Siege of Akragas (406 BC)

Siege Of Akragas (406 BC)

The Siege of Akragas took place in 406 BC in Sicily; the Carthaginian enterprise ultimately lasted a total of eight months. The Carthaginian army under Hannibal Mago besieged the Dorian Greek city of Akragas in retaliation against Greek raids on Punic colonies in Sicily. The city had managed to repel Carthaginian attacks until a relief army from Syracuse defeated part of the besieging Carthaginian army and lifted the siege of the city.

During the siege, Hannibal and a large number of Carthaginian soldiers had perished of plague, and the survivors were in dire straits after the Greeks managed to cut their supply lines. However, the Carthaginians, now led by Himilco, a Magonid kinsman of Hannibal, managed to capture a Greek supply convoy of ships using the Carthaginian fleet, which forced the Greeks to face the threat of starvation in turn. This caused first the Sicilian Greek detachment, then most of the population of Akragas to leave the city, enabling Himilco to capture and sack the city.