AncientPages.com - On September 3, 36 BC, the fleets of Sextus Pompeius and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, off Naulochus, near Messina, Sicily, met in the naval Battle of Naulochus.
The rebel, Sextus Pompeius, was defeated by Agrippa in this sea battle off the coast of Sicily.
Octavian had three hundred ships under the command of his good friend, Marcus Agrippa. Against his forces were the three hundred ships of Sextus Pompey, all lined up along the northeast coastline of Sicily, facing north.
A sea battle began, and the port city of Naulochus, an ancient town on the north coast of Sicily, was in the background of this crucial military meeting.
Sextus had lost the land battle for Sicily, so his only chance for victory was to defeat Marcus Agrippa, who had never fought a sea battle.
In front of Naulochus promontory, Agrippa met Sextus’ fleet. Both fleets were composed of 300 ships, all with artillery, but Agrippa commanded heavier units armed with the harpax, a grappling hook used by the Roman navy. Agrippa used his new weapon with significant effect, successfully blocking the more maneuverable ships of Sextus and, after a long and bloody fight, defeating his enemy.
Agrippa lost three ships, while 28 boats of Sextus were sunk, 17 fled, and the others were burnt or captured.
After seven years, Sicily was finally wrested from the control of the resourceful Sextus Pompeius, whose large navy had created many problems for the second triumvirate.
Sextus reached Messina with seven ships and moved to Mytilene, then to the East, where he was defeated in 35 BC by Mark Antony. He fled to Asia Minor but was captured and executed by the Roman general Marcus Titius.
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