Siege of Akragas (406 BC) 406 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 406 BC | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Greco-Carthaginian War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.3111, 13.5765 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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 for the Greek raids on Punic colonies in Sicily. The city 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 perished from the plague, and the survivors were in dire straits after the Greeks managed to cut their supply lines. 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Akragas (406 BC) (revision 1370738588), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Agrigentum 261 BC · 1 km
- Battle of Phintias 249 BC · 40 km
- Battle of Cape Ecnomus 256 BC · 41 km
- Battle of Gela (405 BC) 405 BC · 66 km
- Battle of Selinus 409 BC · 73 km
- Battle of Himera (409 BC) 409 BC · 76 km
Other battles of the Greco-Carthaginian War
- Battle of Himera (409 BC) 409 BC
- Battle of Selinus 409 BC
- Battle of Gela (405 BC) 405 BC
- Siege of Lilybaeum (c. 277 BC) 276 BC
All 5 battles of the Greco-Carthaginian War →
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