Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 900: Pressing towards Gela

Bomilcar asked with a start, “We aren't going to capture Selinus first?”

Despite Mago's old face turning reddish, he still spoke seriously, “After our recent attacks over the past few days, I believe you are aware that the Theonians have not only fortified the defence of Selinus but have also stationed their main force inside the city, and have high morale. Therefore, despite our number being far superior to theirs, we need to spend more time just to take the city, which we lack!”

Only then did Bomilcar remember Mago's promise to the Senate. Thus, he no longer hesitated and immediately expressed his willingness to lead the army.

Mago smiled and said, “You will lead a total of fifty thousand men: ten thousand Carthaginian soldiers, fifteen thousand soldiers from our Phoenician allies, and twenty-five thousand Numidian soldiers. This is ten thousand more than when Muntebaal attacked Minoa! I hope you will lead this army to Minoa tomorrow and not repeat the same mistake as Muntebaal. Take Minoa as soon as possible!”

But instead of becoming excited about leading such a massive army, Bomilcar asked with concern, “Lord Mago, if we continue with this arrangement, you won't have many soldiers left with you. In case the Theonians inside leave the city again-”

Although Bomilcar didn't continue speaking, his worries were apparent. He believed that if he followed Mago's proposal and led the army away, Mago would be left with fewer than twenty thousand troops from Iberia by his side. Moreover, this army comprised multiple races. Despite how powerful they are, they aren't easy to manage and lack loyalty. While he also had nearly ten thousand soldiers from their allies in western Sicily, they were inadequately trained and more suited for tasks such as supply transportation and camp construction rather than combat. Additionally, he had nearly ten thousand Numidian soldiers who had remained from the camp that the Theonians had attacked previously. The recent assault had clearly unnerved these black-skinned Numidians. To prevent their panic from affecting morale, Mago had specifically segregated them and spent the past few days training them, even preparing to send them to Lilybaeum to relieve the defenders there.

Mago, however, wasn't worried about that as he confidently said, “If the Theonians behave as you have described, it is precisely what I have been hoping for.”

Bomilcar finally stopped persuading and accepted the order. In fact, Mago would have forced him to agree even if he still disagreed because he had forcefully replaced numerous Carthaginian generals with officers from the Iberian army whom he trusted. This not only unsettled the soldiers in the Carthaginian army but also drew criticism from the Senate upon reaching Carthage. The Hanno faction went as far as to denounce Mago's actions, accusing him of seeking to transform the entire army into the private military of the Magonids to benefit his dictatorship.

Thus, Mago asked the neutral elder Bomilcar to temporarily take over the Carthaginian army to appease the soldiers and reassure the elders.

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On the second day, Bomilcar led his army out of camp and marched eastward along the coast.

With Mago not concealing this military action, Leotychides watch the large-scale mobilisation of the Carthaginians within their camp. He became anxious because he could surmise the reason behind the departure of the Carthaginian army. Despite considering seizing the opportunity to lead his entire army out of the city to attack the Carthaginian army still within the camp, the previous night raid had already given a wake-up call to the Carthaginians. Since they still dared to do such mobilisation, it could only mean they were prepared for it.

As Leotychides held the only army of the Theonian kingdom in Sicily, he could only act when there was a high chance of victory in a situation where their enemies outnumbered them. Therefore, he was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the fleet in Catania.

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Hasdrubal permitted his soldiers to loot and slaughter the whole city of Agrigento, partly to pay homage to his father, Himilco(who had also led the army that captured Agrigento), for the soldiers under his command to have something they could vent on and gain after marching arduously in the mountain and fighting a hard battle and partly to obtain a sufficiently large quantity of food.

He now achieved both purposes. Although Agrigento's territory wasn't known for its agriculture, as it was mountainous, it was known as a city of livestock. Therefore, Hasdrubal obtained enough livestock to sustain a twenty-thousand-strong army for half a month.

After a day's rest, Hasdrubal left a thousand men to garrison Agrigento. He then marched eastward along the coast with sixteen thousand men, aiming for Gela at the same time as Bomilcar headed to Minoa.

With the army having had to pass through the city of Inycum on its way forward, why hadn't Leotychides stationed reinforcements in this city before, and why had Hasdrubal not made Inycum their target? Because it was a small Greek city, only a little larger than Thermae, with its low walls only to keep out wild beasts and not able to hold back the enemy at all, Leotychides didn't hold out hope for it, and Hasdrubal didn't see it as an obstacle. (Note: Historically, it wasn't until a hundred years later that the tyrant of Agrigento built a new city on the cape of Inycum. Several decades later, in the first Punic War, the largest naval battle in ancient Western history occurred near the cape of this place. Carthage and Rome invested a total of six hundred eighty warships, with about two hundred ninety thousand sailors and soldiers on board, with Rome ultimately the victor.)

Sure enough, when Hasdrubal led his army to arrive, the residents of Inycum had already fled and left only an empty city, which allowed the Carthaginian army to advance smoothly.

After resting for a night, they continued to march eastward the next day and entered the territory of Gela at noon.

The city of Gela has a long history. It was established around five years after Syracuse by colonisers from the islands of Rhodes and Crete. They named it after the Gela River that flows through Gela’s territory.

Due to extensive soil erosion caused by the Gela River originating from the mountains, a fertile river plain emerged within the territory of Gela. Over decades, the people of Gela successfully transformed the river marshes, leading to the city's prosperity. Agrigento had just been established during this period, and Syracuse was confined to the island of Ortigia. A century ago, the heavily armed tyrant of Gela, Hippocrates, along with his successor, Gelon, embarked on an eastward conquest that eventually had the Greek colonial cities in Eastern Sicily, such as Messina and Kamarina, submitted to Gela's authority. Recognising Syracuse's strategic location, Gelon decided to relocate there, leaving his brother Hieron in charge of Gela. He also transferred half of Gela's population to Syracuse, sparking its prosperity. After Gelon's demise, Hieron also moved to Syracuse…marking the beginning of Gela's decline as Sicily's most powerful Greek city-state. Despite this, Gela maintained a close relationship with Syracuse.

The first conflict between Gela and Syracuse erupted just over twenty years ago. It began when the Carthaginian commander Himilco led a large army towards Syracuse, capturing Agrigento and then besieging Gela. Despite promises from Dionysius to send reinforcements, they failed to arrive, resulting in Gela's capture. Tensions escalated further as Syracuse emerged as the hegemon of the Greek city-states in Sicily, and Dionysius began heavily exploiting and oppressing their allies, including Gela. Despite dissatisfaction among the people of Gela, they were more afraid of Dionysius's powerful force and could only obey him.

When the Theonians defeated Syracuse, the people of Gela became grateful to Theonia. However, they were wary of the outsiders entering Sicily at the same time. So it took Theonia a decade of friendship with the surrounding city-states in Sicily to make the people of Gela finally let down their guard. In the war between Theonia and Carthage, Gela actively provided material assistance and sent troops to participate.

Now that the Carthaginian army is advancing towards the city, it has not only made the people of Gela nervous but has also stirred up concern in Syracuse and Catania. After all, compared to the battles in the western part, Gela is closer to them, thus capturing the public's attention.

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“Commander, Chaeris has come,” Muklu reported to Leotychides.

“Have him enter.”

A middle-aged officer wearing a helmet with a purple plume strode into the hall of the lord's mansion.

He was Chaeris, a Catanian. After Dionysius took over Catania, Chaeris became a refugee and fled to a settlement in the mountains for a while. Later, he quietly returned to the port of Catania and made a living by doing labour. He wasn't afraid of violence, helped the weak and the small, and dealt with things justly, thus earning him a high reputation among the exiles and freemen of the port of Catania. During the South-Italian War, he gave vital aid to Antrapolis, who was lurking in the port of Catania and even led the freemen to become one of the main forces in the subsequent uprising in Catania. After successfully retaking Catania, he also led his men to assist the First Legion in pursuing the routed troops of Macias.

However, after the end of the war and the annexation of Catania to the Kingdom of Theonia, this hero of the Catanians refused to become an official of the kingdom or a member of the city council. Instead, he volunteered to become a tribunal officer, and because of his outstanding performance, the people of Catania elected him to participate in Theonia's tribunal assembly yearly. At the same time, he is also the senior centurion of the First Brigade of the Eighth Legion and was deeply trusted by Leotychides.

“Commander, I, Chaeris, had come to report!” Chaeris then performed a military salute.