Marcus Atilius Regulus (d. 250 BCE), a Roman general in the First Punic War, defeated the Carthaginians at sea but lost an important battle in Africa. Captured in 255 BCE, he was sent on parole to solicit peace with the Romans; instead, he urged the Roman Senate neither to accept the terms nor to exchange prisoners. Unwilling to break his parole, Regulus returned to Carthage, where he was tortured to death.