| Battle of Naulochus | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSicilian revolt | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Pompeians | Octavian | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sextus Pompey | Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 ships | 300 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 28 ships sunk 17 fled the others captured | 3 ships | ||||||
 | |||||||
The navalBattle of Naulochus was fought on 3 September 36 BC between the fleets ofSextus Pompeius andMarcus Vipsanius Agrippa, offNaulochus,Sicily. The victory of Agrippa, admiral ofOctavian, marked the end of the Pompeian resistance to theSecond Triumvirate.
After the strengthening of the bond between Octavian andMark Antony with the Pact of Brundisium, the two triumvirs had to manage the menace of Sextus Pompey, son ofPompey. Sextus had occupied the province of Sicily, which provided much ofRome's grain supply. When Sextus had managed to bring famine to Rome, in 39 BC, Octavian and Antony sought an alliance with him, appointing him governor of Sicily, Sardinia, and the Peloponnese for five years (Treaty of Misenum). The alliance was short-lived, and Sextus cut the grain supply to Rome. Octavian tried to invade Sicily in 38 BC, but his ships were forced to go back because of bad weather.[1][2][3]
Agrippa cut through part of the Via Ercolana and dug a channel to connectLake Lucrinus to the sea in order to change it into a harbor. Additionally, Agrippa dug a second, longer, channel on the northern side of Lake Lucrinus to connect it toLake Avernus, a marshy lake further inland, creating a multi-tiered port complex that was not visible from the outer bay, where Sextus's ships routinely patrolled. Agrippa named this harborPortus Julius, or Iulius, after Octavian's assassinated great-uncle, DictatorGaius Julius Caesar. The new harbor was used to specially outfit ships and secretly train men for naval battles. A new fleet was built, with 20,000 oarsmen gathered by freeing slaves. The new ships were built much larger, in order to carry many more naval infantry units. Furthermore, Antony lent Octavian 120 ships under the command ofTitus Statilius Taurus, for which Octavian was to give him 20,000 infantry to be recruited from northern Italy. While Antony kept his part of the bargain, Octavian did not. In July 36 BC the two fleets sailed from Italy, and another fleet, provided by the third triumvir,Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, sailed from Africa, to attack Sextus's stronghold in Sicily. In August, Agrippa was able to defeat Sextus in anaval battle near Mylae (modernMilazzo); that same month, Octavian was defeated and seriously wounded in a battle nearTaormina.[1][2][3]
In front of Naulochus promontory, Agrippa met Sextus's fleet. Both fleets were composed of 300 ships, all with artillery, but Agrippa commanded heavier units, armed with theharpax, a newer version of thecorvus, that was invented by Agrippa himself. Agrippa used his new weapon to great effect, succeeding in blocking the more maneuverable ships of Sextus and, after a long and bloody fight, in defeating his enemy. Agrippa lost three ships, while 28 ships of Sextus were sunk, 17 fled, and the others were burnt or captured.[1][2][3]
After seven years, Sicily was finally wrested from the control of the resourceful Sextus, whose large navy had created many problems for theSecond Triumvirate. Sextus reachedMessina with seven ships and moved toMytilene, then from there to the east, where he was defeated in 35 BC by Antony. Octavian and Lepidus defeated the last Pompeian resistance in Sicily. Later, after a good amount of intrigue, Octavian was able to strip Lepidus of his political and military power and become the sole ruler of the west.[1][2][3]
