BC410-391 Carthage Conquests

In the twenty years from 410-391 BC a strengthened Carthage in North Africa sponsored Himilco the Navigator's exploration of Europe's Atlantic coast (pictured) to found new colonies.

Were it not for plague in 396 BC, Carthage would have emerged victorious in the Mediterranean, winning Sicily from the Greeks and becoming more a superpower than it was already.

By 410 BC, a strengthened Carthage had conquered Tunisia, founded new colonies in North Africa, and sponsored Mago Barca's journey across the Sahara Desert, Hanno the Navigator's journey down the African coast, and Himilco the Navigator's exploration of Europe's Atlantic coast. Sicily was next.

In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily and was successful in capturing some cities before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war. Syracuse -- the primary target -- remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second expedition to Sicily, this time to claim the whole island.

During the siege of Agrigentum -- against the army of Dionysius, the new tyrant of Syracuse -- the Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague. Hannibal Mago died of plague, and his successor, Himilco, finally had to sue for peace before returning to Carthage.

In 398 BC, Dionysius broke the peace treaty, striking at a Carthaginian stronghold, Motya. Himilco responded by leading an expedition which not only reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messina. Finally, he laid siege to Syracuse itself, but by 396 BC plague had again ravaged the Carthaginian forces, and they collapsed.

In Greece, Lysander was in charge of the Spartan fleet in the Aegean, based at Ephesus (407 BC) when Alcibiades rejoined the Athenian side towards the end of the Peloponnesian War. In his first year as admiral (406 BC) he won a sea battle at Notium and obtained support for the Spartan cause from Cyrus the Younger, Persian satrap and son of Darius II.

Lysander was then victorious against the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC, and in the following year, he took Athens itself, bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end.

When Athens succumbed after to Lysander's siege, he installed a government of thirty, later known as the Thirty Tyrants (404 BC). By promoting the interests of his friends and displaying vindictiveness against those who displeased him, Lysander became unpopular throughout Greece. A democratic revolt led by Thrasybulus in 403 brought Lysander back to Athens to support the Thirty Tyrants, but the Spartan Kings called him back -- and he lost face.

On the death of King Agis of Sparta, Lysander was instrumental in promoting Agesilaus II as king in 399 BC, but after starting a joint expedition to attack Persia the new king spurned him. Lysander returned to Sparta in 396 BC to face another challenge.

After the end of the Peloponnesian War, Corinth and Thebes, which were former allies with Sparta in the Peloponnesian League, had grown dissatisfied with the hegemony of Sparta and started the Corinthian War (395-387 BC) against it.

At the beginning of the Corinthian War Lysander led an army of allies into Boeotia from Phocis and was killed in 395 BC when his troops were surprised by a Theban ambush at Haliartus.

Socrates also died in 399 BC.

BC390-371 Celtic Gaul Conquests

In the twenty years from 390-371 BC the Celtic Gauls crossed the Alps into Italy, defeated the Roman army and burned Rome to the ground in 387 BC.

The Gauls were a Celtic people of Europe, nomadic and war-like, who did not wish to settle in Italy. Instead, they were interested only in amassing wealth. They looted Rome and then demanded a tribute.

The Romans both feared and marvelled at the Gauls. They described them as being tall, with rippling muscles, white skin and blond hair which they accentuated by washing their hair with lime and pulling it back from the forehead. Their men and women wear bracelets, heavy necklaces (torcs), rings, and even corselets, of gold. Their clothing is striking -- shirts which have been dyed and embroidered in varied colors -- and breeches. They wear striped coats in which are set checks, close together and of varied hues -- tartan plaid.

The Gauls had a 'levity of character' that makes them look insufferable when victorious, but scared out of their wits when defeated. Their speech is harsh and they converse with few words and in riddles, hinting darkly at things for the most part and using one word when they mean another. And, they drink to excess.

After the Gauls had collected their tribute, they returned home to central Europe leaving Rome vulnerable to all the tribes it had previously conquered.

Various Italian states tried to take advantage of Rome's demise by attacking the razed city, but the Romans resiliently asserted themselves and began rebuilding the region.

In Greece, Lysander of Sparta had been killed in the early years of the Corinthian War, but the war continued until 387 BC under the Spartan king Agesilaus II.

Thebes had been taken by Sparta and a pro-Spartan puppet government kept the Thebans in check. Exiles from the previous government regrouped at Athens and prepared to retake their city. Epaminondas, who had been overlooked by the Spartans as nothing more than a philosopher, prepared the young men of Thebes for a coup. In 379 BC a small group of exiles, led by Pelopidas, infiltrated the city with Epaminondas's aid and assassinated the leaders of the pro-Spartan government.

When news of the coup reached Sparta, an army under Agesilaus was sent but the Thebans refused to meet them. Instead, they occupied a stronghold outside the city and the Spartans departed after ravaging the countryside.

The Thebans then reconstituted their old Boeotian confederacy in a new, democratic form and the Spartans invaded three times over the next seven years. The Boeotians held them off, and the advantage was furthered when, in 375 BC, an outnumbered force of Boeotians under Pelopidas cut their way through the heart of a Spartan phalanx during the Battle of Tegyra.

Although Sparta remained the supreme land power in Greece, the Boeotians had arrived as a politically cohesive power and Pelopidas had arrived as a major political leader in Thebes.

By 371 BC Epaminondas was a Boeotarch leading the Boeotian delegation to a peace conference held at Sparta. There, Epaminondas caused a drastic break with Sparta when he insisted on signing not for the Thebans alone, but for all the Boeotians.

King Agesilaus II of Sparta refused to allow this and struck the Thebans from the peace document. Epaminondas returned to Thebes, and both sides marshaled for war.