The Magonids
Around 550 BC a certain ruler Mago founded a new dynasty at Carthage. With the arrival of Mago Carthaginian foreign policy appears to have changed dramatically. If previously Carthage had tentatively colonized the island of Ibiza on its own, it now took the lead, establishing itself firmly as the dominant Phoenician military power in the western Mediterranean. Although it still remained an economic dependent of Tyre, it now acted increasingly independently.

If Mago was a ruler of Carthage, it is perhaps wrong to imagine him as a king. Far more Carthage had a Council of Elders and a People's Assembly. Though Mago appears to have dominated Carthaginian politics as 'tyrant'. The way though by which 'tyrants' were chosen remains obscure. It appears that there was some religious connection, as the Magonid dynasty was a lineage of warlike elected high priests. But it does seem as though they were elected for a limited amount of time and thereafter need to seek re-election.

One of Mago's political achievements was a alliance with the Etruscans against the Greeks. This alliance should last until around the time when Rome expelled the Etruscan kings, for Rome itself now made a treaty with Carthage. Mago was succeeded by his son Hasdrubal, who was elected 'tyrant' eleven times. The next successor was Hamilcar, the son of Hasdrubal's brother Hanno. Carthage, always trying to rid itself of its opponent, the Greeks, might even have entered into an alliance with the Persian Xerxes (the accounts are unsure) in order to defeat the joint foe. The decisive battle of Himera between Carthaginian and Greek forces on Sicily might even have taken place on the very same day that the Greeks met with the Persians in the famous battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC in Greece itself in 480 BC. But the Greeks were victorious in both battles and Hamilcar met his death at Himera. If truly there ever was an alliance between Persia and Carthage then 480 BC saw the end of it.

After Hamilcar's death in 480 BC, the dynasty continued on with Hamilcar's son Hanno 'the Navigator' up to 440 BC, under whom a large part of Carthage's African dominions were conquered and more of the Atlantic coast of Africa was explored and settled. Great advances were also made in African inland trade. Meanwhile Carthage appeared to make an effort in keeping itself out of any new wars on Sicily. If this peace and her newly acquired vast trading empire made Carthage rich, then it also helped rebuild the Carthaginian military forces.

By 410 BC Hannibal (son of Gisco and grandson of Hamilcar) was the 'king' of Carthage. No sooner was he in power he already set out on a new campaign in Sicily, which in 409 BC ended in the utter destruction of the city of Selinus, ally of the powerful Greek city state of Syracuse. Hannibal achieved true notoriety with the sheer destruction he wrought and with the cruelty with which he slaughtered thousands of prisoners.

It was at the siege of the Greek city of Agrigentum that an epidemic swept through the Carthaginian camp which killed Hannibal. Hannibal's cousin Himilco (son of Hanno the Navigator and grandson of Hamilcar) now assumed the reigns of power over Carthage. He was only formerly crowned king in 396 BC, but this most likely means that a Carthaginian 'king' could only be installed in the city of Carthage itself and so he had to wait to receive his title formally until he returned home from Sicily. He should spend his time on Sicily in an on-and-off war with the great Syracusan tyrant Dionysius until in 396 BC he was disastrously defeated, fleeing Sicily in disgrace with Carthaginian refugees whilst abandoning his remaining mercenary troops to be slaughtered by the victorious Greeks. Himilco later comitted suicide.

The Magonid dynasty itself was, so it seems, not quite finished yet. Mago, Himilco's nephew inherited the title of leader at first. His first task was to try and quell a Libyan revolt which came close to overthrowing Carthaginian rule altogether. Thereafter he set out to Sicily again and later even to southern Italy, to occupy himself with Dionysius. What Mago lacked in military ability he made up for with diplomatic skill. But finally he fell in the Battle of Cronion (378 BC) in southern Italy against the Syracusan army. Alas, Carthage and Syracuse agreed a peace. What is intriguing about this time is that, if earlier 'kings' of Carthage, though required to put important decisions to the Council of Elders, had enjoyed almost absolute power.

But things after the death of Himilco began to change. Some argue dramatic change followed immediately after Himilco's death, but most historians say it was a gradual change thereafter. In fact it appeared to affect Mago's reign very little. Nonetheless the aristocracy of Carthage gradually seized more and more power for itself. Somehow the system appeared to turn back to where it had been prior to the original Mago coming to power as founder of the Magonid dynasty. The Council of Elders increasingly took control of government. This increased confidence of the aristocracy may well have been brought about by the increasing influx of Greek ideas, as Carthage became more and more sophisticated and 'Hellenized'. Generally Carthaginian society seemed to be changing. Even in its religion, Carthage now came to favour the goddess Tanit over her consort Ba'al Hammon.

After the death of Mago, his son Himilco never came to rule, at least not formally. He apparently died a short time after his father in the plague.

The Hannonians
The landowning aristocracy of Carthage needed not to be asked twice to assume power. The title of 'king' or 'tyrant' continued in its existence, but it now was of clearly diminished power. Not to be forgotten in all this is the People's Assembly, which acted as deciding party if the aristocratic Council of Elders and the king could not agree on something. Additional to this there was the Tribunal of the 104, which was a court of aristocrats who would act as the highest court. As the aristocracy seized more power through the Council of Elders, then very quickly two factions emerged. One was led by Eshmuniaton who appeared to command most support from the aristocrats, the other was Hanno the Great, who being appointed commander of the Carthaginian forces was a military, although no doubt also an aristocrat. In his position as supreme commander, Hanno more than likely occupied the position of 'king'.

Hanno rode on a wave of popular support, as the war with Syracuse was once more renewed and Carthage was gripped by ardent nationalism. His main enemy Eshuniaton was soon disposed of in the courts, condemned for treason. Next he picked up the fight against Syracuse and that old foe Dionysius who died in 367 BC, which soon brought the hostilities to an end. But soon after an alliance between Syracuse and Tarentum strengthened the Greeks. So much so, that Carthage and the Etruscans made a pact of their own to protect themselves from such increased Greek power.

Peace with Syracuse meant that Hanno could dedicate himself to other conquests. Campaigns were fought in Libya, Spain and Mauretania. However, at some point Hanno the Great then was no longer content with his position and tried to overthrow the Council of Elders. In fact the accounts tell that he sought to have them all assassinated. As this mass assassination failed he thereafter attempted to organize a revolt. This attempt also failed. Hanno the Great was executed in gruesomely brutal fashion, and most members of his family were killed, too. The date of Hanno's fall is however unknown. Most likely he was overthrown some when in the 350's BC. If the Carthaginian Council of Elders had found a means of creating a powerful general and a powerful king who shared power (perhaps faintly comparable to the two consuls of Rome), then Hanno the Great had tilted this balance by removing Eshuniaton. Now, after the death of Hanno the Great, this balance was restored.

In 345 BC the Carthaginians then launched a large scale military campaign in Sicily. Syracuse was no longer the supreme power it had once been in the Mediterranean. Lots of small powers, war bands and tribal princes sought to control their part of the island. Into this chaos Carthage send a force of 50'000 infantry, backed by cavalry, a large fleet war chariots and a large train of siege engines. However the Greeks received assistance from Corinth under the able commander Timoleon who drove the Carthaginian forces out. The Carthaginian commander Mago committed suicide rather than face the Tribunal of 104, who he knew would condemn him to death for such failure. The Carthaginian response was to send forth another army, commanded by two generals named Hasdrubal and Hamilcar, which was defeated at the Battle of Crimisus. Most notably the 'Sacred Battalion', the very elite of the Carthaginian army, consisting of three thousand noblemen, was annihilated. The defeat was staggering and ranks among the greatest Carthaginian military disasters. One of the generals, Hasdrubal, was condemned by the Tribunal of 104 and executed. The great disaster brought about the comeback of the family of Hanno the Great. Public passions ran high and the imperialist powers surrounding the survivors of the Hannonian family gained the upper hand.

And so Hanno the Great's son Gisco was recalled from exile and acceded to the position of melek (king), a title which his son, Hamilcar, should also bear. With the arrival of Gisco on the throne a new peace with the Greeks was soon reached. The peace that followed saw a further upturn in Carthaginian trade and wealth. With greater wealth came ever more Greek influence and sophistication. The succession of kings is a bit confused. Both the succession is not necessarily always clear and the amount of men bearing the same names does definitely not help matters.

In 330 BC Agathocles came to power in Syracuse. He was actually aided by the Carthaginian general Hamilcar, who was the nephew of Gisco. This Hamilcar however was soon after ousted from his position by the Tribunal of 104 for this very action. (Or, as some say, for plotting with the Syracusans to seize control of Carthage.) He was succeeded by Gisco's son also called Hamilcar who after some time of preparation defeated Agathocles at Ecnomus in 311 BC. But Agathocles, rather than stay in Syracuse to fend off a Carthaginian siege, took his foes by complete surprise by sailing south and landing his troops in North Africa (310 BC). In a state of panic Carthage quickly appointed two commanders to fend off the attacker. One was Bomilcar, nephew of the Hamilcar who had made the initial treaty with Agathocles. Despite such their joint heritage, Bomilcar's line of the family is seen to have been in bitter rivalry with that of king Hamilcar, who was still at the head of his army in Italy.

Of the two leaders at Carthage Hanno soon fell in battle. Bomilcar had to retreat, if not flee, before the army of Agathocles. At such time of crisis Carthage reverted partly back to its old ways, sacrificing 300 children of noble birth.

But Agathocles did not possess the forces necessary to attack the well fortified city of Carthage and instead contented himself in raiding the countryside in an effort to bring the territories of Carthage to switch their allegiance to his side.

If king Hamilcar in Sicily did send some troops back to Africa then he retained his main army to continue the siege of Syracuse. He was however captured during one assault and died a gruesome death at the hands of his enemies torturers. And so in 309 BC the title of melek (king) passed on to Bomilcar, nephew of the Hamilcar. But as with Hanno the Great he once more united the position of general and sole leader in his person. But rather than concentrating on the enemy, Bomilcar put his efforts into an attempt of overthrowing the Council of Elders and seizing power for himself (309/308 BC). However, his attempt saw a popular uprising, with the people taking up arms against his troops. Bomilcar himself was captured, tortured and crucified.

This latest attempt by a Carthaginian 'king' to make himself a tyrant was the final straw for the Council of Elders and they abolished the monarchy altogether. The title of 'king' was still used thereafter, but was purely honorary and held no constitutional powers. Power in future should lie with the Council of Elders and the generals.


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