Siege of Syracuse (213–212 BC)

Siege of Syracuse
	Part of the Second Punic War
	; Archimedes Directing the Defenses of Syracuse by Thomas Ralph Spence (1895).
Date	Spring 213 – Autumn 212 BC
Location	Syracuse37°05′00″N 15°17′00″E / 37.0833°N 15.2833°E
Result	Roman victory Syracuse completely sacked;
Belligerents
Roman Republic	Syracuse; Carthage
Commanders and leaders
Marcus Claudius Marcellus; Appius Claudius Pulcher	Archimedes †; Epicydes; Hippocrates †; Himilco †; Bomilcar
Strength
16,000–18,000	21,000–25,000
Casualties and losses
Heavy	5,000+ (plus "large" amount of civilians)

The siege of Syracuse by the Roman Republic took place in 213–212 BC. The Romans successfully stormed the Hellenistic city of Syracuse after a protracted siege, giving them control of the entire island of Sicily. During the siege, the city was protected by weapons developed by the prominent inventor and polymath Archimedes, who was slain at the conclusion of the siege by a Roman soldier, in contravention of the Roman proconsul Marcellus's instructions to spare his life.