Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus was a Hellenistic king of Epirus and military commander who campaigned in Italy and Sicily against Rome and Carthage in the third century BCE.

Battle of Heraclea: A 280 BCE battle in which Pyrrhus defeated a Roman army in southern Italy. This first major clash with Rome established Pyrrhus’s reputation in Italy.
Hellenistic warfare: The military practices of Greek kingdoms from Alexander’s conquests through the Roman conquest of the eastern Mediterranean. Pyrrhus used the armies and tactics characteristic of the Hellenistic world.
Ptolemy I Soter: A Macedonian general who founded the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death. Ptolemy supported Pyrrhus’s return to Epirus and helped him secure his throne.
Pyrrhic victory: A victory won at such cost that it seriously damages the victor’s prospects. Pyrrhus’s losses after victories over Rome became the classic example behind the term.
Battle of Asculum: A 279 BCE battle in which Pyrrhus defeated Roman forces at great cost. The casualties associated with this victory later gave rise to the phrase “Pyrrhic victory.”
Macedonian phalanx: An infantry formation of closely packed soldiers armed with long sarissas. Phalanx infantry formed the core of the army Pyrrhus brought to Italy.
Antigonus II Gonatas: A Macedonian king who established Antigonid rule over Macedonia in the third century BCE. Antigonus was Pyrrhus’s rival in the struggle for control of Macedonia and Greece.
Pyrrhic War: The conflict between Rome and Pyrrhus in southern Italy from 280 to 275 BCE. The war ended Pyrrhus’s Italian intervention but did not prevent Rome’s expansion.
Battle of Beneventum: A 275 BCE battle in southern Italy in which Roman forces checked Pyrrhus’s campaign. Its outcome helped end Pyrrhus’s attempt to conquer southern Italy.
War elephant: An elephant trained and equipped to fight in battle. Pyrrhus’s elephants disrupted Roman formations at Heraclea and helped secure his early victories.

Linked from 10 pages