The Syracusan-Agyrian War was a war fought between the Greek city-state of Syracuse and the Hellenized Sicel city-state of Agyrion in eastern Sicily from 399 to 396 BC. The war resulted in the conquest of Sicania by Syracuse, whose ambitious tyrant Dionysius I came to rule over the eastern half of Sicily, and became a major powerbroker in Magna Graecia.
Background[]
For Dionysius of Syracuse, power was only a tool with which to gain more power. Having consolidated his grip over the magnificent polis and nearby cities, by 399 BC, the tyrant was preparing to unite all Greek communities in Sicily one way or another. Only in that was would Syracuse be able to thwart the threat of the intolerable Carthaginian invaders, who defiled Sicilian soil with their presence. Once they were forced out for good, Dionysius could turn his attention towards Magna Graecia, home of yet more Greeks, who would be forced to acknowledge his supremacy.
Dionysius immediately established friendly relations with the polis of Acragas (Agrigento) to the west, establishing a buffer against Carthaginian expansion from their foothold of Motya (Marsala). While Carthage and Acragas engaged in back-and-forth fighting in the vicinity of Entella (Contessa Entellina), Dionysius set about consolidating Syracuse's might. He and his general Hipparinus assembled powerful armies in Sikelia before marching to the River Simeto border with the Hellenized Sicel city-state of Agyrion (Agira). Archon Hermokrates had refused to grant Dionysius' armies military access through his territory, and the idea of a Syracusan-Agyrian alliance was a non-starter for the warlike Sicels. In response, Dionysius chose Agyrion, rather than friendly and cooperative Acragas, to serve as his first target during his unification of Sicily.
War[]
In the autumn of 399 BC, Dionysius and his general Hipparinus readied their armies along the southern bank of the Simeto. While Hipparinus continued to amass troops north of Leontini, Dionysius - having bolstered his forces with mercenaries from Umbria (spearmen), Sardi (bowmen), the Sicels (slingers), and his fellow Greeks (hippeus cavalry) - decided to strike at the border town of Katane (Catania) with his 2,080-strong army. His army easily overcame the smaller Agyrian garrison with 222 losses, and, shortly after, Dionysius was able to leverage his growing military might to persuade Acragas to enter into a defensive alliance with Syracuse. In the winter of early 398 BC, Dionysius obtained the support of Sparta by exporting much of Syracuse's harvest to Laconia following a fire that incinerated several Laconian granaries and almost led Sparta to starvation. That spring, eager to prove himself equal to the powerful poleis in Hellas itself, Dionysius marched northwest from Katane to attack Agyrion itself, supported by Hipparinus' army from the south. The combined Syracusan armies took the city by storm with 1,504 losses, around a third of their number; while the Syracusans had suffered heavy losses, the Agyrian armies chose to abandon their capital and retreat north towards the shore at Kephaloidion (Cefalu). Hermokrates himself took shelter in the port town, and, that summer, the Syracusan armies resumed their advance north and besieged the town. Because the Agyrian defenders enjoyed the support of the Agyrian navy, they were able to hold out against the Syracusan siege, and the Syracusan armies suffered from attrition as the Agyrians launched sorties and starvation and disease played their roles in the prolonged investment. At the same time, Syracuse began to suffer from a wave of banditry and violence from a band of strong young men from mainland Greece who had come to Sicily as refugees and were welcomed by Dionysius, in spite of the locals' mistrust. In the winter of 397 BC, the Agyrians attempted a sortie, but they were heavily defeated. Nonetheless, the siege continued until the spring of 397 BC, when the weakened defenders were overwhelmed by a Syracusan assault. Hermokrates and a few of his bodyguards escaped by ship, and Hermokrates' repeated attempts to sue for peace were declined by Dionysius, who was intent on finishing off Agyrion. While Hipparinus' army garrisoned Kephaloidion in the event of a Carthaginian advance into eastern Sicily, Dionysius advanced along the northern coast of Sicily and the Nebrodi mountain range before reaching Agyrion's last stronghold, Messini, in the winter of 396 BC. Dionysius recruited hundreds of mercenaries to bolster his depleted ranks, and, while his 1,548-strong army lost half of its strength in the assault, Dionysius succeeded in storming and capturing Messini, trampling Agyrion into the dust.
Aftermath[]
The victory of Syracuse over Agyrion in 396 BC put Dionysius in a position to become an influential powerbroker in Magna Graecia. Now in control of the eastern half of Sicily, Dionysius considered many options, including the violent annexation of Acragas or supporting the losing Acragantine armies against the powerful Carthaginian invaders around Entella, or - in the more distant future - mounting an invasion of mainland Italy and taking on the rival regional power of Rhegion in present-day Calabria. After securing a trade agreement with Rhegion, Dionysius decided to focus his immediate attention on unifying Sicily and driving the Carthaginians back across the Mediterranean.