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siege, major, ancient

Siege of Syracuse

Siege of Syracuse was a siege conducted in 214 BC at Syracuse, in what is now Italy; it lasted about 2 years. It was part of Second Punic War, which ran from 218 BC to 201 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory Syracuse, Sicily. Recorded strength: 16,000–18,000 against 21,000–25,000.

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Archimedes directing the defenses of Syracuse
Archimedes directing the defenses of Syracuse. Thomas Ralph Spence, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought214 BClasted about 2 years
WhereSyracuse, Italy37.083N, 15.283E
OutcomeRoman victory Syracuse, Sicily
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstSyracuse; Carthage
Casualties and lossesHeavyand5,000+ (plus "large" amount of civilians)
Part ofSecond Punic War218 BC to 201 BC

Where it sits in Second Punic War

Battle of Cissa, 218 BCBattle of Lilybaeum, 218 BCCapture of Malta, 218 BCSiege of Mutina, 218 BCHannibal's crossing of the Alps, 218 BCBattle of Rhone Crossing, 218 BCBattle of Ticinus, 218 BCBattle of the Trebia, 218 BCBattle of Ebro River, 217 BCBattle of Geronium, 217 BCBattle of Ager Falernus, 217 BCHannibal's crossing of the Apennines, 217 BCBattle of Plaisance, 217 BCBattle of Lake Trasimene, 217 BCBattle of Nola, 216 BCBattle of Silva Litana, 216 BCSiege of Petelia, 216 BCSiege of Acerra, 216 BCBattle of Cannae, 216 BCBattle of Dertosa, 215 BCBattle of Cornus, 215 BCBattle of Cumae, 215 BCBattle of Nola, 215 BCSiege of Syracuse, 214 BCBattle of Nola, 214 BCBattle of Beneventum, 214 BCBattle of Munda, 214 BCSiege of Arpi, 213 BCBattle of the Silarus, 212 BCBattle of Herdonia, 212 BCBattle of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Beneventum, 212 BCFirst Battle of Tarentum, 212 BCSecond Battle of Beneventum, 212 BCSiege of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Tarentum, 212 BCBattle of the Upper Baetis, 211 BCBattle of Capua, 211 BCHannibal's raid to Rome, 211 BCBattle of Herdonia, 210 BCBattle of Numistro, 210 BCBattle of Sapriportis, 210 BCBattle of Castulo, 210 BCBattle of New Carthage, 209 BCBattle of Canusium, 209 BCBattle of Tarentum, 209 BCSecond Battle of Tarentum, 209 BCSiege of Baria, 209 BCBattle of Baecula, 208 BCBattle of Petelia, 208 BCBattle of the Metaurus, 207 BCBattle of Grumentum, 207 BCBattle of Carmona, 207 BCBattle of Ilipa, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Cartagena, 206 BCBattle of Iliturgi, 206 BCBattle of Crotona, 204 BCSiege of Utica, 204 BCRoman invasion of Africa, 204 BCBattle of the Great Plains, 203 BCBattle of Utica, 203 BCPo Valley Raid, 203 BCBattle of Cirta, 203 BCBattle of Zama, 202 BC218 BC202 BCSiege of Syracuse, 214 BC
67 placed engagements of Second Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date214 BC (year precision)
to 212 BC
PlaceSyracuse, Italy
37.083N, 15.283E
KindSiege, ancient
Strength16,000–18,00021,000–25,000
Casualties and lossesHeavy5,000+ (plus "large" amount of civilians)
Commanders
  • Epicydes
  • Himilco (fl. 3rd century BC)
  • Bomilcar (3rd century BC)
Siege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracuseSiege of SyracusePalermoVallettaCataniaMessina100 km37.083N, 15.283E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Syracuse
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Syracuse today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-07-13. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 55 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -4 to 141 m, 145 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 36% built-up, 31% water, 18% grassland.

built-up: 36%water: 31%grassland: 18%tree cover: 9%cropland: 5%built-up 36%water 31%grassland 18%tree cover 9%cropland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 79 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 71 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 14 times between 415 BC and 1943.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 214 BC

Siege of Syracuse 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 Q533090, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Syracuse (213–212 BC), revision 1383594485, 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.