The Agrigentum inscription is a Punic inscription (KAI 302, CIS i 5510) found in 1934 during the excavations led by Gabriel-Guillaume Lapeyre at "Salambo", the infant and children's cemetery (tophet) of Carthage, and published in 1942. [1] It probably refers to military events in Sicily in 406 BCE.
The inscription has been broken into three parts; it is not clear how much text is missing before "line 1". [1] The surviving text reads: [2] [3]
| (line 1) | ... WY]KBD H’DMM HMT RBTN [TNT-PN-B‘L LM TŠPṬ ? .......... | ... and] let these men honor Our Lady [ Tanit-Phanebal, lest She ... |
| (2) | ... BR]ḤT H’DMM HMT WBRḤT ’ZRTNM W’[............ | ... condemns the int]ent of those men and the intent of their families (?) and [?the intent of their ... |
| (3) | WKL ’DM] ’Š LKP ’YT ’MTNT Z WL‘KR WLŠBT Y’ML YD[’ | And as for any man] who upsets this stele or disturbs or destroys it, may [his] hand wither. |
| (4) | WKL ’]DM ’Š ’YBL MŠRT WKPT RBTN TNT-PN-B‘L | [And as for any m]an who does not serve (the goddess), then Our Lady Tinnīt-Phanebal will bind, |
| (4-5) | W’/DN B[‘L] ḤMN ’YT ’DMM HMT BḤYM ‘L PN ŠMŠ | and the / Lord Ba[‘al]-ḥammon (will bind) those men during their life facing the Sun |
| (5-6) | DL ’ZR/TM W’[..]NM | together with their families / and their [...]s. |
| (6-7) | QR’ LMLQRT YSP ‘LTY LŠLM WLYRḤY / BMQM [Z] | (But) as for him who calls to Melqart, he shall continue to be greeted and be made welcome / in [this] place. |
| (7) | ŠRT LQN’ WKN L’.ḤL WŠLM | He who serves (the gods) zealously, (for him) there will be wealth and prosperity. |
| (7-8) | WṬNT ’MTNT / Z BḤDŠ [P]‘LT | And this stele was erected / on the new moon of (the month of) [Pa]‘loth, |
| (8) | ŠT ’ŠMN‘MS BN ’DNB‘L HRB | in the year (of the suffetes) Ešmûn-‘amos, the son of ’Adoniba‘al (Hannibal?) the general, [4] |
| (8-9) | WḤN’ / BN BD‘ŠTR[T] BN ḤN’ HRB | and Ḥanno, [5] / the son of Bod‘aštar[t], the son of Ḥanno the general. |
| (9-10) | WYLK RBM ’DNB‘L BN GRSKN HR/B | And they marched, the generals ’Adoniba‘al, the son of Gersakkun the gene/ral, |
| (10) | WḤMLKT BN ḤN’ HRB ‘LŠ | and Ḥimilco, the son of Ḥanno the general, at dawn (?). [6] |
| (10-11) | WTMK HMT ’YT ’GRGNT WŠT / [’]T ŠLM DL B‘LNWS | And they [the Carthaginians] seized Agrigentum, and they put / peace ("pacified", i.e., they submitted them) together with the refugees (from Agrigentum). |
| (11) | [WB]‘LḤRŠ MNR BN ‘BDMSKR WB‘L‘ZR BN ZBG ŠḤ[N’ ... | [And the ar]tisans (of this monument) are Menir, the son of Abdmeskar, and Baal-Eser, the son of Zabog the son of Ḥ[anno. ... |
The monument can be dated to 406 BCE, on the basis of an action by two Carthaginian generals, ’Adnoiba‘al (Idnibal) [7] and Ḥimilco, who are mentioned in lines 9-10. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus tells that both generals were active in a Carthaginian military campaign in Sicily in 406 BCE, in particular the siege and taking of the city of Akragas ( Bibliotheca historica , 13.43.5 [8] and 13.80.1-2 [9] ). Now Charles R. Krahmalkov recognized this city's name in the word ’GRGNT (Agragant) in line 10. [10] The taking of this city and the "pacification" of its inhabitants are mentioned in line 11 of the inscription. From Diodorus Siculus we may assume that the refugees from Akragas tried to flee to the city of Gela, 60 kilometers east of Agrigento. [11]
A bonus of the inscription is that it gives the names of the eponymous heads of state of Carthage, the so-called suffetes (šofetim), for this year: Ešmûn-‘amos and Ḥanno (lines 8–9).
The importance of this inscription was described by Schmitz: [10]
The reference here to "Greek epigraphy" regards a Greek inscription from Athens and also from 406 BCE, mentioning Sicily and the names of the two Carthaginian generals. It was probably a probouleuma (draft resolution for the Athenian government), to send envoys to the Carthaginian generals asking them for help in the final phase of the Peloponnesian War. [12]
Agrigento is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento.
The Punic language, also called Phoenicio-Punic or Carthaginian, is an extinct variety of the Phoenician language, a Canaanite language of the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic languages. An offshoot of the Phoenician language of coastal West Asia, it was principally spoken on the Mediterranean coast of Northwest Africa, the Iberian peninsula and several Mediterranean islands, such as Malta, Sicily, and Sardinia by the Punic people, or western Phoenicians, throughout classical antiquity, from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD.
The Battle of Himera, supposedly fought on the same day as the Battle of Salamis, or at the same time as the Battle of Thermopylae, saw the Greek forces of Gelon, King of Syracuse, and Theron, tyrant of Agrigentum, defeat the Carthaginian force of Hamilcar the Magonid, ending a Carthaginian bid to restore the deposed tyrant of Himera. The alleged coincidence of this battle with the naval battle of Salamis and the resultant derailing of a Punic-Persian conspiracy aimed at destroying the Greek civilization is rejected by modern scholars. Scholars also agree that the battle led to the crippling of Carthage's power in Sicily for many decades. It was one of the most important battles of the Sicilian Wars.
The siege of Syracuse in 397 BC was the first of four unsuccessful sieges Carthaginian forces would undertake against Syracuse from 397 to 278 BC. In retaliation for the siege of Motya by Dionysius of Syracuse, Himilco of the Magonid family of Carthage led a substantial force to Sicily. After retaking Motya and founding Lilybaeum, Himilco sacked Messana, then laid siege to Syracuse in the autumn of 397 BC after the Greek navy was crushed at Catana.
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC.
Heraclea Minoa was an ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia situated on the southern coast of Sicily near the mouth of the river Halycus, 25 km west of Agrigentum. It is located near the modern town of the same name in the comune Cattolica Eraclea in Italy.
The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC on the coast of Northwest Africa, in what is now Tunisia, as one of a number of Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean created to facilitate trade from the city of Tyre on the coast of what is now Lebanon. The name of both the city and the wider republic that grew out of it, Carthage developed into a significant trading empire throughout the Mediterranean. The date from which Carthage can be counted as an independent power cannot exactly be determined, and probably nothing distinguished Carthage from the other Phoenician colonies in Northwest Africa and the Mediterranean during 800–700 BC. By the end of the 7th century BC, Carthage was becoming one of the leading commercial centres of the West Mediterranean region. After a long conflict with the emerging Roman Republic, known as the Punic Wars, Rome finally destroyed Carthage in 146 BC. A Roman Carthage was established on the ruins of the first. Roman Carthage was eventually destroyed—its walls torn down, its water supply cut off, and its harbours made unusable—following its conquest by Arab invaders at the close of the 7th century. It was replaced by Tunis as the major regional centre, which has spread to include the ancient site of Carthage in a modern suburb.
Near the site of the first battle and great Carthaginian defeat of 480 BC, the Second Battle of Himera was fought near the city of Himera in Sicily in 409 between the Carthaginian forces under Hannibal Mago and the Ionian Greeks of Himera aided by an army and a fleet from Syracuse. Hannibal, acting under the instructions of the Carthaginian senate, had previously sacked and destroyed the city of Selinus after the Battle of Selinus in 409. Hannibal then destroyed Himera which was never rebuilt. Mass graves associated with this battle were discovered in 2008-2011, corroborating the stories told by ancient historians.
The siege of Akragas took place in 406 BCE in Sicily; the Carthaginian enterprise ultimately lasted a total of eight months. The Carthaginian army under Hannibal Mago besieged the Dorian Greek city of Akragas in retaliation for the Greek raids on Punic colonies in Sicily. The city managed to repel Carthaginian attacks until a relief army from Syracuse defeated part of the besieging Carthaginian army and lifted the siege of the city.
The Battle of Gela took place in the summer of 405 BC in Sicily. The Carthaginian army under Himilco, which had spent the winter and spring in the captured city of Akragas, marched to confront the Greeks at Gela. The Syracuse government had deposed Daphnaeus, the unsuccessful general of the Greek army at Akragas, with Dionysius, another officer who had been a follower of Hermocrates. Dionysius schemed and gained full dictatorial powers.
The Battle of Messene took place in 397 BC in Sicily. Carthage, in retaliation for the attack on Motya by Dionysius, had sent an army under Himilco, to Sicily to regain lost territory. Himilco sailed to Panormus, and from there again sailed and marched along the northern coast of Sicily to Cape Pelorum, 12 miles (19 km) north of Messene. While the Messenian army marched out to offer battle, Himilco sent 200 ships filled with soldiers to the city itself, which was stormed and the citizens were forced to disperse to forts in the countryside. Himilco later sacked and leveled the city, which was again rebuilt after the war.
The Battle of Catana took place in the summer of 397 BC. The Greek fleet under Leptines, the brother of Dionysius I of Syracuse, engaged the Carthaginian fleet under Mago near the city of Catana in Sicily. While the Greek army under Dionysius was present near the city of Catana during the battle, the Carthaginian army under Himilco was away in the interior of Sicily, making a detour around the erupting Mount Etna. The Carthaginian fleet crushed the Greek fleet in the battle, leading to the Carthaginian siege of Syracuse later in 397 BC.
The Magonids were a political dynasty of Ancient Carthage from 550 BCE to 340 BCE. The dynasty was first established under Mago I, under whom Carthage became pre-eminent among the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. Under the Magonids, the Carthaginian Empire expanded to include Sardinia, Libya, and for almost a decade much of Sicily.
The Battle of Abacaenum took place between the Carthaginian forces under Mago and the Siceliot army under Dionysius in 393 BC near the Sicilian town on Abacaenum in north-eastern Sicily. Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, had been expanding his influence over Sicels' territories in Sicily. After Dionysius' unsuccessful siege in 394 BC of Tauromenium, a Carthaginian ally, Mago decided to attack Messana. However, the Carthaginian army was defeated by the Greeks near the town of Abacaenum and had to retire to the Carthaginian territories in Western Sicily. Dionysius did not attack the Carthaginians but continued to expand his influence in eastern Sicily.
The Battle of Chrysas was a battle fought in 392 BC in the course of the Sicilian Wars, between the Carthaginian army under Mago and a Greek army under Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse, who was aided by Agyris, tyrant of the Sicel city of Agyrium. Mago had been defeated by Dionysius at Abacaenum in 393, which had not damaged the Carthaginian position in Sicily. Reinforced by Carthage in 392, Mago moved to attack the Sicles allied with Syracuse in central Sicily. After the Carthaginians reached and encamped near the river Chrysas, the Sicels harassed the Carthaginian supply lines causing a supply shortage, while the Greek soldiers rebelled and deserted Dionysius when he refused to fight a pitched battle. Both Mago and Dionysius agreed to a peace treaty, which allowed the Carthaginians to formally occupy the area west of the River Halycus, while Dionysius was given lordship over the Sicel lands. The peace would last until 383, when Dionysius attacked the Carthaginians again.
The siege of Tauromenium was laid down by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, in the winter of 394 BC, in the course of the Sicilian Wars against Carthage. After defeating the Carthaginians at the Battle of Syracuse in 397 BC, Dionysius had been expanding his territory and political influence by conquering Sicel lands and planting Greek colonies in northeastern Sicily. Tauromenium was a Sicel city allied to Carthage and in a position to threaten both Syracuse and Messina. Dionysius laid siege to the city in the winter of 394 BC, but had to lift the siege after his night assault was defeated. Carthage responded to this attack on their allies by renewing the war, which was ended by a peace treaty in 392 BC that granted Dionysius overlordship of the Sicels, while Carthage retained all territory west of the Halykos and Himera rivers in Sicily.
Himilco was a member of the Magonids, a Carthaginian family of hereditary generals, and had command over the Carthaginian forces between 406 BC and 397 BC. He is chiefly known for his war in Sicily against Dionysius I of Syracuse.
The siege of Segesta took place either in the summer of 398 BC or the spring of 397 BC. Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, after securing peace with Carthage in 405 BC, had steadily increased his military power and tightened his grip on Syracuse. He had fortified Syracuse against sieges and had created a large army of mercenaries and a large fleet, in addition to employing catapults and quinqueremes for the first time in history. In 398 BC he attacked and sacked the Phoenician city of Motya despite a Carthaginian relief effort led by Himilco II of Carthage. While Motya was under siege, Dionysius besieged and assaulted Segesta unsuccessfully. Following the sack of Motya, Segesta again came under siege by Greek forces, but the Elymian forces based in Segesta managed to inflict damage on the Greek camp in a daring night assault. When Himilco of Carthage arrived in Sicily with the Carthaginian army in the spring of 397 BC, Dionysius withdrew to Syracuse. The failure of Dionysius to secure a base in western Sicily meant the main events of the Second Sicilian war would be acted out mostly in eastern Sicily, sparing the Elymian and Phoenician cities the ravages of war until 368 BC.
The siege and subsequent sacking of Camarina took place in 405 BC during the Sicilian Wars.