SYRACUSE
Syracuse
is located in south-western Sicily. The first major colony on the
island, it was founded between 743-734 BC by the city state of Corinth
during the period of Greek civilisation which saw colonies founded
throughout the Mediterranean. This was later than an equivalent
phase of colony-founding by the Phoenicians, so the Greeks found
themselves competing against cities such as Carthage, Utica and
Gadir. The Greeks were able to devote far more resources than the
Phoenicians, so they were able to catch up fairly quickly, and Syracuse
quickly grew into the most powerful of the Greek colonies, at times
controlling the entire island. The rulers were known as tyrants.
743
- 484 BC :
Once the colony of Syracuse is established by Corinth it is governed
by an oligarchy of the most powerful Greeks (perhaps descended from
the Bacchiades, whose exile from Corinth is claimed as the reason
Syracuse is founded). The native Siculi are forced inland, but many
of their number are also subjugated and are used as a labour and
farming force by the Greeks. Towards the end of this period the
city falls under the control of another Greek colony, that of Gela,
which introduces a kingship, or tyranny, to rule the city.
![Map of the Etruscans](Etruscan_Map01_full.jpg)
This
map shows the greatest extent of Greek influence in southern Italy
and on Sicily, during the fifth and fourth centuries BC, when the
Etruscans were a major rival
580
BC :
Some Greek settlements on Sicily attempt to drive the Phoenicians
from Motya and Panormus (Palermo) in the west of the island. The
Carthaginians fear that if the Greeks win the whole of Sicily they
will next move onto Sardinia and beyond, isolating the Phoenicians
in North Africa. The successful defence of Sicily is followed by
attempts to strengthen limited footholds on Sardinia. A fortress
at Monte Sirai in Sardinia is the oldest Phoenician military building
in the west.
492
BC :
The Syracusan colony of Camarina rebels, giving Hippocrates of Gela
the excuse to attack Syracuse itself. The city's army is defeated
at the River Heloros and Syracuse is besieged. Eventually, Hippocrates
is bought off with the offer of the possession of Camarina.
484
BC :
The successor to Hippocrates in Gela, Gelon conquers Syracuse and
moves his seat to the city, handing the rule of Gela to his brother,
Hieron.
484
- 478 BC :
Gelon
I / Gelo I : Son
of Deinomenes. Tyrant of Gela (491-484 BC).
480
BC :
Hamilcar of Carthage lands a huge army on Sicily in order to confront
Syracuse on the island's eastern coast. The Carthaginians are defeated
by the Greeks at the Battle of Himera. A long struggle ensues with
intermittent warfare between Carthage and Syracuse.
478
- 467 BC :
Hieron
I / Hiero I : Brother.
Tyrant of Gela (484-478 BC).
476
BC :
Less than a year after victory at the Battle of the Cremora, the
Etruscan city of Veii sees its navy crushed off the coast of Cumae
by Hieron and the city is forced to agree a treaty with Rome.
466
- 465 BC :
Thrasybulus
: Brother.
Ruled for eleven months.
465
- 405 BC :
Thrasybulus, the last of the three Deinomenid tyrants, is overthrown
by the Syracusan people and a democratic republic is established
to govern the city.
460
- 452 BC :
The recent termination of the tyranny of Gelon I and his brothers
has left problems in its wake on Sicily. In 460 BC, war breaks out
between Syracuse and its former colony at Catana. Ducetius, a prominent
Hellenised Sicel, backs Syracuse in revenge for the former occupation
of Siculi land by Catana, and the latter colony is defeated. Ducetius
goes on to unite central Sicily, by 452 BC, and founds the city
of Palice, which becomes his capital.
452
- 451 BC :
Syracuse becomes concerned by the seemingly unstoppable expansion
by the leader of the Siculi. Ducetius takes Motya (the modern island
of San Pantaleo), a stronghold which had formerly been held by Akragas,
so in 451 BC Syracuse assists Akragas in opposing him, unsuccessfully.
The power of Ducetius and his Siculi empire is now at its height.
![The Greek colony of Motya](Greeks_Motya_City01_full.jpg)
The
colony of Motya (modern San Pantaleo) on Syracuse changed hands
twice during the revolt, with Ducetius of the Siculi at the centre
of the fighting in his attempts to oppose Greek dominance
450
BC :
Ducetius of the Siculi suffers a shock defeat when his forces are
decisively defeated at Nomae. His surviving army is scattered amongst
the Siculi cities, and Ducetius remains with just a handful of followers.
Akragas reclaims Motya and Ducetius flees to Syracuse, where he
is tried by a general assembly and exiled to Corinth for life.
446
- 440 BC :
Ducetius returns to Sicily, according to Diodorus, where he founds
the city of Kale Akte or Caleacte on the northern coast (modern
Caronia). This is probably with the permission of Syracuse, in the
hope of establishing a permanent peaceful alliance. Unfortunately,
Ducetius dies following an illness in 440 BC, and is unable to influence
the subsequent revolt of the Siculi against Syracuse. The revolt
quickly falls apart, the city of Palice is sacked, and its Sicel
inhabitants are sold into slavery.
431
- 404 BC :
The Second Peloponnesian War brings mighty Athens and its
empire to its knees and establishes Sparta as the greatest Greek
power. Syracuse sides with Sparta. When an Athenian fleet is sent
to capture the island, the arrival of a Spartan general (Alcibiades,
a former Athenian who had fallen from grace) and a few Spartan troops
inspires the Syracusans to fight back, and a massive night attack
by the Athenians turns into a disaster for them. Thousands of Athenian
troops die. Dionysius is elected supreme military commander in 406
BC, and in the following year he seizes absolute power as tyrant.
420
BC :
Antiochus of Syracuse completes his History of Sicily and
Colonising of Italy around this time. The works exist today
only in fragments but they are highly regarded by the ancient world
thanks to the accuracy of their information. Antiochus writes that
the entirety of later Calabria had originally been known as Oenotria
after the Oenotri tribe which had settled there early in its history.
He also confirms that the arrival of the more warlike Oenotri and
Opici had triggered the migration of the Elymi, Itali, and Siculi
into the 'toe' of Italy and onto Sicily.
405
- 367 BC :
Dionysius
I the Elder : Renowned
as a cruel tyrant. Poisoned.
385
BC :
Dionysius supports and instigates an attack by Illyrians on the
kingdom of Epirus. He wants to place Alcetas on the Epiran throne
as part of his plan to control the entire Ionian Sea. Sparta intervenes
and expels the Illyrians after defeating them in battle, although
the Illyrians are reputed to kill 15,000 Molossians before they
are expelled and ravage the region.
c.383
BC :
Hanno the Great of Carthage renews the war with Syracuse amid a
power struggle in the city. This act wins him massive public support
at home.
367
BC :
The war against Carthage finally comes to an end when Hanno the
Great leads a fleet of two hundred ships to a decisive naval victory
over Syracuse. Soon afterwards, Dionysius is apparently poisoned
on the orders of his son.
367
- 356 BC :
Dionysius
II the Younger : Son.
Overthrown but returned in 347 BC.
367
- 366 BC :
Dion
: Uncle,
philosopher and supervisor of his nephew's rule.
366
BC :
Dion attempts to improve his nephew's dissolute reign by inviting
the philosopher Plato to visit the island. Together Dion and Plato
try to restructure the ruling process to introduce moderation, but
Dionysius resents the interference and Dion is banished. Dionysius
gradually loses popularity with his relatively incompetent rule.
357
BC :
Much to the relief of most of the Syracusan populace, Dion returns
with a small army and Dionysius, away at the time, is left with
little choice but to capitulate and abdicate the throne, sailing
to Locri on the Italian mainland. He leaves the only uncaptured
portion of territory, the citadel of Syracuse, in the hands of his
son, Apollocrates.
356
- 354 BC :
Dion
: Seized
the throne. Assassinated by his officers.
354
BC :
The
conservative Dion has become increasingly unpopular, generating
growing opposition to his rule. Thanks to the machinations of Calippos,
he is assassinated by his own mercenary officers. Calippos seizes
control, the first of many who claim the title of tyrant during
this period.
![Greek theatre](Greeks_Syracuse_Theatre01_full.jpg)
The
fifth century BC Greek theatre lies on the southern slopes of the
Temenite Hill on Syracuse, still in surprisingly good condition
despite centuries of spoilation
354
- 352 BC :
Calippos / Calippus : Opposed
Dion and ruled for 13 months. Killed by his comrades.
352
- 350 BC :
Hipparinos : Son
of Dionysius the Elder.
352
- 350 BC :
Aretaeos : Co-ruler.
350
- 346 BC :
Nysaeos
347
BC :
The period of anarchy engendered by the rule of Dion continues as
Dionysius II resumes control of the city, although he remains unpopular
with the people.
347
- 344 BC :
Dionysius II the Younger : Restored
during a period of anarchy. Accepted exile in Corinth.
345
- 340 BC :
The Carthaginians launch a large-scale military campaign in Sicily.
Thanks to a decade of anarchy Syracuse is no longer the supreme
power it had once been in the Mediterranean. Lots of small powers,
war bands and tribal princes seek to control their part of the island.
Into this chaos Carthage sends a force of 50,000 infantry, backed
by cavalry, a large fleet of war chariots, and a large train of
siege engines.
The
Greeks receive assistance from Corinth under the able commander
Timoleon who opposes Dionysius in 345 BC. Faced with an opponent
he is unable to defeat, Dionysius accepts exile to Corinth where,
after a year of declining living conditions, he dies. Timoleon spends
the next five years driving out the invaders and becomes the colony's
leading figure (although not tyrant).
345
- 337 BC :
Timoleon : Opposed
Dionysius. Led the defence of the city. Retired.
337
- 317 BC :
Thanks to the democratic reforms of Timoleon, Syracuse adopts a
system towards which it has been heading since the fall of Dionysius
the Younger, by which the city state is governed as a form of oligarchic
republic. The young Agathocles, son of a potter, twice attempts
to overthrow the party controlling the state. In 317 BC he returns
from banishment with a mercenary army, subdues the city, and subsequently
conquers much of Sicily.
317
- 289 BC :
Agathocles
: Adopted
the title 'King of Sicily' in 305 BC. Poisoned.
310
- 307 BC :
Greek armies under Agathocles invade Cape Bon near Carthage, but
with disappointing results. At the same time, in 307 BC, Agathocles
destroys the Elymi city of Segesta.
289
- 270 BC :
Following the death of Agathocles, apparently at the instigation
of his own troublesome son, Archagathus, Syracuse is gripped by
civil war and anarchy. Icetas is the first to claim to rule the
city.
![Syracusan coin](Greeks_Syracuse_Coin01_full.jpg)
Shown
here are two sides of a coin minted in Syracuse about 280 BC, around
the crossover between Icetas, Toinon, and Sosistratos
289
- 280 BC :
Icetas
282
- 278 BC :
The
growing power of Rome has saved the Greek colony of Thurii from
being overwhelmed by the Italics, but the colony of Tarentum intervenes,
sinking some of the Roman ships. Rome declares war on Tarentum,
but Pyrrhus of Epirus declares for Tarentum, as do many of the southern
Italic peoples, including the Brutii, Lucani, and Samnites. A few
years later these three Italic tribes send auxiliaries to the army
of Pyrrhus, but following his withdrawal in 278 BC to attack Syracuse
they face Rome's might alone.
280
BC :
Toinon
280
- 277 BC :
Sosistratos
277
- 275 BC :
Epirus conquers Syracuse in 277 BC. When Pyrrhus leaves Sicily,
one of his former generals, Hieron, is appointed commander-in-chief
of the Syracusan armed forces. He strengthens his position by marrying
the daughter of a leading citizen and is made king in 270 BC after
successfully defending Syracuse from the Mamertines, mercenaries
who had formerly been hired by Agathocles.
275
- 215 BC :
Hieron
II / Hiero II : Illegitimate
son of Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon.
263
BC :
Shortly after the outbreak of the First Punic War. Hieron
signs a treaty with Rome by which he is allowed to continue to rule
his corner of Sicily. His son, disagreeing with this policy, sides
with the Carthaginians, but he dies shortly afterwards, perhaps
killed by his own father.
240
- 216 BC :
Gelon
II / Gelo II : Son.
Killed after siding with Carthage.
215
- 214 BC :
Hieronymus
: Son.
Reigned for 13 months. Tyrant in the modern sense.
215
- 214 BC :
Following Hannibal Barca's defeat of a Roman army at the Battle
of Cannae, Hieronymus enters into an alliance with Carthage. His
actions see Syracuse besieged by Roman forces in 214 BC and he himself
is cornered and killed on the streets of Leontini by supporters
of Rome before his guards can come to his rescue.
214
- 212 BC :
Adranodoros
: Seized
power. Assassinated by the pro-Roman faction.
213
- 212 BC :
Hippocrates
213
- 212 BC :
Epicydes
: Brother
and general.
212
BC :
Despite holding out for two years against the Roman siege of the
city, Syracuse falls. It seems that Roman troops are accidentally
allowed into the city by a Syracusan peace party. Now Syracuse becomes
the Roman capital of Sicily. Its subsequent history follows that
of Italy until AD 827 when Sicily is gradually conquered by the
Aghlabids of Tunisia.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsEurope/ItalySyracuse.htm