The Siege of Motya took place either in 398 or 397 BC in Western Sicily. Dionysius, after securing peace with Carthage in 405 BC, had steadily increased his military power and had 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 the Catapult and Quinqueremes for the first time in history. In 398 BC he attacked and sacked the Phoenician city of Motya despite the Carthaginian relief effort led by Himilco. Carthage also lost most of her territorial gains secured in 405 BC after Dionysius declared war on Carthage in 398 BC.



Background

Carthage had stayed away from Sicilian affairs for 70 years after the defeat at Himera in 480 BC. However, Carthage, responding to the appeal for aid of Segesta against Selinus, had sent an expedition to Sicily resulting in sack of Selinus and Himera in 409 BC under the leadership of Hannibal Mago.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p163-168 Responding to Greek raids on her Sicilian domain,Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p144-147 Carthage launched an expedition that captured Akragas in 406 BC and Gela and Camarina in 405 BC.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p168-172 The conflict ended in 405 BC when Himilco and Dionysius, leaders of the Carthaginian forces and tyrant of Syracuse respectively, concluded a peace treaty.

Peace of 405 BC

Exactly why Himilco agreed to peace is unknown, it is speculated that a plague outbreak in the Punic army may have been the reason. Dionysius, as future events indicate, merely chose peace as an opportunity to gather strength and renew the war later.The treaty secured the Carthaginian sphere of influence in Western Sicily, and made the Elymians and Sikans part of Carthaginian sphere of influence. The Greek cities of Selinus, Akragas, Gela and Camarina (Greeks were allowed to return to these cities) became tributary to Carthage. Both Syracuse and Carthage pledged to respect the independence of the Sicels, Leontini and the city of Messina.Church, Alfred J., Carthage, p44-45

A Tyrant Triumphs

Dionysius, who had obtained his power by condemning and executing his fellow Greek generals, faced discontent among the Greeks after he had evacuated both Gela and Camarina after the Battle of Gela in 405 BC. Some Syracusans tried to stage a coup in 405 BC, but Dionysius had managed to defeat the rebels through speedy action and enemy bungling.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p174 After the treaty with Carthage was signed, Syracuse was hemmed in by the territories of Camarina and Leontini, the former a vassal of Carthage and the latter hostile to Syracuse, while the Syracusan rebels settled in the city of Aetna.Freeman, Edwrad A., Sicily, p153-54Between 405 BC and 397 BC, Dionysius took steps that increased the might of Syracuse, dealt with attempts to overthrow him and made Syracuse the best defended city in the whole Greek world. His activities, briefly, were as follows:

’’Enhancing Syracusan Defenses’’: Dionysius populated island of Orytiga (where the old city of Syracuse stood), with loyal mercenaries and close supporters, and built a wall on the isthmus connecting it with the mainland. Two new forts were built, one on the isthmus and one on the far end Epipolae plateau at Euryalos.Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p158 He incorporated the walls built during the Athenian Expedition into the city for settling the people in Achradina. Finally in 402 BC, Dionysius started building a wall that would enclose the whole Epipolae Platue, which was completed by 399 BC.Diod., 15.13.5 Employing tens of thousands of workers working in different sections of the wall, with Dionysius working alongside and offering prizes to the best workers, the wall was speedily completed.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p174-75 Syracuse became the best fortified city of the Greek world and Dionysius ensured his own security by building fortress filled with loyal supporters within the city walls.




’’Enhancing Combat effectiveness’’: Dionysius continuously increased the size of his army by hiring mercenaries and building new ships. Greek citizen soldiers normally supplied their own arms and armor, but Dionysius hired workmen from Italy, Greece and Africa to supply his soldiers with arms. Over 140,000 sets of arms, helmets and mails were made. By supplying soldiers with standard issue arms and opening recruitment to all social classes, Dionysius managed to increase the size of his army (prior to this, only mercenaries and citizens able to supply their own arms were the backbone of the army). These workmen also created the Catapult and Quinqueremes, giving him the edge in battlefield for a while.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p177 Dionysius also built 200 new warships, refitted 110 old ones, and also 160 transports were commissioned. A secret harbor at Laccium covered with screens was created, which could house 60 triremes.Diod., 14.7.2-3




’’Expanding Syracusan domain’’: Dionysius broke the peace treaty in 404 BC by attacking the Sicel city of Herbessus.Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p157 Carthage did nothing, but part of Syracusan army joined the Syracusan rebels from Aetna, and with help from Messina and Rhegion, managed to besiege Dionysius in Syracuse. Dionysius thought about fleeing the beleaguered city, and only the bungling of the rebels and the help of some Italian mercenaries saved the day for him.Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p158-59 Between 403 and 398 BC, Dionysius destroyed the Ionian Greeks cities of Catana, which was given to the Campanians, and Naxos, whose Greek citizens he sold into slavery, and the city was given to the Sicels. Lastly, he conquered Leontini, which surrendered without resistance. Dionysius also increased his ties with the Italian Greeks by marrying a Locrian lady.Freeman, Edward A., Sicily, p160-163 His overtures of friendship with Rhegion fell on deaf ears. Carthage did nothing to stop these violations of the peace treaty, namely the attacks on the Sicels and the conquest of Leontini.


In 398 BC, Dionysius sent an embassy to Carthage to declare war unless they agreed to give up all the Greek cities under their control. Before the embassy returned from Carthage, Dionysius let loose his mercenaries on Carthaginians living in Syracusan lands, putting the population to the sword and plundering their property. Then he set out for Motya with his army, accompanied by 200 warships and 500 transports carrying the supplies and war machines.Kern, Paul B., Ancient Siege Warfare, p178