Following M. Claudius Marcellus — the Second Punic War

M. Claudius Marcellus (c. 270 – 208 BC), Rome. The Sword of Rome: five times consul, victor of Nola, conqueror of Syracuse. Killed in an ambush near Venusia while reconnoitring against Hannibal.

Praetor; Proconsul; Consul; Proconsul in Sicily; Consul; Proconsul; Consul.

Killed near Venusia, June 208 BC; Hannibal gave him a funeral.

Fell June 208 BC. Ambushed on a wooded hill between Venusia and Bantia (Livy 27.26–27; Polybius 10.32; Plutarch, Marcellus 29).

The itinerary — 23 stops, Summer 216 BC to Summer 208 BC

  1. Canusium — Summer 216 BC: The praetor sent to the survivors of Cannae. (Livy 22.57)
  2. Casilinum — Autumn 216 BC (Livy 23.17)
  3. Nola — Autumn 216 BC: The first battle of Nola — the first check to Hannibal after Cannae. (Livy 23.14–16)
  4. Castra Claudiana above Suessula — Autumn 216 BC (Livy 23.31–32)
  5. Nola — Summer 215 BC: The second battle of Nola; 272 of Hannibal’s horse desert to him. (Livy 23.44–46)
  6. Castra Claudiana above Suessula — Autumn 215 BC: Livy places a third battle of Nola in summer 214 (24.17), before the Sicilian command; the drawn Sicily route begins in spring 214, so the third battle is told as an event, not a position. (Livy 23.48; 24.12–13)
  7. Marcellus takes command — 214 BC: Marcellus crosses to a Sicily already lost to diplomacy: old Hiero is dead, his murdered boy-heir Hieronymus took Carthage’s hand, and Syracuse now belongs to the war party of Hippocrates and Epicydes. The Sword of Rome lands at Messana to win the island back. (Polybius 7.2–5; Livy 24.4–7, 24.21–27 (backstory); Livy 24.27–29 (command))
  8. Leontini stormed — 214 BC: Marcellus storms Leontini; the (exaggerated) tale of massacre lets Hippocrates and Epicydes seize Syracuse for the Punic cause. The die is cast. (Livy 24.29–32)
  9. Archimedes at the walls — 213 BC: The great assault by land and sea breaks against one old geometer: stone-throwers of every calibre, and the iron claw that lifts warships by the prow and drops them. Marcellus gives up the storm. (Polybius 8.3–7; Livy 24.33–34; Plutarch, Marcellus 14–17)
  10. The night of Artemis — Spring 212 BC: A deserter counts the courses of the Galeagra tower; during the drunken festival of Artemis a thousand men scale it by night. At dawn Marcellus, looking down on the city, weeps for what must come. (Livy 25.23–24; Plutarch, Marcellus 18–19)
  11. Euryalus surrenders — 212 BC: The great western fortress — Dionysius’ masterpiece, never taken by storm in two centuries — gives up without a fight, sealing the plateau. (Livy 25.25)
  12. Plague in the marshes — Summer 212 BC: Himilco’s 28,000-man relief army camps in the autumn fens — and rots. The generals die with their men; Bomilcar’s 130 warships sight Cape Pachynus, and turn for home. (Livy 25.26–27)
  13. The fall of Syracuse — Autumn 212 BC: Achradina and Ortygia betrayed from within; the richest Greek city in the world is sacked. In the chaos a soldier kills an old man bent over his diagrams: “do not disturb my circles.” (Livy 25.28–31; Plutarch, Marcellus 19; Polybius 8.37)
  14. The spoils of Syracuse — 211 BC: Marcellus’ ovation parades Syracuse’s statues and paintings through Rome — the moment, moralists said, Greek art conquered its conqueror. Sicily becomes the granary of the war. (Livy 26.21; Plutarch, Marcellus 21–22)
  15. Rome — Autumn 211 BC: Consul for 210; the Syracusans plead against him in the senate. (Livy 26.26–29)
  16. Salapia — Spring 210 BC: Salapia betrayed to him; its Numidian garrison cut down. (Livy 26.38)
  17. Numistro — Summer 210 BC: A day-long battle with Hannibal, unresolved; he follows the Carthaginian into Apulia. (Livy 27.2)
  18. Venusia — Autumn 210 BC: Winter quarters at Venusia after the shadowing march. (Livy 27.2)
  19. Canusium — Spring 209 BC: Three days of fighting: beaten, then victorious. (Livy 27.12–14)
  20. Venusia — Spring 209 BC: Rests his mauled army at Venusia; accused in Rome of inaction. (Livy 27.20–21)
  21. Rome — Winter 209 BC: Defends himself before the people and is elected consul for the fifth time. (Livy 27.20–21)
  22. Venusia — Spring 208 BC: Joins his colleague Crispinus; the two consular armies camp facing Hannibal. (Livy 27.25–26)
  23. The hill between Venusia and Bantia — Summer 208 BC: Reconnoitring a wooded hill with a small escort, ambushed by Numidian horse. (Livy 27.26–27; Polybius 10.32; Plutarch, Marcellus 29)

Battles fought

  • First Battle of Nola — Autumn 216 BC — victory
  • Second Battle of Nola — Summer 215 BC — victory
  • Storming of Leontini — Spring 214 BC — victory
  • Third Battle of Nola — Summer 214 BC — inconclusive
  • Siege of Syracuse — Spring 213 BC — victory
  • Battle of Numistro — Summer 210 BC — inconclusive
  • Battle of Canusium — Spring 209 BC — inconclusive
  • Ambush of the Consuls — Summer 208 BC — defeat