The Battle of Tyndaris was a naval battle of 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 ...

that took place off Tyndaris (modern Tindari) in 257 BC. Tyndaris was a Sicilian town founded as a Greek colony in 396 BC located on the high ground overlooking the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

in the Gulf of Patti. Hiero II, the tyrant of Syracuse, allowed Tyndaris to become a base for 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 ...

. The battle took place in the waters between Tyndaris and the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; ; ), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of ...

, with Gaius Atilius Regulus in command of the Roman fleet. Subsequently, the town fell to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Battle

Gaius Atilius Regulus' fleet was anchored off Tyndaris when he observed the Carthaginian fleet sailing past, but not in a tactical formation. He gave orders for the main body of his ships to follow the leading ships. He then took an advance guard of ten ships and sailed towards the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians noticed that the advance guard had outdistanced the main body of the Roman fleet and that other Romans were still boarding their ships. Taking the initiative, the Carthaginians turned and engaged the Roman squadron and sank nine of the ships. Meanwhile, the rest of the Roman fleet arrived and formed a line. The Romans then engaged the Carthaginians, sinking eight and capturing ten of their ships. The remainder of the Carthaginian ships retreated to the Aeolian Islands.Polybius
1:25.4
/ref> This naval engagement was followed by the Battle of Cape Ecnomus.

References

257 BC Tindarys Tyndaris Tyndaris Tyndaris {{Africa-hist-stub