moved against the main Carthaginian base on Sicily, Lilybaeum, in 249 BC. A large army commanded by the year's consuls Publius Claudius Pulcher and Lucius Junius Pullus besieged the city. They had rebuilt their fleet, and blockaded the harbour with 200 ships. The city was still held by the Carthaginians when the war ended with a Roman victory nine years later in 241 BC. Tension remained high between the two states as they both continued to expand in the western Mediterranean. When Carthage besieged the Roman-protected town of Saguntum in eastern Iberia in 218 BC, it ignited the Second Punic War with Rome. Notes, citations and sources Notes Citations Sources Further reading Panormus Panormus 250 BC Panormus Panormus Panormus Panormus Panormus