Resuming our narrative of the history of Carthage, we turn to one of the successor realms in the West. Pyrrhus, a second cousin of Alexander the Great, rose to become King of Epirus after a tumultuous and eventful childhood. After distinguishing himself by his skill as a military commander and his personal bravery, Pyrrhus invaded Italy in 280 BC at the invitation of the Greek city-state of Tarentum to support the western Greeks against the rising power of Rome. The resulting Pyrrhic War would be an epic clash between the dynamic Pyrrhus and the solid, relentless Romans, and the conflict would eventually draw Carthage's involvement due to its importance. In this episode, we cover the rise of Pyrrhus up until he sets foot in Italy. In Part II, we will cover the Pyrrhic War in detail and how Pyrrhus's actions set the stage for the Punic Wars to come.

Link to the Layman's Historian website

Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC

Link to the Episode 18 page on the Layman's Historian website

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