Malchus (; '','' '';'' grc-gre, Μάλχος'', Malchōs'') was a
Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage.
It can also refer to:
* Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921
* Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...
general and statesman in the 6th century BCE. It was under his tenure that the systematic conquest of the rest of coastal
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
by Carthage began.
Biography
He was sent to
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
as commander sometime after
576 BC, likely due to the
Phoenician (and possibly also
Elymian
The Elymians ( grc-gre, Ἔλυμοι, ''Élymoi''; Latin: ''Elymi'') were an ancient tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity.
Origins
According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, the Elymians ...
) cities' pleas for help against
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
expansion westward into the island. It is not certain whether Carthaginian troops were already stationed on Sicily beforehand. It's possible that Malchus captured the Greek city of
Selinus
Selinunte (; grc, Σελῑνοῦς, Selīnoûs ; la, Selīnūs , ; scn, Silinunti ) was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modion ...
and the Phoenician colonies of
Motya
Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum (modern Trapani) and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala). It is within the present-day commune of Marsala, Italy.
Man ...
,
Panormus and
Soluntum
Soluntum or Solus was an ancient city on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily near present-day in the comune of Santa Flavia, Italy. In antiquity, it was originally one of the three chief Phoenician settlements in the island and later flourished in ...
during the ensuing battles. Although it remains unclear whether he fought against Pentathlus of
Cnidus
Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern side o ...
, legendary founder of
Lilybaeum
Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily.
The town is famous for the docking of Giuse ...
'','' or the tyrant
Phalaris
Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC.
History
Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...
of
Akragas
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
, it is safe to assume that Malchus was generally successful with his campaign on the island.
Towards the middle of the 6th century BCE, he waged war against the
Libu
The Libu ( egy, rbw; also transcribed Rebu, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives.
Early history
Their occupation of Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language text ...
for control over
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
.
Around
540 BC
The year 540 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 214 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 540 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
, Malchus is sent to
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
at the command of an army, numbering 80,000 men according to the Roman historian
Justin
Justin may refer to: People
* Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin
* Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire
* Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...
, presumably to support the resident Phoenicians against the indigenous
Nuragic Sardinians. With several military victories, he succeeds in establishing
Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
settlements on the island. Though after a decisive defeat, he and his remaining troops are exiled by the Carthaginian People's Assembly. In response, Malchus besieges
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
with his army. During the siege, he has his son Carthalo, who had refused to join his side, seized and crucified.
[Geus, Klaus (1994), Prosopographie der Literarisch Bezeugten Karthager, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, Vol. 59, Studia Phoenica, No. 13, Leuven: Peeters, ISBN 9789068316438. (in German)] Soon after, he manages to conquer the city and has ten elders, who had advocated for his exile, executed. Eventually, he is nonetheless brought to justice by
Mago, among others, for aspiring to the throne and executed.
Bibliography
*
Marcus Junianus Justinus, ''Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum'' XIII,7 & XXIV,7,7–15
*
Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...
, ''Historiae adversum Paganos'' 4,6,8.
See also
*
Sicilian Wars
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC.
Carthage's econo ...
*
Magonid dynasty
*
Carthalo __NOTOC__
Carthalo ( xpu, 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤇𐤋𐤑, ,. "Saved by Melqart";. grc-gre, Καρθάλων, ''Karthálōn''; died around 209BC) was an officer in Hannibal's army during the Second Punic War.
Life
Carthalo led the Numidian cavalry in a ...
, an officer during the Second Punic War
*
History of Sardinia
Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of Sardinia is present in the form of nuraghes and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various ...
*
Military of Carthage
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malchus
Carthaginian generals
6th-century BC Punic people