71. Italy, Carthage and Sicily during the 220’s
….such are, as always, the tidings from Sicily: death, starvation, disease and destruction, we can only hope and pray that it does not reach our shores.
- Excerpt from
The Utican Chronicle by Zakarbaal, son of Abdashtart
Of the rulers, kings, potentates and demagogues who ruled the various states of the Mediterranean at the dawn of the 220’s few had proven themselves to be as capable, innovative and wily as the ‘Great King of Italy’, as one Greek scholar of the age named him, Viridomaros of the Senones. Where others ruled realms that rested on ancient foundations he had managed to unite his anarchic homeland, at first ruling through fear of his formidable army, but at the end of his reign it seems he was respected, if only begrudgingly, by many of his non-Celtic subjects. As a great war-leader he had vanquished many foes: the Insubres, Saunitai, Campanians and Bruttians were among those who fell before the Senone onslaught, yet he was magnanimous in victory: ruling from Capua, which he appropriated as capital, the Elephant King ruled the many peoples of Italy: Rasna, Romans, Umbrians and even Greeks served at his court. The Senones themselves functioned as a ruling class: their nobility had been granted vast estates while most of their men of fighting age were stationed in garrisons across the country. Alas, sadly for the Senones Viridomaros would not live forever: he died in the early months of 228, his body interred in a great tomb on the outskirts of Sena.
Many expected Senone rule to immediately falter after the death of Viridomaros, but this expectation was premature on their part: aware of the necessity of stable succession for a monarchy Viridomaros had long promoted one of his many sons, the by now 25-year old Cingetorix, as his heir. Enthroned as the new ruler of Italy in a ceremony in Capua, seated on the elephant which was by now the symbol of his dynasty’s rule, where he received the representatives of the subjugated peoples of Italy, who swore their loyalty to him. Despite being ridiculed in Greek sources as a brute and a barbarian it seems this reputation was undeserved: various Italic sources mention that he lowered taxes and improved the physical infrastructure of his realm; in a royal decree the king dictated what he expected of the roads of his realm: he specified precise dimensions, commanded that trees would be planted so that travellers might enjoy their shade and ordered the construction of wells and waystations. Already a road connected Sena on the Adriatic to Capua, a great gash of gravel and cobblestone which cut across the Italian landscape to improve trade and communications, and which allowed the quick deployment of forces if necessary. Another road, which would connect Capua with Brentesion on the heel of Italy and the Hellenic world beyond, had been under construction since the later years of Viridomaros and would prove its worth during the early years of Cingetorix.
The roads to Capua thus must have been packed during the summer of 228, when envoys from Italy and beyond travelled to the city in order to ingratiate themselves with the new ruler: Insubres and Cenomani from beyond the Po, Veneti and Illyrians and even Greeks and Carthaginians. However not everyone greeted Cingetorix’ enthronement with such a measured response: if you followed the roads out of Campania, with its fertile estates divvied up by Senone grandees and bustling ports, you would end up in a land that was quite different: resentment still ran high in the bleak hills of Saunitis. An outburst of violence was, perhaps, inevitable: subjugated by Viridomaros in a violent campaign now the warlike inhabitants of the hills decided to attempt to evict the invaders. Garrisons were besieged, merchants massacred while Cingetorix gathered his forces. True to his name, which means ‘king of warriors’, Cingetorix personally lead his troops into the hills: and victory, while bloody, was soon achieved. Once again the slave markets were overflowing with Saunitai, while many others decided to leave their homeland behind, often taking up service in the armies of Epiros, the Demetrians or Egypt.
However despite crushing the revolt with relative ease for Cingetorix the war had disastrous consequences: as a young and untested ruler many among the Senones were unwilling to grant him the respect that his by now legendary father gained. Eager to prove himself to be as capable a warrior as his father had been he often fought at the front, but during one of the many skirmishes he and his bodyguard had been cornered by a Saunitai force, and perhaps he would have perished were it not for the intervention of Sedullos, a high-ranking Senone nobleman who managed to drive away the Saunitai with his cavalry. In a more established monarchy with ancient traditions this might have been brushed over, with Sedullos given rewards and titles but the prestige of the monarch intact. Not so however in the more loosely defined Senone kingship: Cingetorix possessed none of the prestige that his father had, which in combination with being in debt to Sedullos for his life meant that the king appeared weak to those he could not afford to alienate, the Senone nobility. Sensing that blood was in the water the Senone nobles started petitioning the king once he was back in Capua: larger estates, lower taxes, gifts of purple cloth and gold and silver; it seems that they were eager to cut the monarchy down to size. Had Cingetorix been a more creative ruler perhaps he could have sought an alternative base of support among the Italians, many of whom had nothing but contempt for the Senones who lorded over them, but perhaps this was impossible: despite ruling over the various peoples of the peninsula it was still the chainmail-clad Senone warrior who remained the surest guarantor of his kingdom.
And thus the first years of Cingetorix’ reign passed: the Senone aristocracy consolidated its rule while the monarch could not afford to oppose them. The borders of the realm remained restless: skirmishes with the Insubres and Cenomani in the north and the Bruttians and Lucanians in the south continued, providing the Senones with ample slaves to sell to the Carthaginians. Sedullos had gained for himself a paramount position at the court in Capua, being in practice the prime minister of the kingdom. What exactly happened during those years is hard to tell, the Senones had no historians and Carthaginians and Greeks make few references to the goings-on of Italy. It seems that due to the degraded status of the monarchy the various Senone warlords started feuding amongst themselves: and thus already it seems the state that Viridomaros had created was coming apart at the seams. In 224 an uprising broke out among the Rasna and a year later several of the states of the Italiote League, who once recognised Viridomaros as their hegemon, reneged on their allegiance to the Senone ruler. And perhaps, had things gone differently, the Senone rule over Italy would have just fallen apart, but thanks to the events on Sicily that is not what happened.
For the Carthaginians the past decade was one of peace, prosperity and steady growth. Aside from the usual skirmishes in Iberia and on the fringes of its territory in Africa Carthage saw little military action. Economically the Republic was doing very well, or at least the wealthy who dominated both commerce and politics: increasingly the fertile farmland of Africa was consolidated in the hands of a few wealthy magnates, who often expelled the Libyan tenants and instead imported massive amounts of slaves from Italy to farm their fields. The same happened on Sicily, where by now also much of the land was owned by Carthaginians, even if in theory the land belonged to allies of the Republic. There too slaves were imported to toil in the fields, pastures and orchards that dotted the landscape: their lives were short, brutal and, to the landowners, cheap and expendable. Cities like Panormos and Messana, Carthage’s allies on Sicily, had been forced to relinquish some of their land to Carthaginian landholders while at the same time they had to host garrisons and magistrates who increasingly interfered in internal affairs: far from being an ally it seems the cities of Sicily were becoming subjects of the City of Elishat.
One city in particular was a hotbed of anti-Carthaginian sentiment, which is unsurprising considering its history. This was Syracuse, still the largest city of the Hellenes of the west, but by now it had been a Carthaginian ally for almost half a century. Syracuse had sided with Carthage when it became apparent during the aftermath of the Italiote War that the Argeads could no longer protect them; a local aristocrat named Alkyoneus manoeuvred himself into the position of tyrant and had manged to cling unto that position until his death in 231. Evidently a capable statesman he sponsored public works throughout the city and managed the delicate balancing act of not offending either his Carthaginian benefactors or his Syracusan compatriots. His death bereaved the city of a stabilizing force, and during the following decade it was once again the scene of a violent factional struggle. A short experiment with democracy was overthrown by a cabal of aristocrats who, after several years, themselves fell victim to a coup by a mercenary captain of Macedonian descent named Hermolaus. Like Agathocles a century prior he appealed to the lower classes, but unlike Agathocles he turned out to be rather incompetent: despite the island’s fertility and the ready availability of grain from overseas a famine ravaged the city in the winter of 223, mostly because of Hermolaus’ policy of free food for the poor which was poorly managed. Few mourned him when later that year he was stoned to death by an angry mob.
The Carthaginians regarded the situation in Syracuse with concern: half a century of peace had meant that Sicily now prospered, leaving the island a patchwork of dependencies and allies of Carthage. If Syracuse, Carthage’s old enemy, were to emerge as an hostile force once again it would certainly mean the resumption of warfare on what had become an important part of the Carthaginian sphere of influence. When the news of Hermolaus’ death reached Carthage many in the Adirim were concerned, and rightly so, it turned out to be. Syracuse’s new regime was in name democratic, but in practice an autocracy: the mobs that controlled the streets of the city answered to a wealthy aristocrat named Pantaleon. The new assembly of the city had granted him extensive powers, and while not necessarily hostile to Carthage it seems that Pantaleon understood that an easy way to unite the people of his city was to give them a common enemy. It is unknown if Pantaleon’s fiery rhetoric against the Carthaginians was genuine, but it seems Carthage’s envoys seemed to think so: their reports to the Adirim seemed to indicate that Syracuse was once again on the warpath. This however seems unusual: by now Syracuse was a minnow in comparison to the Carthaginian whale, it is more likely that Pantaleon knew that Carthage desired peace on Sicily, and that he hoped to gain some minor concessions which he could use to placate the unruly mob of Syracuse.
Events however conspired to make sure that the Adirim reacted with force. Not long after the news of Pantaleon’s coup reached Carthage a small uprising among slaves took place near Akragas. This was nothing special: their horrific treatment meant that there were always slaves who would attempt to run away or revolt. This time however it was somewhat different, as the initial small band of fugitive slaves managed to evade their pursuers, and then managed to ambush them. Supposedly a large part of these slaves had been warriors, and thus when they acquired weapons they formed the nucleus of small army: they assailed large estates, set free other slaves and rampaged across the island. What once had been a small gang turned into a veritable army, its leader being a warrior of Lusitanian origin named Tautalus. The Adirim, of which many of its members now saw their investments on Sicily reduced to ashes, reacted with fury: the army, under command of Hannibal Baraq, was to be sent to Sicily. 20 years before he had already crushed an uprising on the island [1], but that was not his only mission. Syracuse, which was clearly the instigator of this rebellion was also to be chastised. These proposals easily passed the Assembly, and even Mago, son of Milkyaton, a man who was in effect the first man of the republic and, crucially, someone usually opposed to military intervention, gave a speech in support of the departing general. Hannibal Baraq had long waited for an opportunity to win his city a great victory, and with war engulfing Sicily it seems he finally got his chance. In the spring of 222 he crossed over to Sicily with an army 50000 strong, intent on crushing the slaves and destroying Syracuse.
In Syracuse however the situation was regarded with horror: even the most fervent patriot must have been aware that Carthage was far too strong for Syracuse alone to handle. Some in the Assembly suggested allying with the Tautalus and his slaves; but this would only confirm the Carthaginians in their suspicions, and supporting such as an insurrection would probably give the slaves in Syracuse itself unsound ideas. In all this Pantaleon himself kept his head cool, and showed himself a capable leader: he personally oversaw restorations and extensions of the fortifications which ringed Syracuse while he was amongst the troops when they were relentlessly drilled on the plains outside the city. But Syracuse could not win the war alone, of this he was quite aware, agents were send abroad to recruit mercenaries and seek out allies. When the news reached Syracuse that Hannibal had landed on the island many already thought their cause doomed, but this was premature: his first mission was to exterminate the rebelling slaves and to support Carthage’s allies. It was the news some months later, during summer, which really must have startled the Syracusans.
Cingetorix of the Senones, after having crushed the various rebellions in his kingdom, although at the cost of many men and a great loss of dynastic prestige among the peoples of Italy, finally felt somewhat more secure on the throne. Sedullos he finally managed to get rid off early in 222: his death was recorded as especially painful, torn apart by elephants for a minor offense. Having somewhat regained his confidence, and now hoping to outdo his father, Cingetorix set out on his most audacious exploit yet. The various coastal cities of southern Italy were forced to borrow the king their fleets, and in the summer of 222 he crossed over to Sicily. Defeating the Carthaginians and conquering Sicily would certainly grant Cingetorix the status he so desired, and at first things seemed to go well. Coming ashore with perhaps 20000 men he first assaulted Messana, and in a bloody battle the Senones evicted the Carthaginian garrison and gained a foothold on the island. But in the moment of his great triumph Cingetorix found his doom: whilst fighting on the walls of the city he was struck by a javelin; he survived for several hours and received the news of the fall of the city but died soon after.
His death would have grave repercussions for the Senones themselves, but also for Italy and Sicily, where a great army now stood leaderless. The Adirim deliberated, as did the Syracusan Assembly. In the meantime Tautalus had seized much of Sicily’s central highlands and had himself proclaimed King of Sicily in Enna, his ambitions now going beyond a mere rebellion. To the east another ruler, who had spent much of the last decade fighting and scheming, now saw an opportunity to his west [2]. As the Senone aristocracy started warring amongst themselves, as Italy once again fell into anarchy and Sicily was torn apart by war it proved to be the start of a great conflagration, the consequences of which would be felt beyond even the shores of the Mediterranean.
Footnotes
- See update 59
- Which we’ll get to in the next update
