[[File:Mamertiner BMC 25.JPG|thumb|Coin minted under Mamertine rule, depicting a warrior ]]
The '''Mamertines''' ({{lang-la|Mamertini}}, "sons of Mars", {{lang-el|Μαμερτῖνοι}}) were [[mercenary|mercenaries]] of [[Italic peoples|Italian]] origin who had been hired from their home in [[Campania]] by [[Agathocles of Syracuse|Agathocles]] (361–289 BC), [[Tyrant]] of [[Syracuse, Italy#Greek period|Syracuse]] and self-proclaimed King of [[History of Sicily#Greek period|Sicily]]. After Syracuse lost the [[Sicilian Wars#The Seventh Sicilian War (311 BC–306 BC)|Seventh Sicilian War]], the city of [[Messina]] was ceded to [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] in 307 BC. When Agathocles died in 289 BC he left many of his mercenaries idle and unemployed in [[Sicily]]. Most of them returned home but some, liking the climate and the prospect of adventure on a foreign island, remained. They played a major role in the lead-up to the [[First Punic War]].
In 280 BC, the Syracusans appealed to King [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] for help against the Mamertines.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Polybius |title=The Rise of the Roman Empire |publisher=Penguin Classics |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-140-44362-2 |location=New York, New York |pages=50 |language=English}}</ref>
