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Battle of the Silarus
Part of the Second Punic War
Date 212 BC Location near Silarus River (modern Sele River), Italy Result Decisive Carthaginian victory
Belligerents
Carthage	Roman Republic
Commanders and leaders
Hannibal	Marcus Centenius Penula †
Strength
25,000-30,000	16,000
Casualties and losses
moderate (probably several Thousand)	15,000 killed, 1,000 wounded or captured

The Battle of the Silarus was fought in 212 BC between Hannibal's army and a Roman force led by praetor Marcus Centenius Penula. The Carthaginians were victorious, destroying the entire Roman army. This is one of the few battles where Hannibal commanded an army larger than his foes.

Strategic situation[link]

Hannibal had lifted the siege of Capua after mauling two Roman consular armies in the battle of Capua. The Roman consuls had split their forces, with Flavius Flaccus moving towards Cumae, while Appius Claudius marched towards Lucania. It is not sure why they had done so, because their forces still outnumbered Hannibal's army, even after with the losses suffered in the battle. Hannibal decided to follow Claudius.

Claudius managed to evade the pursuit of Hannibal, but a centurion, Marcus Centenius, had appealed to the Roman Senate for independent command against Hannibal, claiming that with his knowledge of Campania he can best the Carthaginians. Surprisingly, his appeal was granted. 8,000 soldiers were detached to serve under him, possibly from the army of Gracchus which was stationed in Lucania. To this force another 8,000 volunteers from Campania, Lucania and Samnium was added. While Appius Claudius with his consular army marched west to join his fellow consul, Centenius set off to pursue Hannibal.

In Iberia, the situation remained deadlocked. Neither the Scipios nor the Barcids gained any decisive advantage. The Siege of Syracuse continued in Sicily. Hanno the Elder remained active in Bruttium.

Battle[link]

Although Centenius was a brave soldier, his generalship left much to be desired. According to Livy, he had no idea about the whereabouts of the Carthaginian army. Hannibal's scouts were able to locate the Roman army before the Romans got wind of anything. Marcus Centenius and his army were ambushed by Hannibal and the Roman forces were completely routed. The Roman cause was made worse by the fact their Etruscan allies fled, creating panic in the ranks. Hannibal surrounded the remaining Romans and hacked them down. He then took Marcus's ring from his finger and tried to use it in Marcus's name but to no avail. Once again the Romans showed their persistence by refusal to surrender to Hannibal. Nevertheless Hannibal was still unbeaten on Italian soil. In terms of casualties inflicted, this battle ranks after Cannae among the battles Hannibal had fought. It is said that out of 16,000 Romans, only 1,000 survived. These survivors were sent to join the disgraced legions of Cannae survivors after they had been rounded up.

Aftermath[link]

After the Battle, Hannibal did not pursue the Army of Claudius, Instead, he marched east into Apulia, where a Roman army under Praetor Gnaeus Flavius Flaccus was operating against towns allied to Carthage. The Roman consular armies, free of Hannibal, united and resumed their harassment of Capua. Hanno the Elder remained in Bruttium.

v t e Punic Wars First Punic War Messana Agrigentum Lipari Islands Mylae Sulci Tyndaris Cape Ecnomus Aspis Adys Tunis Panormus Drepana 1st Lilybaeum Siege of Drepana Mount Ercte 1st Mt. Eryx 2nd Mt. Eryx Aegates Islands Mercenary War Utica Bagradas River Carthage "The Saw" Tunis Second Punic War Saguntum Lilybaeum Rhone Ticinus Trebia Cissa Lake Trasimene Ebro River Ager Falernus Geronium Cannae 1st Nola Battle of Dertosa 2nd Nola Battle of Cornus 3rd Nola 1st Beneventum Syracuse 1st Tarentum 1st Capua 2nd Beneventum Silarus 1st Herdonia Upper Baetis 2nd Capua 2nd Herdonia Numistro Asculum 2nd Tarentum Baecula Grumentum Metaurus New Carthage Ilipa Crotona Utica Great Plains Cirta Po Valley Zama Third Punic War Carthage Military history

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Ben Kane, (born 1970)^[1] is a novelist, known for his novels in the historical fiction genre. He is best-known for The Forgotten Legion and Hannibal Enemy Of Rome which reached number 4 in the Sunday Times best seller list in 2009.^[2]

Ben Kane was born and raised in Kenya and then moved to Ireland, in Dublin he studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin, but after that he travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. Having visited more than 60 countries and all 7 continents, he now lives in North Somerset with his wife and family.

Works[link]

The Forgotten Legion Trilogy[link]

The Forgotten Legion^[3]

The first book in the Forgotten Legion Trilogy, the central characters are all outsiders to the world of Rome, set in the First Triumvirate, which precedes the civil war between Caesar and Pompey and the effective death of the Roman Republic.

The Silver Eagle^[4]
Road To Rome^[5]

Preface acquired the publishing rights to all three historical titles in the trilogy for "a very substantial six-figure sum".^[6]

Other Works[link]

Hannibal : Enemy of Rome
Spartacus: The Gladiator (Spartacus 1 - released on 19 January 2012)

References[link]