He needed to man and equip these ships and to do this he treated the Greek city-states despotically. These cities turned against him. He was forced to return to southern Italy. He fought the Romans at the Battle of Beneventum (275 BC), where he was defeated. He then left Italy and returned to Epirus. Notes References Primary sources Cassius Dio, Roman History, Vol 1, Books 1-11, (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, Nabu Press, 2011; Plutarch, Lives, Vol. 9, Demetrius and Antony. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1920; ASIN B00E6TGQKO Frontinus, Book II, Stratagems Secondary sources Abbott. J., Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, A Biography. This was written in the nineteenth century. It had been published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016; Grant, M., The History of Rome, Faber & Faber, 1986; Champion, J. Pyrrhus of Epirus, Pen & Sword Military, 2016; Merlis, M., Pyrrhus, Fourth Estate, 2008; Asculum 279 BC Asculum Asculum 3rd century BC in the Roman Republic Ancient Apulia