| Battle of Messana | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the First Punic War | |||||||
 Route taken by Punic army in order to reach Messana | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Roman Republic |
Carthage Syracuse | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Appius Claudius Caudex Manius Valerius Maximus Manius Otacilius Crassus |
Hanno Hiero II | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 9,000 soldiers | 12,000 Syracusan and Carthaginian cavalry, hoplites and mercenaries | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,340 casualties | 6,000 casualties | ||||||
The Battle of Messana in 264 BC was the first military clash between the Roman Republic and Carthage. It marked the start of the First Punic War. In that period, and after the recent successes in southern Italy, Sicily became of increasing strategic importance to Rome.