The Battle of Tarentum of 209 BC was a battle in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, led by

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was ...

, recaptured the city of

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

that had betrayed them in the first Battle of Tarentum in 212 BC. This time the commander of the city,

Carthalo __NOTOC__ Carthalo ( xpu, 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤇𐤋𐤑, ,. "Saved by Melqart";. grc-gre, Καρθάλων, ''Karthálōn''; died around 209BC) was an officer in Hannibal's army during the Second Punic War. Life Carthalo led the Numidian cavalry in ...

, turned against the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

, and supported the Romans.

The siege

According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, a Greek biographer, Fabius won the city of Tarentum through treachery. One of the soldiers in Fabius's army had a sister in Tarentum who was the lover of the

Bruttian 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 corres ...

commander, Carthalo, who Hannibal had left in charge of the city. Carthalo was swayed to the Roman side and agreed to help the Romans gain entry into Tarentum. However Plutarch also writes that another story is that it was Fabius's Bruttian mistress who seduced the commander over to the Roman side when she discovered that he was a fellow countryman. Fabius drew

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

away from Tarentum by sending the garrison of Rhegium to plunder the lands of the Bruttians and to take Caulonia. Hannibal went to the aid of the Bruttians. On the sixth day of the siege it was arranged that the commander would help the Romans gain entry to Tarentum. Fabius took a cohort to the appointed place while the rest of the army attacked the walls, luring the cities defenders away. The Bruttian gave the signal and Fabius and his men scaled the walls and took the city. (Plutarch does not mention what the Bruttian commander does to aid the Romans)

Aftermath of the capture of Tarentum

In the ''Life of Fabius Maximus'' (22.4), Plutarch writes that "At this point, however, Fabius's ambition seems to have proved stronger than his principles." This seems to be true, as after capturing the city, Fabius ordered that the Bruttians stationed in the city were to be killed to ensure no knowledge of the treachery spread to Rome. After that, a number of Tarentines were killed with 30,000 being sold into slavery. The Roman army ransacked the city, stealing 3,000

Attic talent The Attic talent (a talent of the Attic standard), also known as the Athenian talent or Greek talent ( el, τάλαντον, ''talanton''), is an ancient unit of weight equal to about , as well as a unit of value equal to this amount of pure silver ...

s to enrich the treasury, though on the orders of Fabius the statues and paintings of the Gods were left apart from the statue of Hercules which was taken to Rome. Fabius's victory allowed him to celebrate his second triumph. According to Plutarch (''Life of Fabius Maximus'' 23.1), Hannibal was within five miles when Tarentum fell to the Romans. He is said to have remarked in public that "It seems that the Romans have found another Hannibal, for we have lost Tarentum in the same way we took it."Ian Scott- Kilvert (trans.), ''Plutarch: Makers of Rome'' (Penguin, 1965), p. 78.

References

209 BC

Tarentum (209 BC) History of Taranto {{AncientRome-battle-stub