Rome vs Carthage: How the First Punic War Began (264 BC)

A gang of mercenaries who called themselves the sons of Mars. A Greek king who saw it coming. One small town on the Strait of Messina. This is how Rome and Carthage went to war in 264 BC, and the siege of Agrigentum that made it a war for all of Sicily. THE PUNIC WARS · EPISODE 1 · MESSANA AND AGRIGENTUM Rome crosses the sea for the first time, fights Syracuse and Carthage at once, and then besieges the great Greek city of Agrigentum for seven months. Told on animated maps, with the battle explained phase by phase: how the Roman legion changed its lines through the gaps, and why elephants were as dangerous to their own side as to the enemy. CHAPTERS 0:00 The night escape 1:18 Carthage and Rome: two cities and an island 3:42 How the Roman legion fought 4:47 Pyrrhus: the Greek king who saw it coming 6:51 The sons of Mars: the Mamertines take Messana 8:09 Hiero of Syracuse 10:06 Rome decides: crossing the strait 15:22 The king changes sides 16:47 Agrigentum, the fairest city of mortals 18:34 The Roman siege begins 22:19 Hanno's relief army 23:30 The Numidian trap 24:51 The battle of Agrigentum 27:29 The escape and the fall of the city 28:33 After Agrigentum: Rome needs a fleet SOURCES Polybius, Histories I.7–I.20 (the main source for the war) Diodorus Siculus, Library of History XXIII (numbers and losses; ancient figures are claims, not facts) Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus 13–26 and 34 Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7.214 (the sundial of Catana) Diogenes Laertius VIII.63 (Empedocles on Akragas); Pindar, Pythian 12; Zonaras VIII.8–10 Where our sources disagree, or give figures that are probably exaggerated, the video says so. CREDITS Terrain: Copernicus DEM (ESA / European Union), modified. Base map: Natural Earth. Maps, animation and portraits: made for this channel; portraits and unit illustrations were created with AI image tools. NEXT EPISODE: the first Roman fleet, the corvus, and the battle of Mylae (260 BC).First Punic War, Punic Wars, Rome vs Carthage, Carthage, Ancient Rome, Siege of Agrigentum, Agrigentum, Messana, Mamertines, Pyrrhus, Hiero II, Polybius, Hanno, Roman legion, war elephants, Sicily, 264 BC, 261 BC, ancient history, military history, animated battle map, battle animation, history documentary