32. The Italiote War, part 1
32. The Italiote War, part 1
Carthage from the mercenary revolt to the Italiote War
While Alexander and his son made the world tremble before the strength of their arms, while their dominion spread from horizon to horizon and they themselves were considered like the great heroes of old, in that time our City was still ruled by its own laws and its own people, uniquely among nations it did not bow before Macedonian tyranny. Autonomous and sovereign, the City rightfully held sway over much of the Great Sea, it received tribute and praise from many peoples and distant lands, and only distant Babylon could rightfully boast of holding more people within its walls. Majestic and prosperous, through the wise guidance of the Adirim our City rose to prominence, ever the envy of lesser peoples.
- Excerpt from History of the Kan'anim by Abdashtart, son of Hanno
For Carthage the last 20 years of the fourth century BCE had been turbulent. Alexander’s intervention in Italy against Agathokles had in the end caused his campaign on Sicily, where he managed to drive the Carthaginians back to their stronghold at Lilybaion although he did not manage to take the city, nor did he successfully cross the sea or defeat the Carthaginian navy. Peace was signed, in and of itself a significant victory for it was not often that the Great King of Asia signed treaties with states he had not submitted. Following the war an internal struggle paralyzed Carthage, and it was the threat of a mercenary revolt combined with a Libyan uprising which gave the impetus to end the standoff and unite around a single leader. This man was Abdmelqart son of Gersakun, who had faced off against Alexander on Sicily and had defeated the rebels who threatened Carthage. A man of both controversial and illustrious descent, his grandfather had attempted a coup but also put an end to a long lasting rebellion among the Libyans and his father was exiled but returned and salvaged the Carthaginian position on Sicily against the Syracusans, by 305 BCE there could be no doubt about who was the Republic’s foremost citizen.
Abdmelqart’s political faction, known as the Gersakunids after his father, held most of the high offices during this period and thus there were few decisions made of which he did not approve. He himself was suffete, chief magistrate of the Carthaginian Republic, for several times. It would be wrong to assume that there was some kind of ideology behind the Gersakunid faction or their opponents, it simply came down to preserving and expanding the prestige and influence of the leading family and their close allies. This was not something new to Carthaginian politics, before the Gersakunids the Magonids had long dominated the political life of the city and had provided many suffetes and generals. Thankfully for the Carthaginian people Abdmelqart was an able and cautious ruler, who genuinely seems to have wanted the best for his city, judging by his policies.
The loss of its Sicilian protectorate and allies, outside of Lilybaion, was a blow to the prestige of the Carthaginian Republic, but economically it did not suffer much. The large amounts of levied and mercenary troops needed to safeguard it against the enemies of Carthage could now be disbanded or redeployed elsewhere. Several years of peace followed the revolt of 305, but throughout the 290’s Carthage was once again involved in several military expeditions, this time into the fertile African hinterlands of the city. The Libyan communities that lived there were divided between small settled communities and rural pastoral dwellers, and while there was some resistance it seems that for the Carthaginians the new territories were acquired with relative ease. During the conflict, which consisted of a series of small campaigns instead of a single sweeping conquest, several generals had been in charge after one another, perhaps as a way of sharing the glory between them. Most of them must have been aligned with the Gersakunid faction. The Republic’s possessions along the Bagradas river were expanded up to the city of Bulla, and towards the south the districts of Zama and Mactar were subjugated. Towns were founded and citizens and veterans were granted lands to cultivate, further expanding Carthage’s agricultural base. Treaties were signed with the Massyilian Numidians, who now bordered Carthage’s territory, granting the pastoralist Numidians the right to graze on Carthaginian land in exchange for their service in the Carthaginian army, granting the Republic a standing force of Numidian cavalry.
The Bagradas River
The inland expansion was one of the pillars of Abdmelqart’s rule, the other was the creation and maintaining of good relations with the Argead Empire. As someone who had personally faced off against the Argead army Abdmelqart understood like no other that Carthage on its own could not stand up indefinitely to an empire as great and wealthy as the one the Argeads ruled, and even if they could find allies victory would have been unlikely. It was thus that he must have argued that it was better to foster good relations and to exploit the commercial chances the Argead Empire offered. The export of Libyan wine and olive oil, especially to Italy, increased greatly during this period, as did the export of the famous purple murex dye. Imports included incense and myrrh from Arabia, Egyptian linen cloth and Indian gemstones. The increasing prosperity due to the expansion of agriculture and trade was the bedrock of Gersakunid rule, and was aided by the enduring peace which allowed Carthage to focus on commerce instead of warfare.
However that doesn’t mean that there weren’t those who were eager to strike back at the Argeads, who wanted to revenge for the humiliation that Alexander had inflicted by almost driving them out of Sicily. Many of those were part of factions opposed to Abdmelqart, who tried to undermine his position by accusing him of cowardice. This was short-sighted at best, for among the common Carthaginians it seems Abdmelqart was still seen as a hero of the war against Alexander, who drove the Greeks out of Africa and managed to keep Lilybaion in Carthaginian hands. But among the Gersakunid faction there were also those who preferred to rekindle hostilities with the Great King of Asia. This was most apparent during the aftermath of the death of Alexander, when Xenodikos of Akragas revolted on Sicily [1]. Bodmelqart [2], a relative of Abdmelqart and proponent of a more aggressive strategy against the Argeads, argued that Carthage should support Xenodikos in his rebellion. Abdmelqart however overruled him, he expected that while Xenodikos would rampage across the island for some time he would be unable to dislodge the Argead garrisons. This turned out to be a wise move, and when Xenodikos resorted to piracy the Carthaginians even decided to support Demetrios in his suppression of the revolt by supplying the Argead army with grain.
Yet events at the same time also proved that the Argead Empire was still a credible threat, it seemed that Philip III was not content with just the empire he ruled because in 294 he invaded and annexed Egypt. This was a shock to the Carthaginians for they had fostered good relations with the Egyptians ever since the war against Alexander. No action was undertaken against the Argeads while Abdmelqart held his position as leading man of the state, but he did embark upon a program of expanding and strengthening the fortifications of Carthage. During the 280’s the seawalls were heightened and the fortifications of the citadel on the Byrsa Hill expanded. Another important construction project was the new harbour, as the city’s old harbour on Lake Tunes was silting up, enabling the Carthaginians to both expand their war fleet and accommodate more merchants. It featured a rectangular port for shipping and a circular port for the navy [3]. These too were protected by walls, and it was possible to close off the entrance to the harbours from the Mediterranean by an iron chain. It was a gargantuan project, thousands of cubits of earth and clay had to be removed and massive stone blocks brought in from the quarries on the Cape Bon peninsula to the east of Carthage. Abdmelqart really left his mark on the city during the 280’s, for he also personally sponsored the restoration and embellishment of the Temple of Reshef, located near the city’s agora, testament to both Abdmelqart’s personal wealth as well as the prosperity of Carthage as a whole.
Harbour of Carthage and the Agora
The harbour was completed in 278, but Abdmelqart did not live to see it. He passed away in the latter months of 279 after a lifetime as foremost citizen of his city. His cautious politics had served the Republic well, but with his death a period of uncertainty started. Abdmelqart had no sons of his own, and so the leadership of the Gersakunid faction was passed on to his son-in-law Hannibal. In the following year Hannibal was even elected as one of the suffetes, but alongside him his colleague was a noted opponent of the Gersakunid policies, a former general named Eshmunhalos. He had served during the African campaigns of the 290’s and he had commanded an expeditionary force to Gadir in Iberia in 285. There a conflict between the Phoenician colony of Gadir and some neighbouring tribes had escalated after which Gadir requested Carthaginian aid. Eshmunhalos managed to defeat Gadir’s enemies relatively quickly and afterwards left behind a small garrison in the city. His experience convinced him that expansion in the Iberian peninsula, or I’-shapan [4] as it was known to the Carthaginians, could be as important as African expansion for the Republic. Back home in Carthage he tried to convince the Adirim and the Assembly to commission an additional expedition, but to no avail. Eshmunhalos however was persistent, and he increasingly sided with those critical of the Gersakunids’ policies. This drew the ire of Abdmelqart and the Gersakunids, who saw further Iberian expeditions as useless adventurism. To them Iberia was a source of silver and mercenaries, but not much more.
Eshmunhalos felt snubbed by this, and he was increasingly side-tracked by the Gersakunids. He lost his position on the Court of 104, which during this era expanded its authority beyond just supervising generals and increasingly acted as an elite among the elite, and he was forced to relinquish some of his Libyan estates after it was ‘proven’ in court that they had been acquired fraudulently. His once good name dragged through the mud Eshmunhalos responded in kind, constantly lambasting the cowardice and subservience of the Gersakunids. While Abdmelqart was still alive this mattered little, he was more or less protected by his status and reputation as saviour of Carthage, but after his death his son-in-law Hannibal was less fortunate. Eshmunhalos gained popularity among the common citizens, who were increasingly wary of the Argead threat, and he often held belligerent speeches in the Assembly where he insinuated that the Gersakunids were lapdogs of the Macedonians. His shared suffeteship with Hannibal did not go well, they often clashed openly over matters of state and not much was achieved during that year. During their debates the rough but charming Eshmunhalos had the upper hand over the erudite but dull Hannibal. Increasingly the Gersakunid faction came under pressure, and with the loss of Abdmelqart they lost much of their support among the Adirim, many of whom disliked the inept and aloof Hannibal.
Eshmunhalos was thus on the ascendant, even after his suffeteship. He promised the citizenry of Carthage lower taxes and expansion in Iberia, where many Carthaginians could escape their crowded city and establish a farm of their own. Despite being at first derided as an eccentric at best by now Eshmunhalos had managed to transform himself into an able populist, constantly railing against the failings of the Gersakunids and their cronies. In 276 both of the suffetes were allies of Eshmunhalos, and it was then that he made his move. While visiting his estate in Tunes he was assaulted by a slave, who was quickly apprehended by Eshmunhalos’ bodyguards. Under torture the slave confessed to being paid by the Gersakunids to assassinate Eshmunhalos. Whether it was true or not the news shocked the city, and fighting broke out between the factions. While the streets were running red with blood an emergency session of the Assembly granted Eshmunhalos the command to restore order. At the head of his troops he marched into the city and cleared the streets and afterwards he graciously relinquished his command and ordered his soldiers to return to their barracks, making clear that he had no ambitions beyond restoring the state. Hannibal and other members of the Gersakunid faction were tried in court for the assassination attempt, and they were found guilty. Hannibal went into exile to Sardinia and had his estates and wealth confiscated. The fall of the Gersakunids was thus swift and relatively bloodless. In their absence there was no doubt about who was now the Republic’s leading man.
Eshmunhalos had no formal position beyond his membership of the Adirim but despite that it was clear for all that he was the effective ruler of Carthage, much more than Abdmelqart had ever been. As was to be expected from a general he invested heavily in the military, the fleet was expanded with an additional 30 quinqueremes. Additional mercenaries were hired among the Libyans, Celts and Iberians, perhaps with his eye on another expedition to Iberia. Plans however changed halfway 274, when a Roman delegation reached Carthage with the offer of an alliance against the Argeads. Waging war against the world’s mightiest empire was quite different from fighting the tribes of Iberia, but the potential wealth and prestige that could be gained were also of a different order. Regaining Sicily for Carthage also must have appealed to Eshmunhalos as it would be an opportunity to outdo the Gersakunids. Thus the alliance was signed, levies and mercenaries were called up and the fleet prepared for war and the Assembly unanimously granted the generalship of the war to Eshmunhalos. With the Great King somewhere far to the east driving the Macedonians out of Sicily and Italy had to be possible, or so Eshmunhalos believed.
Opening moves
When the King heard of what the Romans had done to Neapolis, that they had sought to ally themselves with the Carthaginians and that they sought supremacy over Italy he did not erupt into rage or anger, he only stated with righteous determination that he would have his vengeance. There were those among his advisors and courtiers who cautioned the King, but he remained determined. A Roman ambassador also visited, offering peace if the Macedonians evacuate Italy. He warned the King that if he invaded Italy and if the Romans defeated him he would lose his army, his life and his empire. Unimpressed, the King answered with a single word: ‘’If.’’
- Excerpt from ‘The Life of Philippos Euergetes’ by Simonides of Kos
The early phases of the war were characterized by the quick Roman advance in Italy and the corresponding Carthaginian campaign on Sicily. Argead garrisons were present, but turned out to be inadequate in repelling a determined aggressor. Near the Campanian town of Pompeii another Saunitai army was decisively beaten by the Romans under Laevinus in October 274, which opened the way for a Roman invasion of Saunitis (Samnium) proper. That offensive would have to wait until the spring of 273, but the Romans had advanced quickly compared to their previous conflicts with the Saunitai. This partially had to do with reforms of the Roman army itself, no longer fighting in a rigid Greek-style phalanx during the 290’s they had more or less adapted the Saunitai way of war, with soldiers primarily equipped with large shields, javelins and a short sword of stabbing spear. This gave them the tactical flexibility that was necessary to fight in the rugged hills of central Italy. Another city that fell not long after was Poseidonia, with its magnificent temples, which the Romans occupied in November 274. For the Romans things seemed to be going well.
On Sicily it was much the same. That Carthage would join the war was unexpected, and before most Sicilian cities could mobilise the Numidian cavalry was already rampaging across the countryside. Apollonios, a Macedonian nobleman who was commander of the Argead garrison at Syracuse, rallied the forces on the island and marched out to confront the invaders. Eshmunhalos had landed at Lilybaion in September 274 with a force 50000 strong and he quickly launched his campaign. First he liberated the other Phoenician cities on the island, primarily Panormos and Solous, where the local population opened the gates for him. Then he marched to Messana, following the island’s northern shore, but near Kale Akte he encountered the Argead army under Apollonios, who blocked the road. After a standoff of several days Eshmunhalos took the initiative, early on in the battle he routed the Syracusan cavalry after which he outflanked the Argead lines. Apollonios attempted to retreat to prevent encirclement, but panic broke out shortly afterwards. Eshmunhalos ordered his army to advance and they swept the Argead force off the field, Apollonios retreated back to Syracuse with the survivors, but he practically conceded the rest of Sicily to the Carthaginians. In only a couple of months the situation on the island had thus completely reversed.
The Argyraspidai
Both the Romans and the Carthaginians were in a hurry, hoping to evict the Macedonians totally before a counterattack could be launched. In this regard their offensives were a failure, for in Macedonia armies were already gathered for the reconquest of the west. The fleets of the Hellenic League, the Ionians and the Cypriots were on their way to the Adriatic, so that they could ferry the Argead army across. In Rome and Carthage rumours circulated that a vast army was being gathered, millions of men strong. An exaggeration, but the army that Philip III had gathered was sizeable nonetheless. The elite regiments of the Argyraspidai, the Royal Agema, Bactrian lancers sheeted in heavy armour, Saka horse-archers and 150 heavily armoured war elephants were but a fraction of the force that would descend on Italy. In Macedonia itself he was joined by 16000 veteran phalangites and a force 12000 strong send by the Hellenic League. Thracians, Illyrians and Celts flocked to the Great King’s banner, eager to fight for plunder and pay. In Epiros the Great King was joined by his cousin Aiakides, King of Epiros, and an additional 15000 men. After his grandmother Cleopatra’s death in 292 he ruled the Molossian Kingdom without a regent, and thankfully for the Epirotes he turned out to be an able ruler. He ruled his restless kingdom well, repelling Illyrian pirates and claimants to the throne, and the war in Italy could be a good opportunity for additional plunder and prestige for the nascent kingdom.
All-in-all the Argead army was 120000 strong, and it took several weeks to ferry the troops across from Epidamnos to Brentesion. It was completed early in November, just before the winter storms would make it almost impossible. Philip set up his headquarters at Taras, where the citizens were overawed by the army that he had rallied to its defence. They had off course heard of such fabled lands as India, Baktria or Arabia, but to see their men in the flesh was altogether different, and testament to the Great King’s power and the size of his realm. Already Philip had sent several smaller forces in advance, notably his second son Alexander, who he regarded as the most capable, was send forward to Saunitis with a force 15000 strong to support the Saunitai. 30000 men under command of Demetrios were send to Rhegion, from where they could cross over to Sicily. The Great King himself was not in a hurry, he knew that his very presence would lure out the enemy, and then he would strike. In Rome the news of his arrival in Italy was greeted by some boastful senators as an exceptional chance to humiliate the pompous Greeks and perfidious easterners, but others were more cautious and urged attempts at making peace. Not long after the news of Philip’s arrival reached Rome the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the greatest in the city, was hit by lightning and burned down, an ominous sign for the superstitious Romans.
Footnotes
Carthage from the mercenary revolt to the Italiote War
While Alexander and his son made the world tremble before the strength of their arms, while their dominion spread from horizon to horizon and they themselves were considered like the great heroes of old, in that time our City was still ruled by its own laws and its own people, uniquely among nations it did not bow before Macedonian tyranny. Autonomous and sovereign, the City rightfully held sway over much of the Great Sea, it received tribute and praise from many peoples and distant lands, and only distant Babylon could rightfully boast of holding more people within its walls. Majestic and prosperous, through the wise guidance of the Adirim our City rose to prominence, ever the envy of lesser peoples.
- Excerpt from History of the Kan'anim by Abdashtart, son of Hanno
For Carthage the last 20 years of the fourth century BCE had been turbulent. Alexander’s intervention in Italy against Agathokles had in the end caused his campaign on Sicily, where he managed to drive the Carthaginians back to their stronghold at Lilybaion although he did not manage to take the city, nor did he successfully cross the sea or defeat the Carthaginian navy. Peace was signed, in and of itself a significant victory for it was not often that the Great King of Asia signed treaties with states he had not submitted. Following the war an internal struggle paralyzed Carthage, and it was the threat of a mercenary revolt combined with a Libyan uprising which gave the impetus to end the standoff and unite around a single leader. This man was Abdmelqart son of Gersakun, who had faced off against Alexander on Sicily and had defeated the rebels who threatened Carthage. A man of both controversial and illustrious descent, his grandfather had attempted a coup but also put an end to a long lasting rebellion among the Libyans and his father was exiled but returned and salvaged the Carthaginian position on Sicily against the Syracusans, by 305 BCE there could be no doubt about who was the Republic’s foremost citizen.
Abdmelqart’s political faction, known as the Gersakunids after his father, held most of the high offices during this period and thus there were few decisions made of which he did not approve. He himself was suffete, chief magistrate of the Carthaginian Republic, for several times. It would be wrong to assume that there was some kind of ideology behind the Gersakunid faction or their opponents, it simply came down to preserving and expanding the prestige and influence of the leading family and their close allies. This was not something new to Carthaginian politics, before the Gersakunids the Magonids had long dominated the political life of the city and had provided many suffetes and generals. Thankfully for the Carthaginian people Abdmelqart was an able and cautious ruler, who genuinely seems to have wanted the best for his city, judging by his policies.
The loss of its Sicilian protectorate and allies, outside of Lilybaion, was a blow to the prestige of the Carthaginian Republic, but economically it did not suffer much. The large amounts of levied and mercenary troops needed to safeguard it against the enemies of Carthage could now be disbanded or redeployed elsewhere. Several years of peace followed the revolt of 305, but throughout the 290’s Carthage was once again involved in several military expeditions, this time into the fertile African hinterlands of the city. The Libyan communities that lived there were divided between small settled communities and rural pastoral dwellers, and while there was some resistance it seems that for the Carthaginians the new territories were acquired with relative ease. During the conflict, which consisted of a series of small campaigns instead of a single sweeping conquest, several generals had been in charge after one another, perhaps as a way of sharing the glory between them. Most of them must have been aligned with the Gersakunid faction. The Republic’s possessions along the Bagradas river were expanded up to the city of Bulla, and towards the south the districts of Zama and Mactar were subjugated. Towns were founded and citizens and veterans were granted lands to cultivate, further expanding Carthage’s agricultural base. Treaties were signed with the Massyilian Numidians, who now bordered Carthage’s territory, granting the pastoralist Numidians the right to graze on Carthaginian land in exchange for their service in the Carthaginian army, granting the Republic a standing force of Numidian cavalry.
The Bagradas River
The inland expansion was one of the pillars of Abdmelqart’s rule, the other was the creation and maintaining of good relations with the Argead Empire. As someone who had personally faced off against the Argead army Abdmelqart understood like no other that Carthage on its own could not stand up indefinitely to an empire as great and wealthy as the one the Argeads ruled, and even if they could find allies victory would have been unlikely. It was thus that he must have argued that it was better to foster good relations and to exploit the commercial chances the Argead Empire offered. The export of Libyan wine and olive oil, especially to Italy, increased greatly during this period, as did the export of the famous purple murex dye. Imports included incense and myrrh from Arabia, Egyptian linen cloth and Indian gemstones. The increasing prosperity due to the expansion of agriculture and trade was the bedrock of Gersakunid rule, and was aided by the enduring peace which allowed Carthage to focus on commerce instead of warfare.
However that doesn’t mean that there weren’t those who were eager to strike back at the Argeads, who wanted to revenge for the humiliation that Alexander had inflicted by almost driving them out of Sicily. Many of those were part of factions opposed to Abdmelqart, who tried to undermine his position by accusing him of cowardice. This was short-sighted at best, for among the common Carthaginians it seems Abdmelqart was still seen as a hero of the war against Alexander, who drove the Greeks out of Africa and managed to keep Lilybaion in Carthaginian hands. But among the Gersakunid faction there were also those who preferred to rekindle hostilities with the Great King of Asia. This was most apparent during the aftermath of the death of Alexander, when Xenodikos of Akragas revolted on Sicily [1]. Bodmelqart [2], a relative of Abdmelqart and proponent of a more aggressive strategy against the Argeads, argued that Carthage should support Xenodikos in his rebellion. Abdmelqart however overruled him, he expected that while Xenodikos would rampage across the island for some time he would be unable to dislodge the Argead garrisons. This turned out to be a wise move, and when Xenodikos resorted to piracy the Carthaginians even decided to support Demetrios in his suppression of the revolt by supplying the Argead army with grain.
Yet events at the same time also proved that the Argead Empire was still a credible threat, it seemed that Philip III was not content with just the empire he ruled because in 294 he invaded and annexed Egypt. This was a shock to the Carthaginians for they had fostered good relations with the Egyptians ever since the war against Alexander. No action was undertaken against the Argeads while Abdmelqart held his position as leading man of the state, but he did embark upon a program of expanding and strengthening the fortifications of Carthage. During the 280’s the seawalls were heightened and the fortifications of the citadel on the Byrsa Hill expanded. Another important construction project was the new harbour, as the city’s old harbour on Lake Tunes was silting up, enabling the Carthaginians to both expand their war fleet and accommodate more merchants. It featured a rectangular port for shipping and a circular port for the navy [3]. These too were protected by walls, and it was possible to close off the entrance to the harbours from the Mediterranean by an iron chain. It was a gargantuan project, thousands of cubits of earth and clay had to be removed and massive stone blocks brought in from the quarries on the Cape Bon peninsula to the east of Carthage. Abdmelqart really left his mark on the city during the 280’s, for he also personally sponsored the restoration and embellishment of the Temple of Reshef, located near the city’s agora, testament to both Abdmelqart’s personal wealth as well as the prosperity of Carthage as a whole.
Harbour of Carthage and the Agora
The harbour was completed in 278, but Abdmelqart did not live to see it. He passed away in the latter months of 279 after a lifetime as foremost citizen of his city. His cautious politics had served the Republic well, but with his death a period of uncertainty started. Abdmelqart had no sons of his own, and so the leadership of the Gersakunid faction was passed on to his son-in-law Hannibal. In the following year Hannibal was even elected as one of the suffetes, but alongside him his colleague was a noted opponent of the Gersakunid policies, a former general named Eshmunhalos. He had served during the African campaigns of the 290’s and he had commanded an expeditionary force to Gadir in Iberia in 285. There a conflict between the Phoenician colony of Gadir and some neighbouring tribes had escalated after which Gadir requested Carthaginian aid. Eshmunhalos managed to defeat Gadir’s enemies relatively quickly and afterwards left behind a small garrison in the city. His experience convinced him that expansion in the Iberian peninsula, or I’-shapan [4] as it was known to the Carthaginians, could be as important as African expansion for the Republic. Back home in Carthage he tried to convince the Adirim and the Assembly to commission an additional expedition, but to no avail. Eshmunhalos however was persistent, and he increasingly sided with those critical of the Gersakunids’ policies. This drew the ire of Abdmelqart and the Gersakunids, who saw further Iberian expeditions as useless adventurism. To them Iberia was a source of silver and mercenaries, but not much more.
Eshmunhalos felt snubbed by this, and he was increasingly side-tracked by the Gersakunids. He lost his position on the Court of 104, which during this era expanded its authority beyond just supervising generals and increasingly acted as an elite among the elite, and he was forced to relinquish some of his Libyan estates after it was ‘proven’ in court that they had been acquired fraudulently. His once good name dragged through the mud Eshmunhalos responded in kind, constantly lambasting the cowardice and subservience of the Gersakunids. While Abdmelqart was still alive this mattered little, he was more or less protected by his status and reputation as saviour of Carthage, but after his death his son-in-law Hannibal was less fortunate. Eshmunhalos gained popularity among the common citizens, who were increasingly wary of the Argead threat, and he often held belligerent speeches in the Assembly where he insinuated that the Gersakunids were lapdogs of the Macedonians. His shared suffeteship with Hannibal did not go well, they often clashed openly over matters of state and not much was achieved during that year. During their debates the rough but charming Eshmunhalos had the upper hand over the erudite but dull Hannibal. Increasingly the Gersakunid faction came under pressure, and with the loss of Abdmelqart they lost much of their support among the Adirim, many of whom disliked the inept and aloof Hannibal.
Eshmunhalos was thus on the ascendant, even after his suffeteship. He promised the citizenry of Carthage lower taxes and expansion in Iberia, where many Carthaginians could escape their crowded city and establish a farm of their own. Despite being at first derided as an eccentric at best by now Eshmunhalos had managed to transform himself into an able populist, constantly railing against the failings of the Gersakunids and their cronies. In 276 both of the suffetes were allies of Eshmunhalos, and it was then that he made his move. While visiting his estate in Tunes he was assaulted by a slave, who was quickly apprehended by Eshmunhalos’ bodyguards. Under torture the slave confessed to being paid by the Gersakunids to assassinate Eshmunhalos. Whether it was true or not the news shocked the city, and fighting broke out between the factions. While the streets were running red with blood an emergency session of the Assembly granted Eshmunhalos the command to restore order. At the head of his troops he marched into the city and cleared the streets and afterwards he graciously relinquished his command and ordered his soldiers to return to their barracks, making clear that he had no ambitions beyond restoring the state. Hannibal and other members of the Gersakunid faction were tried in court for the assassination attempt, and they were found guilty. Hannibal went into exile to Sardinia and had his estates and wealth confiscated. The fall of the Gersakunids was thus swift and relatively bloodless. In their absence there was no doubt about who was now the Republic’s leading man.
Eshmunhalos had no formal position beyond his membership of the Adirim but despite that it was clear for all that he was the effective ruler of Carthage, much more than Abdmelqart had ever been. As was to be expected from a general he invested heavily in the military, the fleet was expanded with an additional 30 quinqueremes. Additional mercenaries were hired among the Libyans, Celts and Iberians, perhaps with his eye on another expedition to Iberia. Plans however changed halfway 274, when a Roman delegation reached Carthage with the offer of an alliance against the Argeads. Waging war against the world’s mightiest empire was quite different from fighting the tribes of Iberia, but the potential wealth and prestige that could be gained were also of a different order. Regaining Sicily for Carthage also must have appealed to Eshmunhalos as it would be an opportunity to outdo the Gersakunids. Thus the alliance was signed, levies and mercenaries were called up and the fleet prepared for war and the Assembly unanimously granted the generalship of the war to Eshmunhalos. With the Great King somewhere far to the east driving the Macedonians out of Sicily and Italy had to be possible, or so Eshmunhalos believed.
Opening moves
When the King heard of what the Romans had done to Neapolis, that they had sought to ally themselves with the Carthaginians and that they sought supremacy over Italy he did not erupt into rage or anger, he only stated with righteous determination that he would have his vengeance. There were those among his advisors and courtiers who cautioned the King, but he remained determined. A Roman ambassador also visited, offering peace if the Macedonians evacuate Italy. He warned the King that if he invaded Italy and if the Romans defeated him he would lose his army, his life and his empire. Unimpressed, the King answered with a single word: ‘’If.’’
- Excerpt from ‘The Life of Philippos Euergetes’ by Simonides of Kos
The early phases of the war were characterized by the quick Roman advance in Italy and the corresponding Carthaginian campaign on Sicily. Argead garrisons were present, but turned out to be inadequate in repelling a determined aggressor. Near the Campanian town of Pompeii another Saunitai army was decisively beaten by the Romans under Laevinus in October 274, which opened the way for a Roman invasion of Saunitis (Samnium) proper. That offensive would have to wait until the spring of 273, but the Romans had advanced quickly compared to their previous conflicts with the Saunitai. This partially had to do with reforms of the Roman army itself, no longer fighting in a rigid Greek-style phalanx during the 290’s they had more or less adapted the Saunitai way of war, with soldiers primarily equipped with large shields, javelins and a short sword of stabbing spear. This gave them the tactical flexibility that was necessary to fight in the rugged hills of central Italy. Another city that fell not long after was Poseidonia, with its magnificent temples, which the Romans occupied in November 274. For the Romans things seemed to be going well.
On Sicily it was much the same. That Carthage would join the war was unexpected, and before most Sicilian cities could mobilise the Numidian cavalry was already rampaging across the countryside. Apollonios, a Macedonian nobleman who was commander of the Argead garrison at Syracuse, rallied the forces on the island and marched out to confront the invaders. Eshmunhalos had landed at Lilybaion in September 274 with a force 50000 strong and he quickly launched his campaign. First he liberated the other Phoenician cities on the island, primarily Panormos and Solous, where the local population opened the gates for him. Then he marched to Messana, following the island’s northern shore, but near Kale Akte he encountered the Argead army under Apollonios, who blocked the road. After a standoff of several days Eshmunhalos took the initiative, early on in the battle he routed the Syracusan cavalry after which he outflanked the Argead lines. Apollonios attempted to retreat to prevent encirclement, but panic broke out shortly afterwards. Eshmunhalos ordered his army to advance and they swept the Argead force off the field, Apollonios retreated back to Syracuse with the survivors, but he practically conceded the rest of Sicily to the Carthaginians. In only a couple of months the situation on the island had thus completely reversed.
The Argyraspidai
Both the Romans and the Carthaginians were in a hurry, hoping to evict the Macedonians totally before a counterattack could be launched. In this regard their offensives were a failure, for in Macedonia armies were already gathered for the reconquest of the west. The fleets of the Hellenic League, the Ionians and the Cypriots were on their way to the Adriatic, so that they could ferry the Argead army across. In Rome and Carthage rumours circulated that a vast army was being gathered, millions of men strong. An exaggeration, but the army that Philip III had gathered was sizeable nonetheless. The elite regiments of the Argyraspidai, the Royal Agema, Bactrian lancers sheeted in heavy armour, Saka horse-archers and 150 heavily armoured war elephants were but a fraction of the force that would descend on Italy. In Macedonia itself he was joined by 16000 veteran phalangites and a force 12000 strong send by the Hellenic League. Thracians, Illyrians and Celts flocked to the Great King’s banner, eager to fight for plunder and pay. In Epiros the Great King was joined by his cousin Aiakides, King of Epiros, and an additional 15000 men. After his grandmother Cleopatra’s death in 292 he ruled the Molossian Kingdom without a regent, and thankfully for the Epirotes he turned out to be an able ruler. He ruled his restless kingdom well, repelling Illyrian pirates and claimants to the throne, and the war in Italy could be a good opportunity for additional plunder and prestige for the nascent kingdom.
All-in-all the Argead army was 120000 strong, and it took several weeks to ferry the troops across from Epidamnos to Brentesion. It was completed early in November, just before the winter storms would make it almost impossible. Philip set up his headquarters at Taras, where the citizens were overawed by the army that he had rallied to its defence. They had off course heard of such fabled lands as India, Baktria or Arabia, but to see their men in the flesh was altogether different, and testament to the Great King’s power and the size of his realm. Already Philip had sent several smaller forces in advance, notably his second son Alexander, who he regarded as the most capable, was send forward to Saunitis with a force 15000 strong to support the Saunitai. 30000 men under command of Demetrios were send to Rhegion, from where they could cross over to Sicily. The Great King himself was not in a hurry, he knew that his very presence would lure out the enemy, and then he would strike. In Rome the news of his arrival in Italy was greeted by some boastful senators as an exceptional chance to humiliate the pompous Greeks and perfidious easterners, but others were more cautious and urged attempts at making peace. Not long after the news of Philip’s arrival reached Rome the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the greatest in the city, was hit by lightning and burned down, an ominous sign for the superstitious Romans.
Footnotes
- See update 29
- OTL this is the Bomilcar who attempted a coup in Carthage in 308 BCE.
- More or less the same as the OTL harbour of Carthage, although constructed earlier. OTL it was built sometime from the Second Punic War to the Third Punic War, during the last period of Carthaginian history.
- Meaning ‘Island of the hyrax’
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