Atlas of Battles

siege, major, ancient

Battle of Agrigentum

Battle of Agrigentum was a siege conducted in 261 BC at Agrigento, in what is now Italy. It was part of First Punic War, which ran from 264 BC to 241 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 40,000–100,000 soldiers and laborers against 31,500–56,000 men; 30,000–50,000 infantry.

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Battle of Agrigentum (Histoire de Polybe, Volume 1)
Battle of Agrigentum (Histoire de Polybe, Volume 1). Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought261 BC
WhereAgrigento, Italy37.317N, 13.583E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstCarthage
Casualties and losses15,000–30,540 dead; 15,000–30,000 infantryand7,200; 3,000 infantry killed
Part ofFirst Punic War264 BC to 241 BC

Where it sits in First Punic War

Battle of Messana, 264 BCBattle of Agrigentum, 261 BCSiege of Mytistraton, 261 BCBattle of Mylae, 260 BCBattle of the Lipari Islands, 260 BCBattle of Sulci, 258 BCBattle of Tyndaris, 257 BCBattle of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BCBattle of Bagradas, 255 BCBattle of Adys, 255 BCSiege of Aspis, 255 BCBattle of Panormus, 251 BCSiege of Lilybaeum, 250 BCBattle of Drepana, 249 BCSiege of Drepana, 249 BCBattle of Mount Erice, 249 BCThe Fighting at Mount Eryx, 244 BCSecond Battle of Drepana, 243 BCBattle of the Aegates Islands, 241 BC264 BC241 BCBattle of Agrigentum, 261 BC
19 placed engagements of First Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date261 BC (year precision)
PlaceAgrigento, Italy
37.317N, 13.583E
KindSiege, ancient
Territorial changeAgrigentum captured by Rome
Strength40,000–100,000 soldiers and laborers31,500–56,000 men; 30,000–50,000 infantry
Casualties and losses15,000–30,540 dead; 15,000–30,000 infantry7,200; 3,000 infantry killed
Commanders
  • Lucius Postumius Megellus (consul 262 BC)
  • Quintus Mamilius Vitulus
Battle of AgrigentumBattle of AgrigentumSiege of AkragasSiege of AgrigentoBattle of PhintiasBattle of Cape EcnomusOperation ExcessBattle of PhintiasBattle of Cape EcnomusOperation ExcessPalermoMessinaMarsalaRagusa100 km37.317N, 13.583E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Locantion of Agrigentum in First Punic War author Horatius (it:wiki)
Locantion of Agrigentum in First Punic War author Horatius (it:wiki). No machine-readable author provided. Horatius assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Agrigentum
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Agrigentum today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-06-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 216 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 424 m, 424 m of relief, steep country and today it is 48% grassland, 20% tree cover, 17% built-up.

grassland: 48%tree cover: 20%built-up: 17%cropland: 13%grassland 48%tree cover 20%built-up 17%cropland 13%
west to east, 10.0 km59 to 282 mnorth to south, 10.0 km9 to 307 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 406 BC and 210 BC.

In the same war

Battle of Agrigentum is one of 193 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q917376, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Agrigentum, revision 1370431100, 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.