Punic-Sicilian Wars Part IV: Revenge of Dionysius

We're continuing our Punic-Sicilian Wars series with a fourth installment detailing Dionysius' resurgence, the Siege or Tauromenium, the counter attack, Dionysius' Greco Wars, the fourth and fifth wars, and the death of Dionysius. Here's a teaser of that script.

Enjoy! (This is a repost from earlier, my apologies for any confusion.)

Intro

Over the course of three bloody wars, Carthage had tightened its grip on the island of Sicily. And yet on the precipice of its success, Dionysius of Syracuse had rallied his city to not only hold them at bay but to throw them back. While the Punic power was rocked by plague and civil unrest, the Tyrant would now take his chance to fulfill his life's work. All of Sicily and beyond would be his even if he had to do it himself.

Dionysius Resurgent

With Carthage out of the picture, Dionysius's first move was to re-secure local control. This was done by rebuilding his forces and bullying the communities of Sicily back onto his side. In these matters, his greatest opposition came from the Sicel tribes and Ionian Greeks of the north east which had recently suffered at the tyrant's hands. The city of Rhegium in particular posed a threat in that it had arisen in might with the destruction of Messana which gave it control of the important straits between Sicily and Italy. To make matters worse, when Dionysius had attempted to arrange an alliance by seeking one of their noble daughters in marriage, the people of Rhegium merely offered him the executioner's daughter.

The following years thus became a great game of political and military maneuvers over control of Eastern Sicily. Part of this involved the founding of various colonies and the relocation of wartime refugees to secure strategic control of key regions. This was done by both sides with the peoples of the land serving as pawns in their schemes. Dionysius knew that winning this contest would take time and that while engaged it would leave him susceptible to a 2 front war should Carthage attack from the West. He therefore seems to have secured support from the central Sicani and Sikel tribes who might act as a buffer. As a part of this political realignment, the cities of Agyrium, Hermitage, and Assorus pledged their loyalty while the cities of Solus, Enna, and Cephaloedium were supposedly betrayed to the tyrant and sacked. Now Dionysius could focus his efforts on the east.

The Siege or Tauromenium

Thus in 394 BC, he raised a large army which likely boasted around 20,000 infantry and several thousand cavalry. His main target was the city of Tauromenium. It was actually a hilltop stronghold which had been built up by the Carthaginians and filled with Sikels just three years prior with the express purpose of serving as a bulwark against Syracusan expansion.This fortress could not be allowed to stand.

The Greek army approached from the south, camping in the ruins of Naxos, before continuing their advance against Tauromenium. Such a move would not have gone unnoticed. After all, the city lay perched atop the 200m tall Mt. Tauros and held a commanding view of the region. In addition it was surrounded by cliffs, ravines, and high walls which made a direct assault impossible without significant investment. Nonetheless Dionysius was determined to take it.

Operations apparently began quite late in the year as the Greeks established their encircling positions before settling down in the lowland region of Naxos to wait out the defenders. But the Sicels were well prepared and managed to hold on until the winter months approached. Normally this was a time when armies powered down. And yet for Dionysius this idle time was an opportunity to scheme. Whilst the snow fell heavily upon Mt. Tauros it was reported that the guards of Tauromenium had grown lax in their watch. This was the precise moment Dionysius had been waiting for.

Upon a moonless, stormy night he summoned a picked force of 600 mercenaries. Together they navigated the ravines of the mountains before coming to the base of the enemy’s acropolis. Here they made sure to secure any loose belongings and cover any flashing metal before beginning the ascent. In the cold, wet darkness they climbed. The jagged cliffs and howling winds likely took their toll on the men but Dionysius pressed on. Eventually the infiltrators had reached the top. Now, 600 men swarmed over the battlements, silencing the sentries and slaying any garrisons they came upon. By the light of dawn it appeared that Dionysius’s bold gamble had paid off.

However alarms were soon raised across the city as the defenders were roused from their beds. Soon these had gathered enough of their wits and their numbers to launch a counter-attack. Dionysius and his commandos may have been able to hold their advance in check initially but with exhaustion setting in and no source of reinforcements it was only a matter of time before a breach was formed by a persistent assault. Eventually this came and it washed over the Syracusans like a great tide, wiping out great swathes of the 600 mercenaries in the blink of an eye. These quickly sought the only escape available to them, the very cliffs they had scaled that night. We are told that as men tumbled off the ravines many lost their armor and their lives. Dionysius was one of the few to make it out alive. Rather than face further humiliation, the tyrant lifted the siege and withdrew his army to lick his wounds back home.