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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §20.59.1-20.59.4

Division of the Carthaginian Army to Relieve the Siege

Passage 247 of 301 · Greek

Summary

To address the siege and food shortage, Carthage decides to split its army into three divisions and dispatch them, which successfully alleviates the scarcity of resources in the city and forces the enemy to divide their forces.

§20.59.1μέχρι μὲν δὴ τούτων τῶν καιρῶν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ κατὰ νοῦν ἅπαντα τὰ πράγματα τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀρχάγαθον ἦν.
Up to these times indeed, all things in Libya were according to the mind of Archagathus and his followers.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῆς γερουσίας ἐν Καρχηδόνι βουλευσαμένης περὶ τοῦ πολέμου καλῶς ἔδοξε τοῖς συνέδροις τρία στρατόπεδα ποιήσαντας ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐκπέμψαι, τὸ μὲν ἐπὶ τὰς παραθαλαττίους πόλεις, τὸ δʼ εἰς τὴν μεσόγειον, τὸ δʼ εἰς τοὺς ἄνω τόπους.
But after this, when the senate in Carthage had deliberated concerning the war, it seemed good to the councillors to form three armies and send them out of the city: one against the coastal cities, one into the inland, and one into the upper regions.
§20.59.2ἐνόμιζον γὰρ τοῦτο πράξαντες πρῶτον μὲν τὴν πόλιν ἀπαλλάξειν τῆς πολιορκίας, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τῆς σιτοδείας· πολλῶν γὰρ καὶ παντοδαπῶν ὄχλων συμπεφευγότων εἰς τὴν Καρχηδόνα συνέβαινε πάντων γεγονέναι σπάνιν, ἐξανηλωμένων ἤδη τῶν ἐπιτηδείων· ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς πολιορκίας οὐκ ἦν κίνδυνος, ἀπροσίτου τῆς πόλεως οὔσης διὰ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν καὶ τῆς θαλάττης ὀχυρότητα· §20.59.3ἔπειθʼ ὑπελάμβανον καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους διαμένειν μᾶλλον πλειόνων στρατοπέδων ὄντων ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τῶν παραβοηθούντων· τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, ἤλπιζον καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκασθήσεσθαι μερίζειν τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ μακρὰν ἀποσπᾶσθαι τῆς Καρχηδόνος.
For they thought that by doing this they would, first of all, deliver the city from the siege, and at the same time also from the food shortage; for, since many and diverse crowds had fled together into Carthage, it happened that there was a scarcity of all things, the provisions having already been consumed; and from the siege there was no danger, the city being inaccessible due to its strength from the walls and the sea; secondly, they supposed that the allies would also remain more faithful if there were more armies in the field to assist them; and, what was most important, they hoped that the enemy also would be compelled to divide their forces and be drawn far away from Carthage.
ἅπερ ἅπαντα κατὰ τὴν ἐπίνοιαν αὐτῶν συνετελέσθη· §20.59.4τρισμυρίων μὲν γὰρ στρατιωτῶν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐκπεμφθέντων οἱ καταλειπόμενοι ἔμποροι οὐχ οἷον ἱκανὰ πρὸς αὐτάρκειαν εἶχον, ἀλλʼ ἐκ περιουσίας ἐχρῶντο δαψιλέσι πᾶσιν, οἵ τε σύμμαχοι τὸ πρὸ τοῦ διὰ τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων φόβον ἀναγκαζόμενοι προστίθεσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις τότε πάλιν θαρρήσαντες
All of which things were accomplished according to their plan; for, thirty thousand soldiers having been sent out of the city, the remaining merchants not only had enough for self-sufficiency, but from abundance enjoyed all things lavishly, and the allies, who previously had been compelled through fear of the enemy to side with the enemy, then taking courage again

Notes

  1. §20.59.1ποιήσαντας — Accusative masculine plural participle, agreeing with the unexpressed subject-accusative of the infinitive "ἐκπέμψαι" (to send out). Although there is a dative in the main clause ("τοῖς συνέδροις"), the accusative is used here in accordance with the common Greek syntax where the subject of an infinitive is put in the accusative.
  2. §20.59.2ἀπαλλάξειν — Future active infinitive of "ἀπαλλάσσω", forming an indirect statement after "ἐνόμιζον" (they thought). It takes "τὴν πόλιν" as its accusative subject/object and the genitives "τῆς πολιορκίας... τῆς σιτοδείας" as genitives of separation.
  3. §20.59.4οὐχ οἷον — An idiomatic phrase meaning "not only... but..." or "so far from... that...". In the structure "οὐχ οἷον... ἀλλʼ...", it correlates with the subsequent clause to emphasize that they not only had enough for self-sufficiency but indeed possessed a lavish abundance.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §20.59.1-20.59.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.59.1-20.59.4

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