Battle of Ponza (1300)

Battle of Ponza
Part of War of the Sicilian Vespers
Date 14 June 1300 Location near Naples, present-day Italy Result Aragonese–Angevin victory
Belligerents
Crown of Aragon Angevin Empire	Sicily
Commanders and leaders
Roger of Lauria	Conrad d'Oria
Strength
59 galleys	32 galleys
Casualties and losses
Unknown	26 galleys captured

The naval Battle of Ponza took place on 14 June 1300 near the islands of Ponza and Zannone, in the Gulf of Gaeta (north-west of Naples), when a galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated an Aragonese-Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Conrad d'Oria.

Lauria's 40 Angevin galleys were at Naples when 32 Sicilian galleys under d'Oria arrived and challenged him to come out. For the first time he refused, probably because of a lack of confidence in his Angevin crews, and d'Oria ravaged some offshore islands. This allowed 12 Apulian galleys to arrive from the south and seven Genoese galleys to arrive also, and join Lauria's fleet, making 59 galleys. Now Lauria emerged and found the Sicilians near Zannone Island to the west. After d'Oria dismissed a suggestion to retreat, he tried a quick attack on Lauria's flag-galley and the banner-carrying galleys, his own galley running alongside Lauria's, "head to toe", and Lauria's crew suffered even though his galley couldn't be boarded. One Sicilian galley fled after capturing one of Lauria's galleys, and it was followed by six more. Five Genoese Ghibelline galleys held back, awaiting fortune, and 18-29 (two sources give 28, but this adds up to too many) Sicilian galleys were captured, d'Oria's being the last to surrender (when Lauria threatened to burn it).

Ships involved

Aragonese and Angevin

• 40 Angevin (Regicolae) galleys
• 12 Apulian galleys
• 7 Genoese (Grimaldi) galleys

Sicilian

• 32 galleys - about 26 captured

40°54′00″N 12°58′00″E / 40.9000°N 12.9667°E / 40.9000; 12.9667

This page was last edited on 21 September 2023, at 20:33