Siege of Segesta (397 BC)
In 398 BC he attacked and sacked the Phoenician city of Motya despite a Carthaginian relief effort led by Himilco II of Carthage.
The Elymians claimed to be refugees from Troy[1] and they inhabited parts of north-western Sicily by 1100 BC, Segesta, Eryx and Entella being their main cities.
The Elymian territory had several navigable rivers and was generally hilly, they were not seafarers and on the whole friendly with the Phoenician colonies of Motya, Panormus and Solus which bordered their domain.
Himera, an Ionian Greek city, started no wars with the nearby Phoenicians, Elymians and Sicels, but Doric Selinus soon came to blows with her neighbors.
A war between Selinus and Elymians was raging in 580 BC when Pentathlos of Knidos tried to colonize Lilybaeum, from where the Greeks could block the harbor of Motya and threaten Phoenician commerce.
[3] Selinus probably had conflicts with Carthage and was defeated around that time, resulting in a pro Carthaginian despot named Theron become tyrant,[4] and sparing western Sicily from major warfare for the next 30 years.
Theron of Akragas may also have then attacked Motya,[8] but Carthage lost no Sicilian territory after making peace with the Greeks, while Selinus and Rhegion also came to terms with Gelo.
The Elyminas except those of Eryx began to become more Hellenized during this period, and increased prosperity probably enabled the building of their famous Doric temple around 430 BC.
The war of 454 BC probably exposed Elymian weakness as a military power causing Segesta to unsuccessfully appeal to Athens for aid.
The Segestan appeal had come at a time when Sicilian Greek cities had become politically stable and increased prosperity (partly from overseas trade) enabled some to finance territorial expansion efforts.
[14] Syracuse began massive military preparations in 439 BC by building 100 triremes, doubling their cavalry and reordering the infantry, with the probable aim to conquer all Sicily[15] which may have caused other Sicilian Greek cities to look to Athens for support while taking defensive measures, but the Elymians were either unwilling or unable to do likewise.
This gave an added incentive for the Athenian to try to intervene in Sicily and set in motion events that eventually led to the Carthaginian intervention of 409 BC.
Greeks of Selinus opened hostilities in 416 BC by crossing the upper reaches of the River Mazaros,[23] to occupy some disputed lands on the border of Segestan domain.
The Elymians became dependent allies of Carthage, paying for any Punic garrisons in their territory, and giving up their independent foreign policy but retaining control of internal affairs.
[29] He also expanded the army by hiring mercenaries, increased the size of the Syracusan navy and built Quinqueremes for his fleet and Catapults to aid his siege operations, and made suits of armor and arms to equip soldiers at state expense.
Carthaginian rule over Sicily had been harsh,[31] and as Dionysius and his army marched west along the southern coast of Sicily, Greek cities under Carthaginian domain rebelled and along with Sikans, Sicels and the city of Messene sent contingents to join Dionysius, while only Panormus, Solus, Ancyrae, Segesta and Entella and Motya remained loyal to Carthage.
Logistics might have also influenced his decision, as there were no natural harbors in the southern coast of Sicily big enough to house the entire Greek fleet and it was easier to bring supplies by sea.
The mountain itself sits in the middle of an elevated valley, while the deep gorges of River Pispina form a natural moat on three sides of the hill.
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,[33] were present as well.
[34] Dionysius had mustered an army of 40,000 foot and 3,000 horsemen,[35] from both citizens and mercenaries (at least 10,000, if not more)[36] for attacking Motya in 398 BC, perhaps along with another 40,000 Greek, Sicel and Sikan volunteers.
Himilco had garrisoned the Punic and Elymian territories in 405 BC, it is unknown if Segesta had any Carthaginian soldiers present when Dionysius besieged the city.
[41] Dionysius managed to storm and sack Motya after foiling the Himilco led Carthaginian relief effort despite being trapped, and marched back to Syracuse during the winter.
[42] Himilco led the army raised by Carthage, 50,000 men along with 400 triremes and 600 transports[43] to Sicily in the spring of 397 BC and reached Panormus despite the efforts of Leptines to stop the Carthaginian armada.
However, Dionysius had already moved to western Sicily, and he had bullied the Sikans and Sicels on his way to Segesta, forcing the city of Halikyai to join the Greek side.
Himilco did not immediately come to Segesta, after being joined by some Elymians and Sikans, he recaptured Eryx, then moved to Motya and captured the city and founded Lilybaeum.
He was unsure if he had enough strength to win the coming battle, commanding a smaller army in 397 BC and was facing a superior Carthaginian force and did not wish to confront Himilco under unfavorable circumstances.
