The
Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was a complex series of battles and shifting political alliances among the
Greeks (specifically
Epirus,
Macedonia, and the
city states of
Magna Graecia), the Italian peoples (primarily the
Roman Republic,
Samnites and the
Etruscans), and the
Carthaginians. Most historical treatments of the conflict concentrate on the conflicts between
Pyrrhus of Epirus and Rome. Carthage and Rome were allies in this conflict. While Carthage did, in fact, pledge aid to Rome in 280 BC, it is unclear what this aid consisted of, or how influential it was in the war. Later in the conflict Carthage was involved in its
own war with Pyrrhus in Sicily. There seems to have been no coordinated military efforts between Rome and Carthage.