570 



CARTHAGE. 



Pyrrhus 

 enters Si- 

 cily. 



Carthage. an additional article, by which they agreed mutually 

 ' v- to support each other against the designs of that 

 prince ; and not to enter into any separate treaty 

 with -him, inconsistent with this defensive alliance : 

 and it was further stipulated, that the Carthagini- 

 ans should furnish the whole of the shipping, both 

 transports and armed gallies; but that the expense 

 of every armament should be defrayed by that party 

 in whose defence it was employed. In compliance 

 with the terms of this treaty, they dispatched a 

 fleet of 120 sail, under the command of Mago, to 

 the assistance of the Romans, as soon as they had 

 learnt that Pyrrhus was actually landed : (Justin, 

 xviii. c. 2.) This assistance the Romans declined. 

 Mago then had an interview with Pyrrhus, in order 

 to fathom his intentions with regard to Sicily, of 

 which state the Carthaginians were now very jea- 

 lous. Nor was this jealousy unfounded : within a 

 very short period Pyrrhus received an invitation from 

 the Syracusans to come to their assistance against 

 one Maenon, who was supported by the Carthagi- 

 nians in his endeavours to usurp the supreme au- 

 thority. Pyrrhus very gladly availed himself of the 

 opportunity ; he was happy to have a pretext for 

 quitting Italy ; and his vanity was flattered by rind- 

 ing himself called upon to be the defender of the 

 Grecian colonies. Having sent Cyrus before him 

 to arrange the terms of his reception, he set sail 

 from Tarentum with a powerful fleet, and in a few 

 days landed at Taurominium, where he found him- 

 self at the head of 30,000 foot, and 2oOO horse, ex- 

 clusive of his Sicilian auxiliaries. The Carthagini- 

 ans were then occupied in the siege of Syracuse, 

 which they immediately abandoned. Agrigentum 

 expelled the Carthaginian garrison, and opened the 

 gates to the conqueror ; Eryx was taken by storm, 

 and no town of any importance remained to the 

 Carthaginians except Lilybasum. This city had al- 

 ways been esteemed one of the keys of Sicily, and 

 the exertions made in defence of it, were propor- 

 tionate to its importance. The Carthaginians were, 

 however, so cast down by the king's previous suc- 

 cesses, that they offered to abandon all their claims 

 on Sicily, if he would allow them to retain Lily- 

 bseum. Flushed with good fortune, Pyrrhus reject- 

 ed the offer ; a conduct he had reason to repent, for 

 he was compelled to raise the siege after he had 

 pressed the town to the utmost. Disheartened by 

 this failure, he determined, with his usual levity, to 

 abandon Sicily entirely, and to set sail for Rhegium ; 

 but he was met at sea by a strong squadron, which 

 had been fitted out on purpose to intercept him : thus 

 he was constrained to adventure an engagement, in 

 Is defeated which he was so completely defeated, that he reach- 

 at sea by e( j Locri with only ten ships, and from thence, with 

 difficulty, marched to Tarentum. The Carthagini 

 ans immediately set about reducing the Sicilian towns, 

 which had been before in their possession, and settled 

 their affairs in Sicily upon a firmer footing than ever. 



We have now reached that period when Rome 

 and Carthage, which had for some time menaced 

 each other from a distance, came actually in contact ; 

 when the great question, whether the seat of univer- 

 sal empire should be fixed in Africa or in Europe 

 was decided. Before we enter into the detail of cir- 



the Cartha- 

 rinians. 



cumstances which gave rise to the first Punic war, 

 it will be expedient to take a short survey of the 

 actual state of Carthage, the extent ot" her domi- 

 nion, and the nature of her influence. 



The limits of the Carthaginian domirions in A- 

 frica had been progressively advanced, till they ex- 

 tended from the western borders of Cyrenaica to the 

 Pillars of Hercules : but at this distance of time, 

 and with our scanty means of information, it is im- 

 possible to trace the various stages of this progres- 

 sion. The period in which the Carthaginians first 

 settled in Spain is involved in great obscurity; but 

 as Diodorus intimates that the mines of Spain were 

 the great nerve of the Carthaginian power, by which 

 they were enabled to fit out such wonderful fleets ; 

 and bring such formidable armies into the field, we 

 may conclude that they had established themselves in 

 that country at a very early period, previously to the 

 reigns not only of Darius and Xerxes, but also of 

 Cyrus himself. 



Justin states, that they were, in the first instance, 

 led to intermeddle in the affairs of Spain, with a view 

 of assisting that sister colony which the Phoenicians 

 had established at Gades, (lib. xliv. c. 5.) The as- 

 sistance afforded by them was effectual in defending 

 it against the attacks of the neighbouring people ; 

 but not content with this, they managed to obtain 

 possession of the colony itself, and of the whole pro- 

 vince in which it was situated. This event probably 

 took place about the middle of the second century, 

 after the foundation of Carthage; for Diodorus dis- 

 tinctly states, (lib. v. c. 1.) that at this time a co- 

 lony was established in Ebusus, (now Ivica), and 

 in all likelihood the whole of the Balearic islands, 

 were colonised at the same time : Now, it seems 

 reasonable to suppose, that the advance of the Car- 

 thaginian colonization was progressive, and there- 

 fore that the settlement at Cadi/, would be subse- 

 quent to that at Ebusus ; hence, we may perhaps be 

 allowed to infer, that the Carthaginians made their 

 first descent into Spain about 160 years after the 

 building of their city. Nevertheless, it appears, from 

 the accounts of JLivy and Polybius, that the great- 

 est part of Spain remained unsubdued till the wars 

 of Hamilcar, Asdrubal, and Hannibal. 



In Sardinia, their settlements were almost coeval 

 with their existence as a people : the whole island 

 appears to have been in subjection to them at the pe- 

 riod of their first treaty with the Romans. 



Corsica, too, was occupied by them from very 

 ancient times : they probably succeeded imme- 

 diately to that colony which the Phocasans were 

 compelled to abandon. Herodotus (lib. vn.) men- 

 tions the Corsicans among those nations which were 

 united to form that vast armament with which the 

 Carthaginians invaded Sicily in the days of Gelon. 



The small islands of Melita and Gaulos (now 

 Malta and Goza) were likewise in subjection to the 

 Carthaginians. According to Diodorus, these is- 

 lands were first peopled, either trom Carthage or 

 Phoenicia. { Diod. Sic. lib. v. c. 2.) 



This rapid survey may suffice to give us some idea 

 of the actual extent of the Carthaginian influence. 

 The Romans, on the other side, had now begun to 

 feel their strength, and were considerable elated by 



4 



Survey of 

 the state of 

 Canh.ige 

 at the com- 

 mencement 

 of the first 

 Punic war. 



First set- 

 tlement i 

 Sardinia. 



In Corsica. 



