The Three Sicilian Wars With Greece
Battle Scene depicting Carthage's victory over the Greeks at the second Battle of Himera
The Greek-Punic wars were a series of wars that lasted from 580 B.C. until 289 B.C. between contingents within the Greek empire and the city of Carthage. These wars were the longest fought that the world has ever known. These wars are sometimes referred to by historians as the Sicilian Wars as most of the conflicts occurred on and around the island of Sicily. These wars were unlike the wars that Carthage would later fight with Rome, with those being for territorial gain to impose ones will over the other. Instead, Carthage and Greece fought primarily over territory related to conflicts in regards to disputes over trade. The Greeks started to establish trading colonies in the western Mediterranean at around 750 B.C. and for the first century, Carthage did not seem alarmed and even traded with these colonies. It was not until around 638 B.C. that hostilities occurred. Around this time, the Greeks landed in Spain and began to colonize the eastern coastal shores giving the Punic colonies direct competition. The Greek cities on Sicily also began to expand further west on the island, in direct competition with the colonies that Carthage had established much earlier on the western portion of the island.
These growing colonies traded with the native people along the western portion of the island. One of these were the Elymians, whose ancestors were said to have been the survivors of Troy and because of this, natural enemies of the Greeks. . The Elymians (Segesta) were in conflict with the Greek city of Selinus, which was pushing west and a dispute resulted over boundaries. At first the Elymians reluctantly requested aid from Athens and they met disaster against their enemies, until finally convincing the Carthaginians to come to their aid. Carthage responded and landed an army of mercenaries and with their Elymian allies, defeated a Greek force which contained armies from the Greek cities of Selinus and Rhodes in 580 B.C. near where the future Carthage strong-hold of Lilybaeum would be constructed some years later. Some 30 years later the Carthaginian general Malchus then swept east and conquered most of Sicily, save a few walled Greek cities, of which consisted of, Gelo, Akragas, and Syracuse. A period of peace and prosperity on Sicily followed which can be validated by the growth of many Punic cities on the island. Graves from this period also indicate prosperity based upon the items that were found with these dead. Syracuse, along with her few allies were not powerful enough at this time to contest the Carthage advance and Carthage showed little interest in engaging these remaining Greek cities. The conflicts, however, raged elsewhere. In 540 B.C. the Carthage general Mago Barca, not to be confused with Hannibal's brother, landed an army in Sardinia, which was heavily influenced by the Greeks. After a long and bloody campaign that went undecided, Mago landed on the Greek-held Balearic islands and met with success. A large-scale battle of which not much is known was fought with the invading forces surprising the Greek army and scoring a crushing victory. The remnants of the Greek forces retreated to their last stronghold at Ivaza, their capital of the islands, which the Greeks had founded in 654 B.C. Soon Ivaza surrendered and the Balearics came into the Carthage empire. Five years later in 535 B.C., as mentioned before, Carthage teamed with her Etruscan allies and defeated a large Greek navy off the coast of Corsica. These Greek ships carried important supplies for their remaining strongholds in both Corsica and Sardinia. With this victory, Carthage would soon secure the two islands into their empire. The Carthaginians also met with success in Spain and secured the departure of Greece from that theatre.
Around 495 B.C. and until 485 B.C. Hippocrates, ruler of Gela, followed by his brother Gelo, conquered most of the eastern portion of Sicily, including the city of Syracuse, of which he quickly incorporated as his capitol city. Another powerful Greek city, Akragas, which was situated on the middle, southern coast of the island, led by the tyrant Theron, had subdued the center portion of the island during military campaigns that lasted from 488-483 B.C. These two Greek cities then entered upon an alliance against the Carthaginians and the Elymians, who were now concentrated again to the western portion of the island. A portion of the island that was near Carthage and could be easily reinforced and supplied. The city of Himera, along with the city of Rhegion, from southern Italy, and the city of Selinus, then entered upon an alliance with Carthage to defend themselves from Gelo and Theron.
In 480 B.C. the Carthage general Hamilcar, not the father of Hannibal, landed near Himera with an army that was said to have numbered 100,000 strong when it had left Carthage. However, strong storms during the transporting of the army inflicted heavy casualties among the Punic fleet. The ships that were carrying the cavalry and the chariots sank, as well as numerous transports that carried infantry. Upon landing and marching to Himera, Hamilcar met the Greek forces under Theron and won a pitched battle. Theron then requested aid from Gelo of Syracuse and he marched to aid his ally. As Gelo neared, Hamilcar sent a messenger to request cavalry reinforcements from his Selinus and Rhegion allies, who were not present at the battle that Hamilcar had fought against Theron, keeping in mind that he had lost his at sea. Cavalry units from Gelo intercepted the messenger and sent a large force of his cavalry, disguised as reinforcements from Selinus. Hamilcar welcomed his "reinforcements" and offered Gelo battle. As the battle commenced, the infantry units clashed and the battle here was hotly contested. The disguised Gelo cavalry then played their part and as the Carthage infantry pushed forward, they gave way to their cavalry comrades whom they were facing and joined them in storming upon the Carthage camp by the sea, setting fire to over half of the ships, before turning upon the rear of the Carthage infantry lines. Still Carthage, with the superb fighting of their Spanish contingents, was holding the upper hand. This changed as soon as Theron returned with his reorganized army and joined the struggling Gelo forces. The Punic army faltered and was sent into flight towards their crippled fleet, now reduced by large numbers. Over half of the Carthage army was slain during the battle, with the survivors also perishing on their return trip to Carthage during a severe storm which sank most of the remaining Carthage fleet. There are two conflicting stories about how Hamilcar perished. One stated that he was killed in battle, and another, probably the most reliable, stated that during the battle, after Theron had re-entered, Hamilcar had a large fire burning upon his camp and was offering animal sacrifices to appease Carthage gods and when he saw that the fortunes of his army would not be able to be reversed , committed suicide by jumping into the fire. The people of Sicily would later erect a monument at the place where he was said to have perished.
When news of the disaster reached Carthage, the stunned city manned her walls and expected a Greek land invasion to arrive shortly. Strict religious practices were followed and women were confined to their homes. Foraging armies brought in enormous amounts of food and supplies to withstand a siege. Carthage also quickly sent envoys to both Gelo and Theron asking for a ceasefire and that peace talks be initiated. To their surprise, Gelo and Theron agreed and demanded only 2,000 silver talents as indemnity. Carthage also lost no territory and would spend the next 70 years in isolation, only expanding her empire slightly in Africa during this time. In December of 2008, archaeologists, working outside ancient Himera, uncovered over 10,000 graves that were in the area where the battle was said to have been fought and date to that era. Gelo and Theron also did not march against Selinus or Rhegion and a period of growth ensued on Sicily as Greek influence flourished. Thus ended the first of the three wars.
Temple ruins from the Carthaginian ally of Segesta(Elymians)
The crushing defeat at Himera and subsequent peace treaty that Carthage signed with the Greeks did not go unnoticed throughout the rest of the Carthage empire. Most of the Spanish colonies would soon rebel against Carthage. The Libyans rose in defiance as well and Carthage was forced to enter upon several engagements against them to crush the uprising. Carthage was , however, able to strengthen their hold on northern Africa during this time. As time went on the Greeks in Sicily began to, once again, bicker and feud until a disagreement between Selinus and Segesta resulted into re-newed war in 416 B.C. During the opening engagement Selinus crushed the Segestan force. Segesta then called upon their old allies from Carthage to assist them against Selinus, however, Carthage, perhaps with Himera still in their memory, turned down their request. Segesta then called upon assistance from Athens and Athens sent a force to help them against Selinus. Selinus then requested and was given aid from the Greek city of Sparta, who was in conflict with Athens. In 413 B.C. the Athens/Segesta army was met with a crushing defeat at the hands of the Selinus alliance. Again in 411 B.C., the forces of Selinus crushed another army from Segesta,which prompted this desperate city to ask Carthage for assistance, once again. This time Carthage felt that she was strong enough, once again, to expand her interest's in Sicily and after first attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Segesta/Selinus feud, landed an army upon Sicily that was led by a nobleman named Hannibal Mago (The Greek Hater) who was the grandson of the Hamilcar who had perished at Himera. His enemy, Selinus, was the city whom his grandfather was allied with, of whom offered no assistance at Himera. Hannibal Mago, no relation to Hannibal Barca, was not just hoping to secure fame through victory in his native Carthage . Hannibal was obsessed with revenge for the death of his grandfather and his enemies would soon pay a terrible price.
Hannibal landed in Sicily in 410 B.C. and joined the forces of Segesta and defeated an army from Selinus in the same year. After the battle, another attempt to resolve the two cities disputes involving diplomatic negotiations were attempted, only to fail. Hannibal had offered the city of Selinus the disputed lands that were in question with Segesta,as long as they would agree not to further harass that city. The offer was debated among the leaders of Selinus, but was ultimately rejected. Hannibal then sent envoys to the mighty city of Syracuse and asked them to intervene in the dispute. Syracuse was at the time allied with Selinus. Syracuse opted not to break their alliance with Selinus, however, they also stated that they would not break their peace that they had with Carthage, instead offering to remain passive. This failed attempt resulted in Hannibal marching to Selinus in 409 B.C. with an army of around 40,000 strong, supported with heavy siege machines and numerous battering rams. The ancient Greek city supported a population of around 30,000 with probably around 5,000 soldiers. Hannibal brought his siege machines and battering rams to the northern walls of the city. The battering rams were protected with armor to prevent them from catching on fire. The siege machines actually were taller that the walls of Selinus and Hannibal mounted archers upon the top to clear the top of the cities walls, thereby allowing the battering rams to be extremely effective. The walls were breached on the first day and the Carthage army stormed through the breach. The Selinus army and the rest of the population contested each step the Carthage army attempted inside the city. The women of the city stood on the rooftops and tossed rocks and other projectiles upon the heads of the Carthage forces. The city also sent horsemen to both Syracuse and Akragas with urgent pleas for aid. The veteran Selinus soldiers, with the aid of the population, were able to push the Carthage army back through the breach that evening and as Carthage retired for the night, set about reinforcing the wall at the site of the breach. The next day however, Hannibal pushed on with re-newed vigor. This came after an attempt was made to offer the city an opportunity to surrender, which Selinus spurned. This time Hannibal waited until numerous breaches were made in the walls before sending his army inside. The population again aided the Selinus army and the battle raged street-to-street, house-to-house, for nine days. Finally the city surrendered. Over 19,000 died during the battle. The survivors had retreated to their temples and Hannibal accepted their surrender with the condition that they be sold as slaves. Hannibal then razed the city, with the exception of the temples, which he ordered to be left unmolested.
Hannibal followed his success by marching to the city of Himera, the site of his grandfathers epic defeat. After that crushing defeat, the citizens of Himera were sold into slavery by Syracuse for their alliance with Carthage and Syracuse re-populated the city with her own citizens. Himera was protected by 10,000 troops and the city contained a population of around 40,000. The city was aided by around 3,000 troops from Syracuse and around 2,000 from Akragas. Hannibal, upon his march to the city, was reinforced with around 20,000 additional troops from Elymian and other Sicil cities, bringing his army to around 50,000 strong. Syracuse also supported the city with a sizable fleet that was kept in check by a Carthage fleet that was stationed in nearby Motya. Hannibal attempted to batter the walls into submission as he had at Selinus, however, the walls were too strongly fortified. He then split his army and sent engineers to dig under the cities walls, causing sections to collapse. This led the defending army to sally forth from the city and surprise the Carthage portion of the army, inflicting heavy casualties, only to be driven back, with their own heavy casualties, after the other division of the Carthage force arrive. Hannibal then created a rumor that found it's way into the city that he was taking half of his army to Syracuse to lay siege to her walls. This caused great concern among the Syracuse army that was assisting Himera and the army was loaded on their fleet stationed at there, along with all the women and children that they could get on the ships and set sail for Syracuse, promising to return for the rest, so long as were able to hold out against Hannibal. Hannibal, however, was able to enter the city through the breaches which were brought about by the collapsed walls. Again, fierce combat raged, and as the Syracuse ships returned to evacuate the rest of the city, the remaining citizens and soldiers had just surrendered. Hannibal ordered the city razed to the ground, including the temples, and sold the survivors into slavery. Before leaving,he ordered 3,000 of the captured from Himera to be brought to the area where his grandfather had perished and had them executed to avenge his death. He then left Syracuse and Akragas unmolested and returned to Carthage a national hero. Himera was never to be rebuilt.
For the next three years only small-scale skirmishes occurred, until 406 B.C., when Hannibal led another invasion upon the island in retaliation of Syracuse raids on her Sicilian cities. This time, Hannibal besieged the powerful city of Akragas which, anticipating the Carthage invasion had gathered many people from neighboring cities behind her walls. When Hannibal arrived with 60,000 men, he was faced with a population of around 200,000 behind the walls, which included the Akragas army and allies. The Carthage army besieged the walls and the defenders, perhaps reminded of the failed Himera sally from their city to attack the Carthage army, refused to attack. After a period of several months, a horrible plague struck the Carthage army, causing severe casualties, including Hannibal. He was then succeeded by Himilco who pressed on with the siege. The first matter of Himilco was to offer the city the opportunity to surrender and become an ally of Carthage , or to be left alone, as long as they would not interfere with other Carthage operations in Sicily , primarily involving Syracuse. The government refused, perhapsed bolstered by 30,000 reinforcements from Syracuse. The siege then continued for several more months until the city was near starvation. The city would then suffer a huge setback when a Syracuse relief fleet of supplies and food was intercepted by the Carthage navy. The valuable supplies were deverted to Himilco, also suffering from want of supplies, and his mercenaries, close to desertion, were appeased. The citizens of the city, wrought with despair, then accused the five generals who were leading the cities defenses, of conspiring with the Carthage army, thus the reason that the defending army would not sally forth from the walls to attack the Carthage army. They were then stoned to death and new leaders were appointed to lead the resistance. Without the food and supplies, the Syracuse relief force abandoned the city and returned to Syracuse. Other allies who were defending the city also abandoned the city. Himilco was also able to bribe the Italian mercenaries, numbering 10,000 strong to abandon the city and join the Carthage army. He then requested dialog with the new leaders and offered them the opportunity to leave the city, unmolested. The majority of the city then decided to leave and was given safe passage. Himilco then stormed the walls and easily defeated the die-hards who had refused to leave. He then set about the plunder of the city, which was the richest in Sicily. Himilco, leaving the city intact, ordered it to be re-settled with Carthage colonists, and after leaving a small garrison to protect the city, turned his attentions toward Gela, and sacked this city as well. The siege of Akragas had lasted 8 months.
Greek Temple of Juno at Akragas
Coin from the Greek City of Akragas
Mass burial of over 10,000 dead from the Battle of Himera. Many of the dead still had bronze arrowheads embedded in their bones.
Shortly after Gela fell to Himilco, a renegade general from Syracuse named Dionysius l was able to overthrow the Syracuse government and ruled as a tyrant, going forth to meet Himilco on numerous occasions, all of which ended badly in his defeat. Dionysius was forced to retreat to Syracuse and Himilco swept east and for the first time ever, Carthage was able to lay siege to Syracuse. Several months into the siege, tragically, another plague swept the Carthage army and Himilco offered Syracuse the chance to surrender under favorable terms, of which the city of Syracuse gladly accepted (405 B.C.) . Himilco then returned with his stricken army to Carthage where the plague from his army swept throughout the land, killing untold thousands. Dionysius agreed to peace with Carthage only with the intent of rebuilding his forces to fight another day, and that day came seven years after he had agreed to the treaty in 398 B.C.
During the seven years of peace, Dionysius broke the treaty on numerous occasions by attacking other Greek cities around the eastern portion of the island. Despite these infractions, Carthage did nothing. Then in 398 B. C., Dionysius sent an envoy to Carthage with the authority to declare war, lest the Carthage government agree to abandon all of Sicily. Before Carthage was able to respond, however, Dionysius had already set about the slaughter of any Carthaginian citizens he found. The first operation that he undertook was to march along the southern coast of Sicily, where many cities under Carthage control renounced their loyalty to Carthage, executed all Carthage citizens, stole their property, and raced to join the Syracuse tyrant as he marched to the Carthage stronghold at Motya. Dionysius arrived at the heavily fortified city with an army of around 85,000 men. He also sent his brother Leptines, with a huge fleet to blockade the Motya harbor. This fleet consisted of 200 war ships and 500 transport ships. It is not known haw many Carthage forces protected the city, however, in is known that a Carthage war fleet operated in the vicinity at 100 strong, all being of the smaller trimene variety.
Motya was built on a small island about one half of a mile off the west coast of Sicily and was connected to the mainland by a small road that was wide enough for travel. The city itself was built upon a hill and was strongly fortified. The city anticipated the Greek invasion and was able to destroy the road that connected the island to Sicily. When Dionysius arrived, 397 B.C., he was forced to construct a mole to re-connect the island to Sicily and when this was done he was able to bring his army to the walls as well as a new invention to the theater of war, the catapult. Catapults were a devise that would hurl large stones or other projectiles, which would crash into the walls, causing damage and destruction. After a siege of several months the walls were breached by the catapults and the Greek army poured into the city and were contested by the population throughout the city. The entire population was put to the sword. The elderly, women, and children were not spared. No one survived to be sold into slavery. The city was stripped of all treasures and Dionysius stationed a small garrison to guard the city. No Greeks were known to have been re-settled into the city.
When news that Motya had fallen reached Carthage, they responded with haste and Himilco landed with an army and was able to, rather easily, re-take the city from the Syracuse army that was left to garrison the city. Himilco then wasted little time as he then captured the Greek city of Messina. Then, still in 397 B.C., Carthage, led by the admiral Mago, fought a great naval battle with the Syracuse fleet, led by Leptines, off the coast of Sicily which was called the Battle of Catana. The battle raged in total Carthaginian victory as Dionysius and his army watched, helplessly from the shore. The naval victory allowed Himilco to march to the walls of Syracuse and again lay siege to her walls and during the rest of 397 B.C. , he met with great success. However, the next year, 396 B.C., again saw a terrible plague strike at the Carthage army which killed untold thousands and caused Himilco to lift the siege and retire to the Carthage strongholds upon the western side of Sicily. Dionysius, facing troubles of his own and who's own army was also weakened by the plague, was inclined to remain in Syracuse. Soon after Himilco was recalled to Africa with the bulk of his army to put down a Libyan revolt (396-393 B. C.) This allowed for Dionysius to regroup his armies and strike for the city of Solus (late 396 B. C.), along the northern coast of Sicily. Solus was a steadfast ally of Carthage and was one of the few to remain loyal on the island when,during the earlier declaration of war by Dionysius on Carthage, so many had joined the tyrant. Solus was sacked and the population massacred. For the next three years, Dionysius was active against the towns and cities in Sicily. When the Carthaginians had quelled the rebellion, 393 B. C., another Mago, the successor to Himilco, invaded Sicily and was defeated in two battles against Syracuse, at the battle of Abacaenum and also the Battle of the River Chrysas, before soundly defeating Dionysius at the Battle of Cronium, which resulted in Dionysius initiating an uneasy peace that Carthage agreed upon (376 B.C.). The next year Dionysius broke the treaty and laid siege to Lilybaem, the Carthage stronghold on the western portion of the island. After a large naval battle resulted in the loss of his fleet, Dionysius, want of supplies, and so far away from home, sued for peace. The next year he perished and was suceeded by his son Dion and then Timoleon, who in 343 B.C., started raiding Carthage possessions in Sicily. In 341 B. C., Carthage met with disaster at the Battle of Crimissus, which led to a period where neither side took action and the second war would finally end. The second war had lasted seventy years and had taken hundreds of thousands of lives.
Greek ruins at the ancient city of Segesta(Elymians) on the island of Sicily
The peace that lasted between the Greeks of Sicily and Carthage lasted for 25 years from the end of hostilities of the second war until the beginning of the third war. This war began in 315 B.C. when Agothacles, besieged and overtook the Carthage city of Messene. By 311 B. C. he had attacked and conquered most of the last Carthage strongholds in Sicilly, including Akragas. Carthage acted swiftly and an army led by a general named Hamilcar, not to be confused with the father of Hannibal, landed from North Africa and in less than a year had defeated Agothacles and had secured the entire island, before besieging Syracuse (310 B.C.). Agothacles was in an undesirable situation. Operating in the countryside, his army was not powerful enough to lift the siege of his capitol, and the levies which he had hoped to raise from the island were scant at best. His army, soundly beaten just a short time before, numbered only around 15,000, and he decided that the only position he could take to save his city was to invade the Carthage homeland and hope that Carthage would recall the army surrounding his city to protect theirs. His anticipation was correct and Carthage recalled Hamilcar and his army, which in turn was defeated by Agathocles, who then laid siege to the massive walls of Carthage, for the first time in history. Before the battle and just after he had landed his army in Africa, Agathocles ordered his fleet burned before his army to inspire them to fight knowing full well that retreat would not be an option. Agothacles' siege machines were not able to damage the walls of Carthage and he was repelled on numerous occasions. Instead, he would focus on operating in the countryside and attacked and defeated Utica during the same year. It was at this critical time that, as mentioned earlier, Bolmicar, the king of Carthage, used the ill-fortunes of his city in an attempt to overthrow the senate and restore the absolute power to the monarchy as was in centuries past. The fact that he failed, even in these times of extreme anxiety, would bode well for the constitution that Carthage had in place. Bolmicar was executed, the city became a Republic, the monarchy was abolished, and an additional army was raised and sent forth to battle her enemy (307 B.C.). Agothacales, at this time, had seen his army further reduced in size. His hopes at gaining recruits in Africa from within the Carthage empire were met with the reality that the other cities did not feel he would ultimately be victorious. Few would join him. His supply lines from Syracuse were poor at best and he and his army were suffering from starvation and sickness. The Carthage army scored an absolute victory. Very few Greeks escaped. One of the few was Agathocles, who would escape back to Syracuse and subsequently sue Carthage for peace. Carthage agreed (307 B. C.) and the third and final war between Carthage and Greece came to an end. Terms of the treaty were as follows. Syracuse was allowed to remain free of Carthage political and military influence. Syracuse would surrender Messene to Carthage and Carthage would secure the rest of Sicily as well, save Syracuse. Furthermore, Syracuse was not to interfere with Carthage in any matters on the island of Sicily. The third and last war had lasted nine years.
Following peace, Carthage was able to enjoy a period of unmatched prosperity which the city had never known before. The city was at the peak of her power. Twenty seven years would pass before the Greek Pyrrhus of Epirus would invade Italy (280-275 B.C.) and battle Rome for control of Italy. This would lead, as mentioned before, to last of the treaties between Carthage and Rome, with Carthage offering her fleet to Rome if needed. Rome,however, would not ask for assistance, and although every battle that they fought with Pyrrhus ended in defeat for their legions, they were able to hold out against their invader due to superior numbers. Pyrrhus was too far from his homeland to be reinforced properly and the people of Italy had not arrived to welcome him as he had hoped. It is said that after one of his victories over the Romans, Pyrrhus was congratulated by one of his generals for the victory, to which he replied, "another victory for us against the Romans will be the end of us", which referred to the high casualties he endured during his victories, hence the term "Pyrrhic Victory", which is still used today. In 275 B.C. Pyrrhus left Italy, with the intention of invading Carthage-held Sicily and using Syracuse as his base to rebuild his army and gather supplies. Carthage, through their spy network, was informed of his intentions and did not wait for the invasion of their island. Instead, Carthage lay siege to Syracuse, whom they had heard had sent envoys to Pyrrus in Italy, inviting him into their city to use as his base of operations against both Rome and Carthage. Carthage also sent a powerful fleet to patrol the waters between Italy and Sicily, with orders to engage the Greeks upon sight. Pyrrus was able to slip past the Carthage fleet and landed in Sicily near Messene. After capturing several Carthage cities, he met and defeated a large Carthage army that reflected his battles against the Romans, a victory with great loss to his army. He then marched across Sicily to the Carthage stronghold of Lilybaeum and attempted to take the city by storm, only to be driven back with heavy losses. Carthage could ill-afford to lose the city as this was her primary base of operations not only for Sicily, but Sardinia as well. The city was reinforced from the Carthage fleet and Pyrrus deferred his attention to increasing his army with new levies with the purpose of one last attempt to defeat the Romans in Italy. During this time, Carthage had surrounded the island with her superiour fleet and was pressing Syracuse hard. The fleet, however, was not able to stop Pyrrus from slipping back into Italy, where he met the Romans one last time and was soundly defeated (275B.C.) Two-thirds of his army was destroyed and as he gathered on his ships to return to main-land Greece, his fleet passed the island of Sicily. It is said that as he gazed upon the island, he commented to his generals, "What a splendid battlefield I am leaving for Carthage and Rome!"
Ruins at ancient Selinus
