Hanno the Great

There were three leaders of ancient Carthage who were known as Hanno the Great, according to two historians (the Picards). These figures they call for convenience: Hanno I the Great, Hanno II the Great, and Hanno III the Great. According to another historian (Warmington), there were three ancients of Carthage called Hanno "given the same nickname", that is the Great, but he conjectures that it was a family nickname or a term not well understood by the ancient Greek or Roman writers. Warmington discusses only two of them (I and II), but he does not use the "I" or "II". Another historian (Lancel) mentions only one Hanno the Great, namely Hanno "I" the Great. The one already referred to here as "Hanno II the Great" he discusses but calls him simply "Hanno". Of course, it is an anomaly for multiple people to be called Hanno the Great. In all, there were many historical figures named Hanno in ancient Carthage.

Hanno the Great was a politician and military leader of the 4th century BC.

His title, according to Justin, was princeps Cathaginiensium. It is considered more likely that the title signifies first among equals, rather than being a title of nobility or royalty.

His rival Suniatus was called the potentissimus Poenorum, or "the most powerful of the Carthaginians", in the year 368. Several years later Suniatus was accused of high treason (for correspondence with Syracuse) and probably executed.

In 367 Hanno the Great commanded a fleet of 200 ships which won a decisive naval victory over the Greeks of Sicily. His victory effectively blocked the plans of Dionysius I of Syracuse to attack Lilybaeum, a city allied to Carthage in western Sicily.

For about twenty years Hanno the Great was the leading figure of Carthage, and perhaps the wealthiest. In the 340s he schemed to become the tyrant. After distributing food to the populace, the time for a show of force came and he utilized for that purpose the native slaves and a Berber chieftain. Although not a military threat to Carthage, Hanno the Great was captured, found to be a traitor, and tortured to death. Many members of his family were also put to death.

Yet later his son Gisgo was given the command of seventy ships of Carthage manned by Greek mercenaries and sent to Lilybaeum, after which peace was negotiated by Carthage with Timoleon of Syracuse, c. 340. Thereafter, this family's prestige and influence at Carthage would tell in later generations.

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