Agathocles of Syracuse
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Date: 2021-12-04

Agathocles of Syracuse, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1840 / CC BY SA 3.0

#361_BC_births
#289_BC_deaths
#Ancient_Greek_generals
#Sicilian_tyrants
#4th-century_BC_Syracusans
#Ancient_Himeraeans
#Greek_exiles
#4th-century_BC_Greek_people
#3rd-century_BC_Syracusans
#4th-century_BC_monarchs
Coin of Agathocles.
Agathocles （Greek: Ἀγαθοκλῆς, Agathoklḗs; 361–289 BC） was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse （317–289 BC） and self-styled king of Sicily （304–289 BC）.
Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae （modern name Termini Imerese） in Sicily.
The son of a potter who had moved to Syracuse in about 343 BC, he learned his father's trade, but afterwards entered the army along with his brother Antander.
In 333 BC he married the widow of his patron Damas, a distinguished and wealthy citizen.
He was twice banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party in Syracuse.
In 317 BC he returned with an army of mercenaries under a solemn oath to observe the democratic constitution which was established after they took the city.
Having massacred the oligarchs and the richest of the citizenry, he thus made himself master of Syracuse, and he created a strong army and fleet and subdued the greater part of Sicily.
War with Carthage followed.
In 311 BC Agathocles was defeated in the Battle of the Himera River and besieged in Syracuse.
In 310 BC he made a desperate effort to break through the blockade and attack Carthage.
He landed at Cap Bon in August 310 BC, and was able to defeat the Carthaginians for the first time, and establish a camp near Tunis.
He then turned east, and tried to take over trading coastal cities such as Neapolis and Hadrumetum, and on this occasion concluded an alliance with Ailymas,
king of the Libyans according to Diodorus of Sicily, in an attempt to surround and isolate Carthage.
After capturing Hadrumetum, Thapsus and other coastal towns, Agathocles turned his attention to central Tunisia.
Before or during this campaign, he broke his alliance wit...