The siege of Lilybaeum was a

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

of the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War ( ; 280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A ...

in 278 BC, when an Epirote-Syracusian army led by

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

attempted to capture the strategically important port city of

Lilybaeum Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibald ...

held by the

Carthaginian Empire Ancient Carthage ( ; , ) was an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa. Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia, it later became a city-state, and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians ...

. Postponing his Italian campaign, Pyrrhus sailed for Sicily to fight the Carthaginians who were besieging Syracuse.Venning & Drinkwater 2011, p. 80 He evaded the Carthaginian fleet, landed in

Catana Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, and entered Syracuse where he was proclaimed commander-in-chief. The Epirote King subsequently drove off Carthage's field army, captured the cities of Panormus and Eryx and refused Carthage's offer to surrender everything in Sicily except for Lilybaeum, which they direly needed if they sought to keep their hold on

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. The city of Lilybaeum (modern

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

), lying on the western end of Sicily, connected the island with

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 provided Carthage with an advanced harbor on the route to Sardinia. Pyrrhus besieged the city but after two months he found the fortifications to be too strong to be taken. Unwilling to be bogged down in a lengthy sea blockade, he lifted the siege.Cowan 2007, p. 66 After failing to take Lilybaeum, Pyrrhus decided to take the war on Carthage's own soil in Africa for which he built a fleet,Mommsen 2008, p. 107 but his preparations were frustrated by Greek resistance to the heavy demands the expedition exacted on the Sicilians.Cowan 2007, p. 66

References

Sources

* * * {{coord missing, Italy

278 BC 270s BC conflicts