Battle of Asculum
278 BCE.
Shown on the map at 41.216°, 15.558°.
The Battle of Asculum was a battle that took place near Asculum (modern Ascoli Satriano) in 279 BC, and was thought to have lasted either one or two days, between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus (who by some accounts died before the battle) and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, and the forces of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The battle took place during the Pyrrhic War, after the Battle of Heraclea of 280 BC, which was the first battle of the war. There currently exist accounts of this battle only by three ancient historians: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, although these historians in turn reference other historians whose work is now lost. Asculum was in Lucanian territory, in southern Italy. The Battle of Asculum was the original "Pyrrhic victory". Two main accounts of the battle survive. Plutarch describes a two-day battle where Pyrrhus attacked the Romans on the first day over rough terrain before on the second day Pyrrhus secured flat terrain which allowed his elephants, infantry and cavalry to defeat the Romans.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Asculum, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.