Lilybæum (First Punic War).
This fortress was besieged B.C. 250, by the Romans, under C. Attilius and L. Manlius, and was defended by a Carthaginian garrison, 10,000 strong, under Himilcon. The Romans invested the place both by sea and land, but the superior seamanship of the Carthaginians enabled them from time to time to throw succour into the place. The first line of the defences was soon carried but the Romans were then confronted with a second rampart, equally strong, and the siege was begun anew. In 249 P. Claudiûs took over the command, but a defeat of the Roman fleet at Drepanum gave the Carthaginians complete command of the sea, and though the Romans continued to blockade the fortress on the land side, it held out till 241. After the naval battle of Ægusæ Carthage sued for peace.