought in 276 BC at Strait of Messina, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Pyrrhic War, which ran from 280 BC to 275 BC. The recorded result: Carthaginian victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against 110 warships.

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Battle of the Strait of Messina
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought276 BC
WhereStrait of Messina, Italy38.246N, 15.633E
OutcomeCarthaginian victory
BelligerentsCarthageagainstEpirus
Casualties and lossesUnknownand70 warships sunk; 28 warships damaged
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 BCBattle of the Strait of Messina, 276 BC
11 placed engagements of the Pyrrhic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date276 BC (year precision)
PlaceStrait of Messina, Italy
38.246N, 15.633E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthUnknown110 warships
Casualties and lossesUnknown70 warships sunk; 28 warships damaged
Commanders
Battle of the Strait of MessinaBattle of the Strait of MessinaBattle of NaulochusBattle of MessanaBattle of MesseneSiege of MessinaSiege of MessinaBattle of MessanaCataniaSiracusaCatanzaroCrotoneVibo Valentia100 km38.246N, 15.633E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of the Strait of Messina 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 Q4873050, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Strait of Messina, revision 1370602419, 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.