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The Battle of the Crimissus (also spelled ''Crimisus'' and ''Crimesus'') was fought in 339 BC 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 (the modern Belice river) in western 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 BC. 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. == 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 BC 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 BC, but were unsuccessful. A confusing siege of Syracuse ensued in 344/3 BC 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 BC. 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 BC 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of the Crimissus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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