Introduction

Background of the War

According to the Plutarch who stated the Pyrrhus after the second battle of war send that “if we are victorious in more battle with the Romans which shall be utterly ruined”. He further stated the Pyrrhic war was the first confrontation that was made by the Rome with the professional armies and also the mercenaries (Hellenistic kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean). Moreover, through this roman victory, they were able to draw the attention towards them and they were successful in demonstrating their powers to the other states. Even though Pyrrhus enjoyed their glorified success against the roman legion, however they suffered heavy losses during the time of war.

Major events of the War

Battle of Asculum’

In the year 275 BC, Pyrrhus came back to Italy. He confronted the Romans at the town of Maleventum located in the southern part of Italy. The battle of Beneventum resulted in a major blow for the Pyrrhus and was a major defeat, as the Romans had understood and learned how to deal with the elephants and their cavalry. The Romans understood that they could injure the elephants with the help of their pila, the short throwing spears that they come into use in the Samnite Wars (Wilcoxon and Luttwak 1977). This would injure the elephants and make them run out of control, which will cause huge trouble for the Pyrrhus troops.

The political and military impact of the war on Rome’s position in Italy and the western Mediterranean

Roman's victory over king Pyrrhus enabled the Romans to succeed in the final acquisition of Southern Italy, including Magna Graecia. By the years, the Lucanians, Samnites, and Bruttins were made to cease the revolt they conducted even before the influence of the king. Whereas, Rhegium and Tarentum were captured in the year 270 BC and 272 BC. After the victory, Rome started establishing a number of colonies across the region of Italy such as Paestum in 273 BC and Beneventum in 268 BC, providing both Latin rights. Moreover, after the defeat of Pyrrhus, the Romans also took advantage of their opportunity to build and strengthen their influence in Central Italy, where they had faced a victory against the forces of the Etruscan cities, including Volsinii and Vulci, in the year 284-280 BC. The colony of Cosa was founded effectively in the year 275 on the coast of Tyrrhenian located to the north of Vulci (Kent 2019). This was not only the first colony established by Rome in Etruria, but it was the first Latin colony in the region. Accordingly, in the following years, new colonies with full Roman-citizen rights were established on the Coast of Caeretan, like Fregenae, Pyregi, Novuum, and Alsium. These were a major investment for the Roman Republic. After few years, the Roman mid-Republican colonization started after the Latin war in the year 340-338 BC, which was started with the aim of expanding into the Italian peninsula, which was established in the 3rd century and completed after the Hannibalic war (Kent 2019). Among the many colonies, the colonies of the Latin status were considered very important for Rome since they are placed at major points along Rome’s emerging frontiers. This displayed that the colonies had an eminently supply of military manpower, serving the Roman region in the non-Roman regions of Italy (Kent 2019).

Conclusion

Reference

Wilcoxon, G. D., and Edward N. Luttwak. 1977. "The Grand Strategy Of The Roman Empire From The First Century A. D. To The Third.". Military Affairs 41 (4): 220. doi:10.2307/1987036.