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The Battle of the Crimissus (also spelled Crimisus and Crimesus) was
fought in 339 between a large Carthaginian army commanded by Asdrubal and
Hamilcar and an army from Syracuse led by Timoleon. Timoleon attacked the
Carthaginian army by surprise near the Crimissus river in western Sicily
(originally it was thought that it was the modern Belice river in southwest
Sicily, but it has been recently identified with the modern Freddo river in
northwest Sicily) and won a great victory. When he defeated another much
smaller force of Carthaginians shortly afterwards, Carthage sued for peace. The
peace allowed the Greek cities on Sicily to recover and began a period of
stability. However, another war between Syracuse and Carthage erupted after
Timoleon's death, not long after Agathocles seized power in 317. Carthage had
tried to prevent Timoleon's arrival on Sicily, where he had been invited by the
citizens of Syracuse to depose the Greek tyrants and restore democracy and
order. After liberating Syracuse itself, Timoleon sent his mercenaries to raid
the Carthaginian territory on western Sicily. Carthage had already gathered a
large army, which was moving towards Syracuse in response to the raids. Vastly
outnumbered, Timoleon attacked the Carthaginian army while it was crossing the
Crimissus river. The Carthaginians fiercely resisted the initial assault, but a
storm which started during the battle worked to the advantage of the Greeks.
When the first rank of the Carthaginian army was defeated, the whole army was
routed. The Greeks killed or captured many of those who fled and Carthage lost
a large number of its wealthiest citizens in the battle.
Opponents: Syracuse versus Carthage
Commanders and leaders:
Syracuse - Timoleon
Carthage -Asdrubal + Hamilcar
Strength:
Syracuse - Plutarch: 5,000 infantry 1,000 cavalry Diodorus Siculus: 12,000
total 70,000
Casualties and losses:
Syracuse - Unknown
Plutarch: 3,000 Carthaginians 7,000 others 5,000+ prisoners
Diodorus Siculus: 2,500 Sacred Band 10,000 others 15,000 prisoners
Background:
Because the citizens of Syracuse suffered from political upheaval and civil war
under the regime of Dionysius II, they appealed to Corinth (which had founded
Syracuse) to send them a general to depose the tyrants and administer their
city. The Corinthian senate chose to send Timoleon. In 359/8 Dionysius II had
made peace with Carthage. Carthage probably profited from the political
instability on Sicily because it weakened the military power of the Greeks. As
a consequence they tried to prevent Timoleon from setting foot on Sicily in
345/4, but were unsuccessful.
A confusing siege of Syracuse ensued in 344/3 with Timoleon, Dionysius, Hicetas
and his Carthaginian allies each controlling different parts of the city. The
two primary sources which describe the siege, Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch,
give very different accounts. According to Plutarch Dionysius surrendered the
acropolis to Timoleon right away and was expelled to Corinth. Diodoros states
that this happened at the end of the siege in 343/2.
The Carthaginians broke off the siege and retreated. Timoleon then attacked the
forces of Hicetas and drove them out of Syracuse. Timoleon then proceeded to
liberate the other Greek cities on Sicily in 342/1 in order to restore them
their autonomy and democracy. He sent his mercenaries to raid the Carthaginian
territory in western Sicily, which gained him a large amount of booty. As his
military strength and reputation grew, all the other Sicilian Greek cities
submitted to him voluntarily because of his policy of restoring autonomy to
them. He was approached by many other cities under the control of Carthage,
including those of the Sicels and the Sicanians, who wished to become his
allies.
Prelude:
The Carthaginians were alarmed by Timoleon's success and shipped a large army
to Lilybaeum. According to Plutarch it numbered seventy thousand men and
included siege engines and chariots with four horses each. Their army was large
enough to conquer Sicily in its entirety, even with the Greeks united under
Timoleon. When they received news that their territory was being raided by
Timoleon's mercenaries, they marched against them immediately under the command
of Hasdrubal and Hamilcar. When the Syracusans heard about the coming of the
huge Carthaginian army, they were terrified; Timoleon could gather no more than
3,000 of them to march against the Carthaginians. While on the march, 1,000 of
Timoleon's 4,000 mercenaries deserted him and returned to Syracuse. His army
now numbered 5,000 foot and 1,000 horse. He led them on march of eight days
away from Syracuse towards the river Crimissus, where the Carthaginians were
concentrating. Diodorus Siculus reports a greater size of Timoleon's army,
giving a number of 12,000 men.
The battle:
The battle was fought in early June 339. Timoleon was positioned on a hill with
his army, overlooking a plain where the Carthaginian army was located. The
Crimissus river separated the two armies and covered the plain in a thick fog,
making it impossible to see the Carthaginian camp. However, the noise signaled
to the Greeks that the Carthaginians were going to cross the river. The sun had
risen higher in the sky and dissipated the fog in the plain, making the
Carthaginian troops visible. The four-horse chariots were at the vanguard of
the army. Behind them was infantry which the Greeks identified as Carthaginian
citizens and at the rear were the foreign troops. Timoleon noticed the army was
separated by the river, giving him a good opportunity to attack. He decided to
send the cavalry ahead to prevent the Carthaginian citizen infantry from
forming their phalanx. Timoleon then commanded his army to descend into the
plain. He assigned the other Sicilian Greeks and a few of his mercenaries to
his wings. He commanded the center, which was composed of the Syracusans and
his best mercenaries. He saw that his cavalry could not attack the enemy
infantry because of the chariots. He ordered his cavalry to ride past the line
of chariots to attack the infantry on the flank. He then charged the enemy with
the infantry. The Carthaginian citizen infantry resisted the Greeks sturdily
however, thanks to their excellent armor and large shields. Fortunately for the
Greeks a thunderstorm rose up behind them and started a shower of hail and
rain. The storm hit the Greeks in the back, but the Carthaginians in the face.
The storm put them at a severe disadvantage: the water and mud made them
ineffective fighters because of their heavy armor. To make things worse for the
Carthaginians, the storm caused the Crimissus to overflow from its banks and
many smaller streams to flow over the plain. The Carthaginian army fled when
the Greeks defeated the first rank of four hundred men. Many of those who fled
over the plain were overtaken by the Greeks and killed. Some drowned in the
river when they met the part of the Carthaginian army which still tried to
cross the river. Out of the 10,000 casualties for the Carthaginian army, 3,000
were Carthaginian citizens. Carthage had never lost so many of its own citizens
before because it was used to employing Libyans, Numidians and Iberians for its
armies. At least 5,000 prisoners were accounted for, and many more were hidden
or stolen by the Greek soldiers. As they stripped the dead bodies of their
possessions, the Greeks acquired a great deal of gold and silver from the rich
Carthaginian citizens. After the Greek army captured the Carthaginian camp so
much effort was required to gather the spoils that it took until the third day
to erect a trophy on the site.
Diodorus Siculus calls the Carthaginian citizen infantry as the Sacred Band of
Carthage. He puts their number at 2,500 and states that they all fought to the
death. Of the other nationalities of the army, more than 10,000 perished and
15,000 were taken captive.
Aftermath:
Timoleon left his mercenaries to plunder the Carthaginian territory and
returned to Syracuse. Hicetas and Mamercus, the tyrants who still controlled
respectively Leontini and Catana, made an alliance with the Carthaginians. The
Carthaginians sent a fleet of seventy ships and Greek mercenaries under Gisco
to their aid. This force landed in the territory of Messana, where they
defeated four hundred of Timoleon's mercenaries. Another group of his
mercenaries was ambushed and eliminated by the Carthaginians near Ietae, in
Carthaginian territory.
Nevertheless, Plutarch relates that Timoleon managed to defeat Hicetas in the
Battle of the Damurias River. Mamercus was defeated by Timoleon in the Battle
of the Abolus River, in which the Carthaginian soldiers he received from Gisco
made up a large part of the casualties. After this defeat Carthage decided to
make peace with Timoleon, to which he agreed. The terms were that Carthage was
to keep its territory within the Lycus river, to restore the family and
property to anyone who wished to move to Syracuse and that it would end their
alliance with the tyrants. Mamercus fled to Messana where he took refuge with
the tyrant of that city, Hippo. When Timoleon besieged Messana by land and sea,
Hippo tried to escape aboard a ship, but was caught and executed by the city's
inhabitants. Mamercus then surrendered to Timoleon.
In the account of Diodorus Siculus Hicetas is mentioned as well, but Mamercus
and Hippo are not. Diodorus does mention other tyrants which Timoleon deposed:
the Campanians in Aetna, Nicodemus in Centuripae and Apolloniades in Agyrium.
Timoleon succeeded in ending the warfare on Sicily between the Greek tyrants
and with Carthage, but peace and stability did not last for long after his
death. A new tyrant, Agathocles, seized power in Syracuse in 317 and started
another war with Carthage.
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