Rome controlled the west and north of Sicily, but the rest of the island was dominated by Syracuse. When Hieron II died the previous year, he was succeeded by his grandson Hieronymus (17; r.215-214 BC), who was murdered the following year. Syracuse then became a democratic republic in which the Carthaginian faction, led by two brothers Hippocrates and Epicydes, prevailed over the group that favoured Rome.
Hippocrates and four thousand troops, many of whom were deserters from the Roman army, were sent to garrison Leontini, just north of Syracuse, from where they raided the Roman part of the island. In that same year 06Claudius Marcellus stormed Leontini, and after beheading two thousand of the troops there for desertion, he moved on to Syracuse itself.
Syracuse lies on the east coast of Sicily. The entrance to the Great Harbour is protected to the south by the Plemyrium Promontory and to the north by Ortygia, a small island separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. Syracuse itself consisted of two parts: the inner city, the original settlement, on Ortygia; and the outer city, later known as Achradina, on the rocky mainland across the channel, extending northwards along the coast. The Lesser Harbour lies between Ortygia and the outer city. The mainland settlement was divided into three separate regions: Neapolis in the northwest, Achradina on the east coast, and Tyche to the northwest. The whole town nestled at the foot of the cliffs of the large plateau of Epipolae, around which ran the almost impregnable walls built by Dionysius-I (c.65; r.405-367 BC), and guarded at their western extremity by the fort Euryalus.
Marcellus chose a two-prong assault: a naval attack from the east on the Achradina sea wall, and a land attack by his propraetor 08Claudius Pulcher (c.47; fl.217-211) from the north on the defences of Tyche, particularly the Hexapylum Gate. But within the city was the engineer-mathematician Archimedes (c.287-212 BC), whose pulleys, cranes and grapnels are said to have lifted Roman ships clear of the sea and then dropped them back to splinter and sink. Ships at both long and short distances came under such intense fire from his catapults that Marcellus found it necessary to resort to a blockade. For as long as the harbour remained open the Syracusans could receive aid. When the Romans tried to occupy it, the defenders responded by launching fire ships that drifted among the Roman craft and did immense damage.
While the siege proceeded, the action shifted away from the city and into the countryside. Both sides received reinforcements: the Carthaginians sent twenty-five thousand men, three thousand cavalry and twelve elephants under Himilco (5) (fl.214-211 BC); and the Romans built up their strength on the island to three (or four) legions.
In 213 BC Himilco quickly made himself master of Agrigentum. Marcellus left two-thirds of his army at Syracuse and led the rest into the interior to reduce the Carthaginian influence over as many cities as he could. He intercepted a force of ten thousand under Hippocrates sallying from Syracuse to join the Carthaginians and inflicted eight thousand casualties, but Hippocrates and his cavalry escaped to Himilco. Bomilcar (3) (fl.215-213 BC) broke the blockade with fifty-five galleys, but did not attempt to relieve the city. Pinarius (1), the governor of Enna, fearing it was about to join with other towns that had revolted from Rome, massacred all its citizens. In the winter Pulcher was replaced by Titus 06Quinctius Crispinus (fl.213-208 BC), who assumed command of the Roman fleet.
In spring 212 BC, a Roman sympathiser got word to Marcellus that a festival dedicated to the goddess Artemis was taking place in Syracuse. That night, taking advantage of the distraction, a thousand of Marcellus’ men scaled the northern walls of Epipolae and opened the Hexapylum Gate to other troops. Before the night was over, the Roman had advanced over the plateau, overran two suburbs, and received the surrender of the fort of Euryalus to the rear. Counterattacks by a sortie from Achradina, by Himilco and Hippocrates, and by a fleet of a hundred ships under Bomilcar, all failed.
A pestilence, caused by the marshy ground on which they were encamped, broke out within the Carthaginian army, killing most of them, including Himilco and his colleague Hippocrates. The Romans on the higher ground and with better sanitation escaped lightly, and although the defenders in the Achradina held firm, it was now just a matter of time.
In spring 211 BC Bomilcar returned with 130 warships and 700 transports, hoping with the local forces to besiege the Romans inside the city. His fleet was kept out of the Great Harbour by bad weather and when Marcellus’ fleet emerged from the harbour, Bomilcar lost his nerve and fled.
Eventually, the city was betrayed by an Iberian mercenary named Moericus, who allowed Marcellus to land troops at the walls near the harbour entrance. An attack on Achradina drew reserves from Ortygia, and Marcellus landed an amphibious force that seized the defences there. This broke the siege, for the Syracusans in Achradina opened the gates. During the sack that followed, a Roman soldier killed Archimedes while he was absorbed in a geometric problem.
Marcellus relinquished his command of the island and a praetor Marcus 17Cornelius Dolabella continued the reduction of the smaller towns. In 210 BC the consul 09Valerius Laevinus (fl.229-206 BC) took out fresh forces and conquered Agrigentum, where Epicydes had gone having decided that the fall of Syracuse had become inevitable. He now fled with Hanno (10), who had replaced Himilco (5), to Carthage.
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