The Phoenicians had initially planted trading posts all over the coast of Sicily, but never penetrated far inland and ultimately withdrew without resistance to the western half of the island (concentrating in the cities of Motya, Panormus, and Soluntum) with the arrival of the Greek colonists after 750.

This prosperity caused some of the Greek cities to start to expand their territories again, ultimately leading to the events known as the Sicilian Wars.

The growth of Selinus and Himera during the period Malchus was active in Sicily indicates that Carthaginians were not in conflict with the Sicilian Greeks at that time.

Carthage granted the Sicilian Phoenicians local autonomy, keeping control of their foreign policy, extracting some sort of tribute in exchange for military aid.

Tyrants like Cleander and Hippocrates successfully took over Sicel and Ionian Greek territory, and by 490, Zankle, Leontini, Catana, and Naxos had fallen under Gelan control.

Akragas expanded her territory against the Sikans and Sicels, and under Theron, allied with Gelo to forestall any future conflicts between the neighboring powers.

The Ionian Greeks, having lost Naxos and Catana to Gelan aggression, responded by creating an alliance between tyrants of Himera and Rhegion.

Carthage intervened at the instigation of Anaxilus, and the Sicilian Greeks under the tyrants Gelo and Theron crushed the Punic expedition of 480 in the 1st battle of Himera.

Athens had sent fleets to Sicily in 427, 425 and 424 to intervene in these conflicts, which ultimately caused Hermocrates of Syracuse to request all Sicilian Greek cities to remain at peace at the congress of Gela in 424.

The resultant Athenian invasion of Sicily during 415-413 BC was destroyed by a combined effort of Sicilian cities including Selinus and Syracuse.

Conflict with Motya meant taking on Carthage, while Akragas was the wealthiest city in Sicily and a relatively stronger opponent compared to Segesta.

Segesta, fearing that any resistance would bring Syracuse into the fray against them,[11] remained passive, but the Greeks continued to raid Segestan domain.

The Carthaginian Senate debated the matter at length, and the influence of Hannibal finally secured a verdict for accepting Segestan submission to the Punic hegemony and lending aid to Segesta.

This move gave Carthage some time to mobilize troops, as they had no standing army, and had it succeeded, it would have enlarged the Carthaginian domain (Segesta was a dependency now), ensured Segestan security without war.

[17] Hannibal, responding to the Segestan appeal, put together a larger force, said to have numbered 120,000 men, including 4,000 cavalry, recruited from Africa, Sardinia, Spain, and even Sicilian Greeks, and this army even contained many Carthaginian volunteers.

The heavy infantry fought in close formation, armed with long spears and round shields, wearing helmets and linen cuirasses.

The Libyans, Carthaginian citizens and the Libyo-Phoenicians provided disciplined, well trained cavalry equipped with thrusting spears and round shields.

Although not in the same league with Syracuse and Akragas, its location and citizens were expected to offer a taught defence - which was the assumption made by the Syracusans when preparing their relief army.

[23] Large Sicilian cities like Syracuse and Akragas could field up to 10,000 to 20,000 citizens,[24] while smaller ones like Himera and Messana mustered between 3,000[25] and 6,000[26] soldiers.

By pelting the attacking enemy with tiles, brick and other objects, these impromptu peltasts could take a heavy toll during urban fighting.

Under the escort of 60 triremes[27] the soldiers, supplies, and siege equipment were ferried from Africa to Motya in Sicily by 1,500 transports in the spring of 409.

[28] Selinus, however, was forewarned of Hannibal's approach, as some of their cavalry had scouted out the Carthaginian army on their arrival at Motya and issued prompt warnings.

The Carthaginian army reached the city before any help arrived and camped on the western hill near the acropolis before commencing siege operations.

Hannibal did not fully invest Selinus by building circumvallation walls,[19] as the construction delay might have given Syracuse and other Sicilian Greek cities ample time to send a large army and foil the Carthaginian enterprise.

However, the follow-up infantry attack, led by the Campanians,[31] was ultimately repulsed after an all-day battle, part of the reason being that the rubble of the walls had not been cleared away and it impeded the movements of the Carthaginian detachment.

Syracuse, then engaged against Leontini and Naxos,[33] broke off hostilities to gather a relief army, but the speed of their preparations was dictated by the assumption that Selinus would hold out for a long time against the Carthaginians.

After the rubble was cleared away from the breaches, groups of soldiers assaulting in relays were unleashed on the town defenders through the gaps in the walls.

For nine days and nights a bitter street-by-street battle raged, the Iberian troops of the Punic army leading the assault against the Greeks.

The first Greek delegation was given harsh answers, but the second one led by Empediones, a pro Carthaginian Selinute, obtained permission to eventually rebuild the city and ransom prisoners.

Instead of returning to Carthage or negotiating a truce with the now hostile Greeks, Hannibal chose to march against Himera, the site of the crushing Carthaginian defeat in 480.