The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians (Vol. 1 of 6)Rollin, Charles
History
The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians (Vol. 1 of 6)
Rollin, Charles
History, Ancient
After this, Timoleon, leaving the mercenary troops in the Carthaginian
territories to waste and destroy them, returned to Syracuse. On his
arrival there, he banished the thousand soldiers who had deserted him; and
took no other revenge than the commanding them to leave Syracuse before
sun-set.
This victory gained by the Corinthians was followed by the capture of a
great many cities, which obliged the Carthaginians to sue for peace.
In proportion as the appearance of success made the Carthaginians
vigorously exert themselves to raise powerful armies both by land and sea,
and prosperity led them to make an insolent and cruel use of victory; so
their courage would sink in unforeseen adversities, their hopes of new
resources vanish, and their grovelling souls condescend to ask quarter of
the most inconsiderable enemy, and without sense of shame accept the
hardest and most mortifying conditions. Those now imposed were, that they
should possess only the lands lying beyond the river Halycus;(637) that
they should give all the natives free liberty to retire to Syracuse with
their families and effects; and that they should neither continue in the
alliance, nor hold any correspondence with the tyrants of that city.
About this time, in all probability, there happened at Carthage a
memorable incident, related by Justin.(638) Hanno, one of its most
powerful citizens, formed a design of seizing upon the republic, by
destroying the whole senate. He chose, for the execution of this bloody
plan, the day on which his daughter was to be married, on which occasion
he designed to invite the senators to an entertainment, and there poison
them all. The conspiracy was discovered; but Hanno had such influence,
that the government did not dare to punish so execrable a crime; the
magistrates contented themselves with only preventing it, by an order
which forbade, in general, too great a magnificence at weddings, and
limited the expense on those occasions. Hanno, seeing his stratagem
defeated, resolved to employ open force, and for that purpose armed all
the slaves. However, he was again discovered; and, to escape punishment,
retired, with twenty thousand armed slaves, to a castle that was very
strongly fortified, and there endeavoured, but without success, to engage
in his rebellion the Africans and the king of Mauritania. He afterwards
was taken prisoner, and carried to Carthage; where, after being whipped,
his eyes were put out, his arms and thighs broken; he was put to death in
presence of the people, and his body, all torn with stripes, was hung on a
gibbet. His children and all his relations, though they had not joined in
his guilt, shared in his punishment. They were all sentenced to die, in
order that not a single person of his family might be left, either to
imitate his crime, or revenge his death. Such was the temper of the
Carthaginians; ever severe and violent in their punishments, they carried
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