Carthaginian master Hannibal and Roman hero Scipio were enemies, but they had a cup of tea together.
Scipio heard. What is the greatest commander ever?
Hannibal named the three without hesitation.
"1st place is Alexander the Great, 2nd place is Pyrrhus, 3rd place is me"
This time, the story of Pyrrhus, which the genius Hannibal described as more than himself.
Pyrrhic victory
Rome was in the midst of the "Italy Unification War" at that time.
After winning a 40-year battle with the hill tribes of the Samniums, Rome sought to unify the Italian peninsula by embarking on a battle with the Greek cities of Southern Italy called "Magnagrequia."
Rome was only a small city-state when it was founded. The mighty kingdom of Etruria in the north and the Greek cities in the south, Rome was sandwiched between these two major forces.
Before I knew it, Rome was getting stronger. To the extent that it can compete with the far superior Greeks.
There was a city now called Taranto, then Tarentium. Rome was to fight against this city, which was built by the Spartans, famous as a military nation, in the southern part of Italy.
A Roman ship crash landed on Tarentium, but launched an attack with this as a breach of the agreement. Five of the ten were captured by the Talentium and all crew members were killed.
Rome rebelled against this and both sides were in a state of war.
Talentium used mercenaries for the war, even though it was a police built by the Spartans. The person who made the arrow of white feathers this time was Pyrrhus, who was owed the throne by Macedonia.
Pyrrhus once became King of Macedonia as a result of the War of the Diadochi after the death of Alexander the Great, but was ousted by Thracian King Rushmacos.
Pyrrhus was said to be the return of Alexander at the time, and the Talentium side welcomed him on exceptional terms.
It was 280 BC, 40 years after Alexander the Great died.
Pyrrhus arrived at Talentium and was amazed. This is because the people of Talentium were floating even though it was a war from now on. Moreover, he has no soldiers. He first ordered the closure of amusement facilities such as theaters. The Talentium people seemed to be quite dissatisfied with this.
In the end, Pyrrhus had no soldiers, so he had to fight only with the soldiers he brought. It is said that elephants were also included in it. Romans were the first to see an elephant.
The Romans who saw the elephant for the first time would have been surprised. It must have been in a state of how to win even though it was such a big one.
Aside from the story of elephants, Greek phalanx tactics and Roman legions are often compared in the ancient world.
Both have tactics of heavy infantry and crowding, which is effectively the first battle.
Pyrrhus, who saw the Roman camp, said, "That barbarian does not seem to be barbaric as far as the formation is concerned. Let's see what the result will be tomorrow."
Greece was the nation led by Alexander the Great, who beat Persia at the time and built an unprecedented empire, and was the world's champion. Rome, on the other hand, is just a country corps.
Pyrrhus who didn't lick it wouldn't be just a thing.
The result was the defeat of Rome. It seems that Pyrrhus wasn't left unharmed, but the first battle ended with the Pyrrhus camp overwhelmingly in favor.
Battle of Heraclea in posterity It is a fight called.
The Roman side did not accept the peace and went to Pyrrhus with the ransom of the prisoners.
Pyrrhus said, "I didn't come to business," and released the prisoners for free without receiving a ransom.
There is an anecdote that the POWs returned again because the peace was not established, saying that the POWs would return if the peace was not established.
After that, a Pyrrhus samurai doctor proposed poisoning to the Roman side, but the Roman side informed Pyrrhus of it and thanked him. It is said that Pyrrhus returned the previous prisoner to Rome, and Rome also released the Pyrrhus prisoner.
Pyrrhus then re-enters the battle with Rome. The result was a victory on the Pyrrhus side, but the damage was great, and Pyrrhus, who said, "Even if we fight again and win the Roman army, we will be completely destroyed," Pyrrhus returned to the position without pursuing. That is.
" Pyrrhic victory " is a victory that does not pay much for the damage even if it wins after this. I came to call it.
This is the Battle of Asculum in posterity It is called.
And to Sicily
At that time, Syracuse in eastern Sicily was a Greek colonial city. It was a Phoenician country and dominated western Sicily.
At the request of Syracuse, Pyrrhus went to Syracuse.
The Roman side would have been relieved. Pyrrhus won a lot by dropping the important base Erics against Carthage, but he returned to Talentium in about three years due to the internal conflict of Syracuse.
Pyrrhus returned to the fight against Rome, but this time he suffered a painful defeat.
Pyrrhus was already inferior before the war. That's right, I've been fighting for a long time.
Rome, on the other hand, is ready.
Pyrrhus, who saw his disadvantage, decided to attack Rome at night, but the Roman side saw it.
The battlefield at that time was originally called Marwentum, but with this victory, the Roman side decided to change the name to Beneventum, which means "good wind."
This battle was thus later " Battle of Benentum It came to be called.
Pyrrhus cleverly withdrew to prevent further damage and returned to his hometown of Epirus.
The real battle for Pyrrhus is about to begin.
By the way, Tarentium will be under the control of Rome when Pyrrhus disappears, and Rome will succeed in unifying the Italian peninsula.
The name of Pyrrhus was engraved in Roman history as the most distressing general of Rome.
King of Macedonia Pyrrhus
The real enemy of Pyrrhus is Antigonus II in Macedonia.
Pyrrhus succeeds in expelling Antigonus II at the request of the Macedonian people. He succeeded in becoming the King of Macedonia again.
After that, he went to the Peloponnese Peninsula and spent all his time fighting Sparta, but the exiled Antigonus II always threatened Macedonia and finally withdrew. He died while he was intervening in the political struggle of Argos.
The cause of his death is uncertain, but it is said that he was poisoned and killed by a woman.
Personal evaluation of Pyrrhus
Although it was said that Alexander the Great was coming back, it finally ended without unifying Greece.
Pyrrhus himself was a good general, but he probably exhausted his troops as he fought around. By the time he returned to Greece, he wasn't doing enough.
Hannibal, who is even called a war god, was a tactician who was said to have imitated the tactics, and if conditions were met, he might have been a person who would once again enliven the Greek world. Then the name would have appeared in Japanese world history textbooks.
He can be said to be a hero whose luck wasn't on his side.
He was a regrettable person in many ways.