Lectures on the History of Rome (Volume 2); From the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: UNDER HIERO. 7 dominions, had gained possession of Agrigentum, and advanced as far as Gela and Camarina, so that she now occupied as great a portion of the island as after the first peace with Dionysius. Hiero's external relations to Carthage, however, were at that time of a friendly nature, and there is little dotfbt that an actual peace had been concluded between Carthage and Syracuse. The latter city had but few dependent towns, Catana and Tauromenium being allies. When Hiero had, by an excusable stretch of power, got rid of his old mercenaries, whom he betrayed in war, and caused to be cut to pieces by the Mamertines, and when he had firmly established his authority, he formed a new army, and undertook the war against the Mamertines,12 who had extended their sway over almost the whole of the north-eastern part of the island. Hiero was successful, and being supported by the Carthaginians, with whom he still kept up a good understanding, he gained a great battle. Messana was besieged by both in concert; and under these circumstances the Mamertines saw no means of escape. It was the wish of Hiero to destroy them, because they endeavoured to annihilate the Greek population; but the Carthaginians had not the same interest in so doing, and merely wished to expel them from the island; for as they were Oscans and Italicans, and of the same race as the Romans, the Carthaginians mistrusted them, and feared lest they should open to the Romans the way into Sicily, which they themselves were anxious to keep clear of an Italian population. It was, moreover, the intention of the Carthaginians, in case of success, to keep Messana for themselves, and to use Hiero as their tool.13 The Romans had, in the meantime, punished their faithless allies, and compelled the legion besieged at Rhe...