Treaty of Lutatius

The Treaty of Lutatius officially ended the First Punic War. It received its name from Gaius Lutatius Catulus, the Roman consul and victor of the Battle of the Aegates Islands who negotiated it with a subordinate of Hamilcar Barca in 241 BC. According to the historian Polybius, the terms of the accord dictated that Carthage must evacuate Sicily, not make war upon Syracuse or its allies, hand over all prisoners taken during the war, and pay an indemnity of 2200 talents (66 tons) of silver in 20 annual installments. Originally rejected by the Roman people, these terms were eventually adopted with very little change under the authority of Quintus Lutatius Cerco, the brother of Gaius Lutatius Catulus. In the final agreement, Carthage was only given ten years to pay an indemnity of 3200 talents (96 tons), and had to evacuate the islands between Sicily and Italy (Ustica and the Aeolian Islands) and Aegadian Islands off western coast of Sicily.

Sources

• Lazenby, J. F. First Punic War: A Military History. Stanford University Press, 1996.