Dionysian Wars
The Dionysian Wars refer to a series of conflicts between Greek and Carthaginian forces over control of Sicily, a strategically important island in the Mediterranean. This struggle began in the eighth century B.C.E. when both Greeks and Carthaginians established colonies on the island, leading to tensions over territorial control. Significant military engagements occurred, notably when Carthage invaded Greek-controlled areas in 480 B.C.E., only to be repelled by the Greeks at the Battle of Himera.
The wars intensified when Dionysius the Elder, the tyrant of Syracuse, declared war in 398 B.C.E. to reclaim Carthaginian territories. Despite initial Greek victories, including the capture of key cities, Dionysius faced setbacks, such as the retaking of Motya by Carthaginian forces and a devastating defeat at Cronium. Subsequent conflicts continued intermittently, with Dionysius often alternating between successes and losses.
The hostilities between Greeks and Carthaginians persisted until the rise of Roman power in the third century B.C.E., culminating in the Roman conquest of Sicily during the First Punic War. The legacy of the Dionysian Wars reflects the complex interplay of cultural and military dynamics in ancient Mediterranean societies.
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Dionysian Wars
At issue: Carthaginian and Greek control of Sicily
Date: 398-339 b.c.e.
Location: Sicily
Combatants: Syracusans and other Greeks vs. Carthaginians
Principal commanders:Syracusan, Dionysius the Elder (c. 430-367 b.c.e.)
Principal battles: Siege of Motya, Carbala, Cronium, Crimisus
Result: Indecisive; fifty years of war devastated Sicily but effected little change in the political map of the island
Background
The Dionysian Wars resulted from a long-standing conflict between Greeks and Carthaginians over control of Sicily, where both groups had founded colonies in the eighth century b.c.e. Carthaginian holdings were concentrated in the westernmost portion of the island, and the Greeks had established settlements on the eastern, northern, and southern coasts. The Sicels, the original inhabitants of Sicily, occupied most of the interior.
In 480 b.c.e., the Carthaginians invaded Greek Sicily at the same time as, and perhaps in conjunction with, the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I. Led by the Syracusan tyrant Gelon, the Greeks of Sicily defeated the Carthaginians at Himera. The Carthaginians continued to hold bases in western Sicily, but they remained quiet for the next seventy years. In 409 b.c.e., they attacked several Greek cities and captured Selinus and Himera. They returned in 406 b.c.e. and took Acragas and then Gela, two of the leading cities of the island. A threatened attack on Syracuse did not materialize, but the Carthaginians imposed peace terms and won recognition of their gains from Syracuse in 405 b.c.e.
Action
In 399 b.c.e., Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, began preparations for an invasion of the Carthaginian sector of Sicily. The Syracusans declared war in 398 b.c.e., and under the leadership of Dionysius, they and their allies invaded western Sicily and captured the Carthaginian cities of Panormus, Solus, and Motya. The Siege of Motya (397 b.c.e.), an island fortress, saw the first use of catapults in Greek warfare. However, Dionysius did not capitalize on his successes, and Carthaginian forces retook Motya in 396 b.c.e. and were soon in eastern Sicily. The Syracusan fleet was defeated, and Syracuse itself besieged. A plague struck the Carthaginian camp, and Dionysius was able to break the siege. The Carthaginian citizens among the besiegers escaped, but Dionysius enslaved the remainder of the Carthaginian army, largely mercenaries.
The Carthaginians returned to Sicily in 393 b.c.e. but were soundly defeated by Dionysius, whose control of eastern Sicily they now recognized. A third war broke out in 383 b.c.e. Little is known, but it may have lasted as long as eight years. Dionysius won a victory at Carbala (379 b.c.e.?), in which 10,000 Carthaginians may have been killed, but that victory was followed by a defeat at Cronium (378? b.c.e.), where as many as 14,000 Syracusans perished. Dionysius sued for peace. He was forced to pay an indemnity of one thousand talents and to cede most of western Sicily as far as the Halycus River to Carthage.
Little is also known of Dionysius’s last war with Carthage, which broke out in 368 b.c.e. As in previous wars, Dionysius won some early victories, but his fleet was captured and he was forced to cease hostilities. After his death in 367 b.c.e., his successors made peace with Carthage. For the next twenty years, the Carthaginians kept out of Sicilian affairs, until infighting among the Greek cities provoked them to intervene to protect their interests. In 341 b.c.e., the Corinthian Timoleon, summoned by the Syracusans to rid their city of its tyrants, destroyed a superior Carthaginian army at Crimisus. Peace was concluded in 339 b.c.e., with the Halycus River again recognized as the frontier between the Greek and Carthaginian zones.
Aftermath
Hostilities between Greeks and Carthaginians in Sicily continued into the third century b.c.e., until the Romans drove the Carthaginians from the island in the first Punic War.
Bibliography
Berger, S. Revolution and Society in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy. Historia Einzelschriften 71. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1992.
Caven, Brian. Dionysius I: Warlord of Sicily. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990.
Talbert, Richard. “The Greeks in Sicily and South Italy.” In The Greek World in the Fourth Century, edited by Lawrence A. Tritle. London: Routledge, 1997.