Siege of Syracuse (343 BC)
| Siege of Syracuse | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Sicilian Wars | ||||||||
|
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
|
Leontini Carthage |
Syracuse |
Corinth Tauromenium Adranum Tyndaris Catana |
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
|
Hicetas Mago |
Dionysius II | Timoleon | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| Carthaginians: 60,000 infantry 150 ships |
2,000 | 6,400 | ||||||
The Siege of Syracuse from 344 to 343/342 BC was part of a war between the Syracusan general Hicetas and the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius II. The conflict became more complex when Carthage and Corinth became involved. The Carthaginians had made an alliance with Hicetas to expand their power in Sicily. Somewhat later the Corinthian general Timoleon arrived in Sicily to restore democracy to Syracuse. With the assistance of several other Sicilian Greek cities, Timoleon emerged victorious and reinstated a democratic regime in Syracuse. The siege is described by the ancient historians Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch, but there are important differences in their accounts.
Some of the Syracusans who suffered under the rule of Dionysus sought refuge with Hicetas, the tyrant of Leontini. Because he was a Syracusan by birth and possessed an army which rivalled that of Dionysius, they chose him as their leader in the war against Dionysius. Carthage, which possessed territory on the western half of Sicily, saw an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos. When Carthage sent a large army to the island, the Syracusan faction with Hicetas decided to ask Corinth for help. Corinth was their mother city, which had founded Syracuse in 735 BC and opposed tyrants.
Hicetas however did not plan on restoring democracy to Syracuse, but wanted to become tyrant himself. He had already communicated with the Carthaginians in secret, but supported the plan to request aid from Corinth. He expected that Corinth would refuse the request because they would be occupied by their own affairs. With a refusal from Corinth, he thought it would be easier to convince the Syracusans that an alliance with Carthage was needed. The Corinthians elected Timoleon as general to lead an expedition to Corinth. As soon as the embassy to Corinth had been sent, Hicetas allied himself openly with the Carthaginians. On grounds that the expedition would take too long to arrive he sent a letter to Corinth telling them to abandon the expedition. The Corinthians were angered by this treachery, so Timoleon had no problems with recruiting a sufficient force for his expedition.
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