Battle of the Aegates.
The Battle of the Aegates was a naval battle fought on 10 March 241 BC between the fleets of Carthage and Rome. It took place among the Aegates Islands, off the western coast of Sicily. The Carthaginians were commanded by Hanno, and the Romans were under the overall authority of Gaius Lutatius Catulus, but Quintus Valerius Falto had the battle command. It was the final battle of the 23-year-long First Punic War. The Roman army had been blockading the Carthaginians in their strongholds on the west coast of Sicily. Almost bankrupt, the Romans borrowed money to build a fleet, with which they extended the blockade to the sea. The Carthaginians assembled a larger fleet to run supplies into Sicily. It was intercepted and in a hard-fought battle the better-trained Romans defeated the undermanned and ill-trained Carthaginians. As a direct result, Carthage sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Lutatius, surrendering Sicily to Rome and paying substantial reparations.
