CARTHAGE. 



509. 



:.trthge. vam pomp, and for his disobedience in refusing to 

 " join him in the first instance, ordered him to bi- cru- 

 cified. Tlit.- citi/ent:, di .nuyed by this act of reso- 

 lute severity, surrendered immediately, and gave 

 i. selves up to the conqueror's mercy. He con- 

 tented himself with ordering for execution ten of the 

 senators, by whose advice the late violent resolutions 

 had been undertaken. Thus peace was restored ; 

 but Malchus, soon after being suspected of aiming at 

 the sovereign authority, was put to death. 



The Carthaginian power was now rapidly increa- 

 sing; for Herodotus informs us, (lib. iii.) that Cam- 

 byses, in the sixth year of his reign, was desirous of 

 making an expedition against Carthage, but he \vas 

 compelled to abandon his design, because the Phoe- 

 nicians refused their co-operation, alleging in excuse, 

 their intimate connection with the Carthaginian peo- 

 t trc.ity pie. ( Polyb. lib. iii.) In the first year after the ex- 

 pulsion of the kings, (B. C. 509.) the Carthaginians 



&w , , ',. v , ' iii to 



sent ambassadors to Rome, and concluded a treaty 

 with that people. The objects of this treaty, as we 

 have stated above, were purely commercial; and its 

 regulations are in the highest degree curious and im- 

 portant. It is preserved to us by Polybius, who 

 professes to have copied it from an ancient document 

 existing in his time. The treaty appears to have for 

 its object the entire exclusion of the Romans from 

 any connection with the richer and more fertile parts 

 of the Carthaginian territories, whilst it leaves open 

 the colonies and the capital. The successor of Mal- 

 chus in his influence and office was Mago, the founder 

 of that most powerful family from which sprang the 

 illustrious Hannibal. Justin (lib. xxx. c. 1.) has 

 transmitted to us the most favourable character of 

 him : under his auspices the affairs of Carthage flou- 

 rished both at home and abroad, and its army was for 

 the first time reduced to a state of discipline and sub- 

 ordination. His two sons, Hasdrubal and Hamil- 

 car, succeeded to his power in the state. Under 

 these leaders, a war was begun with the Sardinians, 

 probably with a view of confirming the Carthagi- 

 nian power in that island, which appears to have been 

 but imperfectly established; however, they seem not 

 to have made good their object; for Hasdrubal was 

 slain, and we have no account of the success of his 

 forces. It must have been about this time (B. C. 

 iD:mus 4-95.) that Darius Hystaspes sent that embassy to 

 ?**" Carthage, of which we have before made mention. 

 Its object was to reduce the Carthaginians to abstain 

 from human sacrifices; from the custom of eating 

 dog's flesh ; and from the practice of entombing 

 their dead. He added a request, that they would 

 co-operate in the war he then meditated against 

 Greece. It is in Justin only that we find an account 

 of these various circumstances ; and he neglects to 

 inform us on what pretext the Persian king thus 

 ventured to interfere in the domestic policy of an in- 

 dependent state. He add*, that the Carthaginians 

 were eager to comply with the former stipulations, 

 as from the situation of their own affairs, they were 

 compelled to decline tdkn.g any part in the war. 



Some years afterward*, the Grecian colonies in 

 Sicily, finding themselves harassed by the Cartha 

 giniaiib, applied for assistance to the Spartans, (Jus- 

 tin, lib. xix.) The application was fruitless ; nevcr- 



nestic 

 ory of 

 tliape 

 ciuued. 



theleHS Gelo, who had (B. C. 491.) obtained the so/e- Cartiufc 

 rei-Mity m Syracuse, not only made resistance to their "** ~-~ 

 :. extended hi:, own dominions. 



The embassy of Darius, mentioned above, teems Alliance 

 to have produced some effect ; for . liird yt-ar with 



of his successor Xerxes, ( B. C. 483.) we find (He- Kerwi. 

 rud. lib. vii. ; Dioilnrns, lib. xi.) an alliance offensive 4 * 



and defensive entered into between the two states, in 

 which it is stipulated, that the Carthaginians should 

 invade Sicily with all their forces, at the same time 

 that Xerxes proceeded, with all the strength of the 

 Persian empire, to attack Greece itself. 



In pursuance of these engagements, the Cartha- 

 ginians made vast preparations for the war. X'.-rxc 

 supplied them with immense sums of money; yet the 

 armameut was so enormous, that three years elapsed 

 before it was completely equipped. All things being Expedition 

 at last in readiness, they set sail with an army of *g*iiut 

 300,000 men, principally mercenaries, a fleet of more ^ e ' 0t 

 than two thousand ships of war, and three thousand 

 transports. The commander of this mighty force 

 was (according to Justin,) the same Hamilcar, bro- 

 ther to Hasdrubal, and son of Mago, of whom we 

 have before spoken ; but Herodotus calls his father 

 Hanno. The fleet was partially scattered by a storm* 

 and the commander's baggage was entirely lost ; 

 which the Carthaginians, with their characteristic 

 superstition, considered as ominous of the misfortunes 

 which ensued. They landed at Panormus, and af- 

 ter three days rest advanced to Himera. Hamilcar Defeat *. 

 prosecuted the siege with great vigour : he was at- Himera. 

 tacked in his trenches by the combined forces of the 

 Sicilians, under Gelo and Theron ; the former of 

 whom had lately usurped the supreme authority at 

 Syracuse, the latter at Agrigentum. The battle 

 was severely contested, but it ended in the complete 

 annihilation of the Carthaginian army. According 

 to the statement of the historians, not less than one 

 hundred and fifty thousand were killed, and the re- 

 mainder compelled to surrender at discretion. Ha- 

 milcar perished with his troops. Herodotus gives a 

 very extraordinary account of the manner of his 

 death. He describes him, as employing himself dur- 

 ing the action in heaping up human victims ; and 

 when he found the battle was irrecoverably lost, he 

 himself rushed into the midst of the flames. The 

 loss of the Carthaginians was not confined to their 

 land forces, the conquerors quickly made themselves 

 masters of the fleet ; twenty ships which had been 

 left afloat, set sail for Carthage, but were lost iu the 

 passage, so that only a single boat escaped to tell the 

 news. It should be observed, that Herodotus (lib. 

 vii.) gives another account of the cause of this war, 

 which he said he received from the Sicilian writers of 

 his time. This would represent the war as u ider- 

 taken for the purpose of restoring one Terillus, who 

 had been ejected from Himera by Theron the tyrant 

 of Agrigentum. This might perhaps have been one 

 of the collateral motives, but it is surely in itself in- 

 adequate to account for the magnitude of the Car- 

 thaginian preparations. 



Gelo conducted himself with gieat moderation ; Treaty 

 he granted peace to the Carthaginians, on the very withGeTo. 

 easy conditions that they should pay 2000 talents of 

 silver towards the expences of the war j and second- 

 3 



