Battle of Nola

Overview

The First Battle of Nola was fought in 216 BC between the forces of Hannibal and a Roman force led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Hannibal was attempting to seize the town of Nola: He failed to do so, and would make two more unsuccessful attempts on the city over the next two years.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The First Battle of Nola was fought between Hannibal's Carthaginian forces and a Roman force commanded by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Hannibal's objective was the seizure of the town of Nola, and his failure to take it marked the first of three unsuccessful attempts on the city over the following two years. Within the broader Second Punic War, the engagement represented an early check on Carthaginian expansion in southern Italy following Hannibal's devastating victory at Cannae. Marcellus's defense of Nola denied Hannibal a potentially valuable base and demonstrated that Roman forces retained the capacity to contest Carthaginian objectives even in the difficult period after 216 BC.

Commanders (2)