Siege of Syracuse (311–309 BC)

Siege of Syracuse
Part of The Sicilian Wars
Date 311–309 BC Location Syracuse, Sicily, Italy Result Syracusan victory
Belligerents
Carthage	Syracuse
Commanders and leaders
Hamilcar	Agathocles of Syracuse Antander Erymnon the Aetolian
Strength
120,000 infantry 5,000 cavalry Modern estimate: 30,000–36,000 infantry 4,000–4,500 cavalry	Counterattack: 3,000 infantry 400 cavalry Unknown number of extra forces in the city

The Siege of Syracuse by the Carthaginians from 311 to 309 BC followed shortly after the Battle of the Himera River in the same year. In that battle the Carthaginians, under the leadership of Hamilcar the son of Gisco, had defeated the tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles. Agathocles had to retreat to Syracuse and lost control over the other Greek cities on Sicily, who went over to the Carthaginian side.

When Hamilcar besieged Syracuse and blockaded its port, Agathocles did not confront him on the field. Instead, he made the audacious but very risky decision to invade Libya, the homeland of the Carthaginians. He managed to escape the naval blockade and had some successes in his expedition to Libya. Hamilcar had to send a part of his army back to Carthage to reinforce Libya. In 310 BC a first assault on the walls of Syracuse failed.

In 309 BC Hamilcar attacked again in the cover of night to obtain the element of surprise. His advance on the walls was made in disorder however, and the Carthaginians were in turn surprised by a counterattack from the Syracusans. Even though the Carthaginians heavily outnumbered the Syracusans, the element of surprise, the darkness of night and the terrain made the Carthaginian army flee. Hamilcar was captured and killed by the Syracusans. The naval blockade was finally broken in 307 BC by Agathocles himself, when he had temporarily returned to Sicily.

The armies of Hamilcar and Agathocles clashed in the Battle of the Himera River in 311 BC. Agathocles suffered a disastrous defeat there because a large part of his army was killed or taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. He gathered the survivors, burned his camp and withdrew to Gela. There he remained for some time to divert the Carthaginian army from Syracuse. This allowed the Syracusans to harvest their crops. Hamilcar first besieged the Gela, but gave up when he discovered that Agathocles had large supplies and enough soldiers to defend the city. He then visited the cities and strongholds which were still siding with Agathocles to win them over. Because they despised Agathocles they soon deserted to the Carthaginians.

As the siege of Gela was lifted, Agathocles escaped to Syracuse with the remains of his army. He supplied the city with the grain harvest from the countryside and repaired the damaged sections of the city walls. He lost control over the rest of Sicily, while Carthage had gained superiority in land and naval forces.

...
Wikipedia