In 405 BC, a peace treaty ended the war, with Carthage in control of much of Sicily and Dionysius retaining power in Syracuse.
[1] After the sack of Motya, Dionysius retired to Syracuse, while Himilco of Carthage arrived in Sicily in 397 BC with 50,000 men along with 400 triremes and 600 transports to continue the war.
[2] Himilco stormed Motya, where the mostly Sicel garrison under Biton was easily overcome,[3] then lifted the siege of Segesta, and Dionysius retired to Syracuse instead of offering battle in Western Sicily against a superior army.
After collecting 30 talents of silver as tribute from Lipara,[5] the Carthaginian force sailed for Messene and easily captured and sacked the city.
After the defeat at Catana the Sicilian Greek soldiers had returned to their respective homes when Dionysius decided to withstand a siege in Syracuse instead of fighting a pitched battle against the Carthaginian army in 397 BC.
He publicly took full responsibility for the debacle, dressed in rags visited all the temples of the city pleading for deliverance and finally bricked himself shut inside his house and starved himself to death.
[8] The Carthaginians gained some time when Dionysius chose not to invade the Punic territories in western Sicily immediately after the disaster at Syracuse.
Instead, he adopted a policy of cooperation and friendship, giving aid to Greeks, Sikans, Sicels and Elymians regardless of their prior standing with Carthage.
[10] The Carthaginians had allowed Greeks who had fled from Akragas, Gela and Camarina to resettle and reclaim their properties,[11] and Mago now began to pursue a policy of friendship in earnest.
[12] The Greeks cities, who had thrown off Carthaginian control after the war started in 398 BC, now moved from a pro-Syracuse position to a neutral one, either feeling threatened by Dionysius or because of the activities of Mago.
Dionysius did not immediately attack Punic Sicily after lifting the siege of Syracuse in 396 BC although no formal treaty had been made with Himilco ending the war.
The war had been costly and he may have been short of money, he also had to deal with a revolt of his mercenaries, and furthermore, he feared a fight to the finish with Carthage as it might lead to his own demise.
Dionysius rebuilt and repopulated Messina with colonists from Lorci, and Medma from Italy and some from Messene, who were later relocated to Tyndaris when Sparta objected to settling the Messenians in Messana.
The heavy infantry fought in close formation, armed with long spears and round shields, wearing helmets and linen cuirasses.
[19] The Libyans, Carthaginian citizens and the Libyo-Phoenicians provided disciplined, well-trained cavalry equipped with thrusting spears and round shields.
The mainstay of the Greek army was the Hoplite, drawn mainly from the citizens by Dionysius had a large number of mercenaries from Italy and Greece as well.
Sicels and other native Sicilians also served in the army as hoplites and also supplied peltasts, and a number of Campanians, probably equipped like Samnite or Etruscan warriors, were present as well.
It is not known where the Greek army was stationed at the time, but Dionysius managed to intercept Mago before the Carthaginians left the area and a battle took place near Abacaenum.