Battle of Beneventum

During the Pyrrhic War between Rome and Epirus, the battle of Beneventum served as its conclusion. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, led Epirus while Manius Curius Dentatus, a Roman consul, commanded the Roman army. In the most recent battles in Sicily and earlier conflicts with the Romans, Pyrrhus sustained significant losses. In addition, when Greek city-states urged Pyrrhus to aid them in their fight against the Carthaginians, his force was smaller than the Romans'. He traveled to Sicily, conquered every Carthaginian territory except Lilybaeum, and then left for Italy.

Then he decided to split his army into two halves, sending one after Cornelius Lentulus and the other toward Manius Curius. Additionally, he sent out his combat elephants, but the Romans chased them away. After a protracted fight, Pyrrhus was finally compelled by the Romans to abandon his campaign in Italy and head back to Epirus.

Date: 275 BC
Location: Beneventum (modern Benevento), Italy
Combatants: the Roman Republic against Epirus
Result: Roman victory