CARTHAGE. 



Carthage. 



Timoleon's 

 tuccess. 



Defeats the 

 Carthagi- 

 nian army. 

 B. C. 340. 



Intestine 

 commo- 

 tions nt 

 Carthage. 



ginlan con>mander abandoned his cause with inglori- 

 ous precipitation. He returned to Carthage, where, 

 finding the tide of popular opinion strong against him, 

 he put an end to his life. (Pint, ubi sup.) In the 

 following year, the Carthaginians exerted their ut- 

 most strength to crush the increasing power of Ti- 

 moleon, and recover their former influence in Sicily. 

 Seventy thousand land forces, two hundred ships of 

 war, and a thousand transports, with a vast equip- 

 ment of military stores, were entrusted to the care of 

 Asdrubal and Hamilcar. Timoleon had not passed 

 the interval in idleness, the art of war was progres- 

 sively becoming more an object of attention amongst 

 the Grecians, and Timoleon was one of those who 

 had most successfully cultivated it. His forces 

 scarcely amounted to 7000, and even these were 

 greatly weakened by desertion as the season advan- 

 ced. The armies met near the river Crimisus, and the 

 Carthaginians had now to experience, for the first 

 time, the inefficacy of their numbers, when opposed 

 to a general of disciplined valour and consummate skill. 

 (B. C. 34-0.) Their immense army met with a com- 

 plete overthrow. Ten thousand were left in the field 

 of battle, and the conquerors were enriched by the 

 plunder of their wealthy camp. Disconcerted as 

 they were by these repeated overthrows, the Cartha- 

 ginians still made a shew of renewing their efforts ; 

 but their preparations seem to have been continued 

 only for the purpose of giving effect to a negociation 

 which they had already entered upon with Timoleon. 

 A peace was the consequence, of which the most im- 

 portant condition was, that the river Lycus should 

 in future be the boundary of the Carthaginian terri- 

 tory in Sicily ; and the Carthaginians pledged them- 

 selves to abstain from all interference with the inde- 

 pendent states of Sicily. It is to this period we must 

 refer the attempt of Hanno to subvert the constitu- 

 tion of Carthage, and institute arbitrary power. 

 Justin (lib. xxi. c. 4-.) gives us the account at some 

 length ; but, as is common to him, the narrative is 

 obscure and inconsistent. Hanno's plan was to as- 

 semble the whole senate, on pretext of assisting to 

 celebrate his daughter's marriage, and by mixing 

 poison with their wine to destroy them all. The 

 plot was discovered ; but as he was too powerful for 

 the senate to dare at once to punish him, they con- 

 tented themselves with counteracting his scheme, by 

 passing a law to regulate the expence and magni- 

 ficence of wedding feasts. Hanno, finding that sus- 

 picion was awakened, retired with 20,000 of his slaves 

 to his country seat ; he afterwards yielded to the su- 

 perior forces sent out against him, and expiated his 

 infatuated ambition by a cruel death. 



The attention of the whole world was now excited 

 by the surprising successes of Alexander. (Justin, 

 lib. xxix. c. 6.) Carthage could not regard them 

 with indifference ; the destruction of Tyre, and the 

 transfer of its commercial greatness to Alexandria, 

 -which it was boasted would speedily become the em- 

 porium of the world, excited their fears lest the for- 

 ces which had overrun the whole East should be turn- 

 ed to their shores, and that Africa should be called 

 upon to cope with those veteran troops which Asia 

 Had in vain endeavoured to resist. They adopted a 

 tcheme not unworthy of their national character. 



They selected one Hamilcar, (surnamcd Rhodanus,) Carthage. 

 a man eminent for his eloquence and skill in negocia- *~*7>'~*r' 

 tion, who, representing himself as an exile from his ^" * Q 

 native country, procured, through the intervention of Alexander. 

 Parmenio, an introduction to Alexander, and obtain- 

 ed permission to accompany him in all his expeditions. 

 He was thus enabled to do his country signal service, 

 by communicating all Alexander's plans, and appears 

 to have managed this most difficult duty with the ut- 

 most address ; nevertheless his barbarous and ungrate- 

 ful country requited him by a cruel death, upon a 

 charge that he had failed to do all that was in his 

 power. 



After a few years, we find the Carthaginians again 

 embroiled in the affairs of Sicily. 



Agathocles, (Justin, lib. xxii. c. 1. Diod. Sic. lib. Agathocfc* 

 xix. sub init.) by an almost singular union of courage, 

 artifice, and good fortune, had raised himself from i n Sicily. 

 the lowest condition to the sovereignty of Syracuse. 

 But this unhoped-for advancement failed to satisfy 

 his ambition. By degrees he contrived to make him- 

 self master of the Grecian dependencies in Sicily, and 

 now threatened to become to the Carthaginians a 

 more formidable opponent than they had hitherto 

 been called on to encounter. In the first instance, 

 his cause had been espoused by the Carthaginian 

 commander in Sicily ; but the senate quickly saw the 

 impolicy of this conduct, and found that they were 

 fanning a flame by which themselves would in the 

 iend be consumed. 



They determined" to strengthen their forces in Si- 

 cily ; a considerable reinforcement was therefore dis- 

 patched, but the fleet was overtaken by a storm, and 

 many ships of war and transports were lost. Notwith- 

 standing this severe reverse, the Carthaginian general 

 found himself at the head of 40,000 foot, and 5000 

 horse. With these he succeeded in defeating Aga- 

 thocles near Himera, (B.C. 309). Their success in this B. C. sQjfc 

 engagement was principally owing, as Diodorus (lib. 

 xxx. ) informs us, to the skill of the slingers from the 

 Balearic Isles. This victory involved many import- 

 ant consequences. All the principal places yielded 

 to the conqueror, and Agathocles, in despair, shut 

 himself up in Syracuse. The Carthaginians invested 

 the place with their whole force ; when Agathocles, 

 finding himself deprived of all resources, and on the 

 point of falling into the enemies' hands, adopted the 

 spirited and almost incredible determination of carry- War traift. 

 ing the war at once into Africa. The mouth of the f erred to 

 harbour was closely blockaded by the Carthaginian A ri 

 fleet, yet Agathocles watched his opportunity so art- 

 fully, and availed himself of circumstances so adroit- 

 ly, that he managed to elude their vigilance, and 

 sailed straight for Africa. The Carthaginian admi- 

 ral was not slow in the pursuit, but did not come 

 up with the Syracusan fleet till they were in sight of 

 the African coast. A partial engagement ensued, 

 but Agathocles was not to be diverted from his main 

 object ; he made good his landing, and then, under 

 pretence of fulfilling a vow he had made to Ceres 

 and Proserpine, he set fire to his ships. ( Justin, xxii. 

 and Diod. xx.) 



The consternation at Carthage, when the news of 

 this descent of Agathocles arrived, was excessive. 

 The flower of their army was in Sicily j their city 



