Battle of Himera (409 BC)
Second Battle of Himera (409 BC) | |||||||||
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Part of The Sicilian Wars | |||||||||
Second Battle of Himera 409 BC. Political boundaries and path of troop movement are inexact because of lack of primary source data. Source file for this image is created by Marco Prins-Jona Lendering and used as per permission given | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Syracuse | Carthage | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Diocles | Hannibal Mago | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
16,000 | 60,000 (Ancient sources) | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
3,000 + 3,000 executed | 6,000+ |
Near the site of the
Background
Carthage had stayed away from Sicilian Greek affairs following the defeat for 70 years, during which time Greek culture started to penetrate the Elymian, Sikanian, and Sicel cities. The political landscape in Sicily also changed as Greek tyrants were replaced by democracy and oligarchy, the domain of Syracuse shrunk, and infighting between Greek cities flared up in Sicily.
The Elymian city of Segesta had clashed with Selinus over territorial rights and marriage issues and had been worsted in the conflict. After an appeal to Carthage was turned down in 415, Athens heeded the plea for help and sent over an expedition that was ultimately defeated at Syracuse in 413. Faced with renewed hostility from Selinus, Segesta again appealed to Carthage in 410. The Carthaginian Senate, after some debate, agreed to intervene. This appeal came at a time when the mainland Greek cities were locked in the Peloponnesian War, and Syracuse, an ally of Sparta, was not focused on Sicily. The Syracusan fleet was operating in the Aegean Sea.
Prelude
Hannibal Mago sent two expeditions to Sicily, the first one in 410 which drove the Selinute army from Segestan territory, and the second one obliterated Selinus after besieging the city in 409.[4] The mission given to Hannibal by the Carthaginian Senate was fulfilled with the fall of Selinus. However, Hannibal chose to march on Himera and avenge the defeat of his grandfather 70 years before.
Opposing forces
Carthage is said to have mobilized 120,000 men, including 4,000 cavalry, recruited from Africa, Sardinia, Spain, and even Sicilian Greeks for the Selinute campaign in 409, but a realistic estimate is around 40,000 soldiers.
Carthaginian Cohorts
The Carthaginian army was made up of many nationalities. The Libyans supplied both heavy and light infantry and formed the most disciplined units of the army. The heavy infantry fought in close formation, armed with long spears and round shields, wearing helmets and linen cuirasses. The light Libyan infantry carried javelins and a small shield, same as Iberian light infantry. The
The Libyans, Carthaginian citizens, and the Libyo-Phoenicians provided disciplined, well-trained cavalry equipped with thrusting spears and round shields. Numidia provided superb light cavalry armed with bundles of javelins and riding without bridle or saddle. Iberians and Gauls also provided cavalry, which relied on the all-out charge. Carthage at this time did not use elephants, but Libyans provided the bulk of the heavy, four-horse war chariots for Carthage,[10] which were not present at Himera in 409. Carthaginian officer corps held overall command of the army, although many units may have fought under their chieftains.
Greek forces
The mainstay of the Greek army was the
Battle
Hannibal marched to Himera probably using the same route taken by the Selinus horsemen in 480[15] and set up his main camp on the west of the city, while about a third of the army encamped to the south of Himera.[16] The city of Himera sits on top of a hill 300–400 feet high on the western bank of the River Himera. The hill is steep in the northern, western, and eastern sides, but gradually slopes to the south. There are hills to the west and south of the city.[17] Instead of building a circumvallation wall and fully investing the city, the Carthaginians assaulted the walls with the help of siege towers and battering rams after setting up their camps. However, the city walls withstood the attack and no breaches could be made for the Punic infantry to exploit. Hannibal then sent sappers, who dug tunnels under the walls and collapsed sections of it by setting fire to the wooden support beams.[18] Carthaginian infantry then attacked through the gap, but the Himerans repulsed the Punic assault on the city, and then threw up makeshift walls to close the breaches.[19]
Sometime after this event, Syracusan general Diocles arrived with 3,000 Syracusan hoplites, 1,000 soldiers from
The main Syracusan fleet was away from Sicily, but 25 triremes had arrived at Himera after the battle from Syracuse. As the Carthaginian fleet was at Motya, their arrival gave the Greeks command of the sea around Himera.[22] Hannibal spread a false report that the Punic army was going to attack Syracuse after sailing there from Motya, as the main army of Syracuse was approaching Himera, thus leaving their city unguarded. This convinced the Syracusans to leave Himera for their mother city. The city of Himera had little chance of withstanding the Carthaginians on their own, so they decided to evacuate the city.[23] Diocles marched out of the city with half the men and all his troops at night, the Syracusan ships evacuated as many of the women and children as possible. The Carthaginians resumed their assaults the next day. The city managed to hold out for one day. Just as the Syracusan fleet was returning and was within sight of the city the following day, the Carthaginians broke through. Iberian troops of the Punic army had managed to secure a gap in the wall, and also the sections of the wall flanking the gap. This held off the Greeks until the Carthaginian army stormed the city through the gap, and the reduced garrison of Himera was overcome by the weight of numbers.[24]
Acts of vengeance
Hannibal sacrificed 3,000 Greek prisoners at the place where Hamilcar, his grandfather and leader of the 480 expedition, had fallen. The city of Himera was utterly destroyed, even all the temples were flattened to the ground, and the women and children were enslaved. Hannibal did not, however, divert a river over the city site (like the Greeks did at Sybaris in 511) to complete his revenge. The spoils of war were divided among his troops, and the prisoners were sold into slavery. The Italian mercenaries, who mostly led the assault, complained that they had been abused by their commander and that their payment was not sufficient.[25] They were subsequently discharged, and then took service with the Greeks.
Aftermath
Hannibal did not go after
The Greek response to the sack of Himera was mild. Syracuse chose to expand her fleet and Akragas began to expand her army, but no official action was taken against Carthage or the Punic territory in Western Sicily. Hermocrates, a Syracusan general, chose to use the sack of Himera to set up a base at Selinus around 407 and raid the territories of Motya and Panormus, which provoked a strong Carthaginian response and almost the whole of Sicily fell under Carthaginian domination by 405.
References
- ^ Bertolino, Francesco (2017). "Battles of Himera (480 and 409 b.c.): Analysis of Biological Finds and Historical Interpretation. Experiences of Restoration in the Ruins of Himera 2008-2010". Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage. 15 (2): 27-40. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p. 55
- ^ Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p. 67
- ^ Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, pp. 163-66
- ^ Caven, Brian, Dionysius I, pp. 31–32, Yale University Press 1990
- ^ Church, Alfred J., Carthage, p. 31
- ^ Caven, Brian, Dionysius I, pp. 30–31, 38, Yale University Press 1990
- ISBN 0-253-33546-9
- ISBN 0-520-22614-3
- ^ Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. pp. 98-99.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, XIII.84
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, XIV.40
- ^ Diodorus Siculus XIII.60
- ^ Diodorus Siculus XIII.59.4-9
- ^ Freeman, Edward A., History of Sicily Vol. III, p. 477
- ^ Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p. 166
- ^ Freeman, Edward A., History of Sicily, Volume 1, pp. 414-416
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 13.59.8
- ^ Diodorus Siculus 13.59.4-6
- ^ Church, Alfred J. Carthage, pp. 31-32
- ^ Diodorus Siculus 13.60
- ^ Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p. 167
- ^ Diodorus Siculus 13.61
- ^ Diodorus Siculus 13.62.1-4
- ^ Diodorus Siculus 13.62.5
Sources
- Baker, G. P. (1999). Hannibal. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0-8154-1005-0.
- Bath, Tony (1992). Hannibal's Campaigns. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-88029-817-0.
- Church, Alfred J. (1886). Carthage (4th ed.). T. Fisher Unwin.
- Freeman, Edward A. (1892). History of Sicily. Vol. III. Oxford University Press.
- Freeman, Edward A. (1892). Sicily: Phoenician, Greek & Roman (3rd ed.). T. Fisher Unwin.
- Kern, Paul B. (1999). Ancient Siege Warfare. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33546-9.
- Lancel, Serge (1997). Carthage: A History. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1-57718-103-4.
- Warry, John (1993) [1980]. Warfare in The Classical World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in the Ancient Civilisations of Greece and Rome. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 1-56619-463-6.
External links
- Diodorus Siculus translated by G. Booth (1814) Complete book (scanned by Google)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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