217 BC

Last updated

Millennium: 1st millennium BC
Centuries:
Decades:
Years:
217 BC in various calendars
Gregorian calendar 217 BC
CCXVII BC
Ab urbe condita 537
Ancient Egypt era XXXIII dynasty, 107
- Pharaoh Ptolemy IV Philopator, 5
Ancient Greek era 140th Olympiad, year 4
Assyrian calendar 4534
Balinese saka calendar N/A
Bengali calendar −809
Berber calendar 734
Buddhist calendar 328
Burmese calendar −854
Byzantine calendar 5292–5293
Chinese calendar 癸未年 (Water  Goat)
2481 or 2274
     to 
甲申年 (Wood  Monkey)
2482 or 2275
Coptic calendar −500 – −499
Discordian calendar 950
Ethiopian calendar −224 – −223
Hebrew calendar 3544–3545
Hindu calendars
 - Vikram Samvat −160 – −159
 - Shaka Samvat N/A
 - Kali Yuga 2884–2885
Holocene calendar 9784
Iranian calendar 838 BP – 837 BP
Islamic calendar 864 BH – 863 BH
Javanese calendar N/A
Julian calendar N/A
Korean calendar 2117
Minguo calendar 2128 before ROC
民前2128年
Nanakshahi calendar −1684
Seleucid era 95/96 AG
Thai solar calendar 326–327
Tibetan calendar 阴水羊年
(female Water-Goat)
−90 or −471 or −1243
     to 
阳木猴年
(male Wood-Monkey)
−89 or −470 or −1242
The Battle of Lake Trasimene Battle of lake trasimene.gif
The Battle of Lake Trasimene

Year 217 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Geminus and Flaminius/Regulus (or, less frequently, year 537 Ab urbe condita ). The denomination 217 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Contents

Events

By place

Roman Republic

  • Gaius Flaminius is re-elected consul with Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, in what is considered to be a rebuke of the Senate's prosecution of the war. Flaminius raises new legions and marches north to meet the Carthaginian general Hannibal.
  • Hannibal advances to the Arno River and then outmanoeuvres the army of Gaius Flaminius at Arretium and reaches Faesulae (modern Fiesole) and Perugia.
  • June 21 On the northern shore of Lake Trasimene, in Umbria, Hannibal's troops all but annihilate Gaius Flaminius' army in the Battle of Lake Trasimene, killing thousands (including Flaminius) and driving others to drown in the lake. Reinforcements of about 4,000 cavalry from Ariminum under the praetor, Gaius Centenius, are intercepted before they arrive and are also destroyed. The Carthaginian troops then march on Rome.
  • Gaius Flaminius' supporters in the Senate begin to lose power to the more aristocratic factions as the Romans fear Hannibal is about to besiege their city. The Senate appoint Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as dictator.
  • Quintus Fabius Maximus begins his strategy of "delay". This involves avoiding a set battle with the Carthaginians and creating a "scorched earth" area around Hannibal's army. Manoeuvring among the hills, where Hannibal's cavalry is ineffective, Fabius cuts off his enemy's supplies and harasses Hannibal's forces incessantly. Fabius gains the name Cunctator (The Delayer) for this strategy.
  • Hannibal ravages Apulia and Campania; meanwhile the delaying tactics of Quintus Fabius Maximus' army allows only skirmishes to occur between the two armies.
  • Fabius' delaying policy becomes increasingly unpopular in Rome, and Fabius is compelled to return to Rome to defend his actions under the guise of observing some religious obligations. Marcus Minucius Rufus, the master of horse, is left in command and manages to catch the Carthaginians off guard near their camp in Geronium and inflicts severe losses on them in a large skirmish. This "victory" causes the Romans, disgruntled with Fabius, to elevate Minucius to the equal rank of dictator with Fabius.
  • Minucius takes command of half the army and camps separately from Fabius near Geronium. Hannibal, informed of this development, lays an elaborate trap, which draws out Minucius and his army and then Hannibal attacks it from all sides. The timely arrival of Fabius with the other half of the army enables Minucius to escape after a severe mauling. After the battle, Minucius turns over his army to Fabius and resumes the duties of Master of Horse.
  • Carthagians defeat the Romans at Lake Trasimene; at the Trebia River and at the Ticinus River [1]

Egypt

Greece

  • Philip V of Macedon, continuing his war with the Aetolian League lays siege to Phthiotic Thebes, captures it and sells the inhabitants into slavery.
  • Learning of Hannibal's victory over the Romans at Lake Trasimene and seeing a chance to recover his Illyrian kingdom from the Romans, Demetrius of Pharos immediately advises Philip V to make peace with the Aetolians, and turn his attentions toward Illyria and Italy. Philip, at once begins negotiations with the Aetolians. At a conference on the coast near Naupactus, Philip meets the Aetolian leaders and a peace treaty is concluded, ending the three-year-long "Social War".

Spain

Births

Deaths

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus</span> Roman statesman and general (c. 280 – 203 BC)

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator, was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was censor in 230 BC. His agnomen, Cunctator, usually translated as "the delayer", refers to the strategy that he employed against Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War. Facing an outstanding commander with superior numbers, he pursued a then-novel strategy of targeting the enemy's supply lines, and accepting only smaller engagements on favourable ground, rather than risking his entire army on direct confrontation with Hannibal himself. As a result, he is regarded as the originator of many tactics used in guerrilla warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannibal</span> Carthaginian general and statesman (247–183/181 BC)

Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">200s BC (decade)</span> Decade

This article concerns the 200 BC decade, that lasted from 209 BC to 200 BC.

This article concerns the period 219 BC – 210 BC.

Year 203 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Geminus. The denomination 203 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Year 205 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Dives. The denomination 205 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Year 210 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Laevinus. The denomination 210 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Year 215 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus/Marcellus/Verrucosus and Gracchus. The denomination 215 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">216 BC</span> Calendar year

Year 216 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Varro and Paullus. The denomination 216 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lake Trasimene</span> 217 BC battle of the Second Punic War

The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. The battle took place on the north shore of Lake Trasimene, to the south of Cortona, and resulted in a heavy defeat for the Romans.

The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause attrition, disrupt supply and affect morale. Employment of this strategy implies that the side adopting this strategy believes time is on its side, usually because the side employing the strategy is fighting in, or close to, their homeland and the enemy is far from home and by necessity has long and costly supply lines. It may also be adopted when no feasible alternative strategy can be devised.

Gnaeus Servilius Geminus was a Roman consul, serving as both general and admiral of Roman forces, during the Second Punic War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ager Falernus</span> Military clash between Rome and Carthage

The Battle of Ager Falernus was a skirmish during the Second Punic War between the armies of Rome and Carthage. After winning the Battle of Lake Trasimene in Italy in 217 BC, the army commanded by Hannibal marched south and reached Campania. The Carthaginians ultimately moved into the district of Falernum, a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Geronium</span> Battle of the Second Punic War

The Battle of Geronium was a full-scale battle in the summer and autumn months of 217 BC, respectively. This battle happened during the Second Punic War. The event has been regarded as a pivotal moment in the war, as it involved the armies of the incredibly influential civilizations, Rome and Carthage. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Carthaginian forces led by the legendary general Hannibal Barca.

Marcus Minucius Rufus was a Roman consul in 221 BC. He was also Magister Equitum during the dictatorship of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus known as Cunctator.

This section of the timeline of Hispania concerns Spanish and Portuguese history events from the Carthaginian conquests to before the barbarian invasions.

Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina was a Roman politician and general who served as consul in 221 BC, and as such campaigned against the Histri, a people in the northern Adriatic. Asina belonged to the Scipionic-Aemilian faction which dominated Roman politics at the beginning of the Second Punic War, and advocated for an aggressive policy against Hannibal. This stance led him to oppose the more prudent strategy of Fabius Maximus. He was notably appointed Interrex in 216 BC, probably in order to manipulate the elections.

References

  1. LeGlay, Marcel; Voisin, Jean-Louis; Le Bohec, Yann (2001). A History of Rome (Second ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 77. ISBN   0-631-21858-0.