Antigonus attempts to renew his alliance with the Macedonian general and former regent Polyperchon, who still controls part of the Peloponnesus. He sends Heracles, the illegitimate son of Alexander the Great, to Polyperchon to be treated as a pretender to the throne of Macedonia.
Polyperchon manages to form an army consisting of 20,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry and challenges Cassander's army. Instead of fighting, Cassander starts negotiations with Polyperchon. By offering to make him a general of his own army and placing him as governor of Peloponnesus, he convinces Polyperchon to change allegiance to him instead of Heracles. As a result, Polyperchon murders Heracles and his mother Barsine.
A census is carried out in Athens. 21,000 citizens, 10,000 foreign residents and 400,000 others – women, children and slaves – are living in the city.
Ptolemy arrives at Kos and sends for Ptolemaeus (the nephew of Antigonus – who has revolted against Antigonus) to join him to discuss strategy. After finding out Ptolemaeus plans to take over his army and fleet, Ptolemy forces him to commit suicide.[1]
Carthage
Since 480 BC, an aristocratic Council of Elders has effectively ruled Carthage. The titular king of Carthage, Bomilcar, attempts a coup to restore the monarchy to full power. His attempt fails, which leads to Carthage becoming, in name as well as in fact, a republic.
Leaving his brother Antander to continue the defence of Syracuse, Agathocles lands in North Africa with the aim of distracting the Carthaginians from their siege of Syracuse. Agathocles concludes a treaty with Ophellas, ruler of Cyrenaica. He then takes advantage of the civil unrest in Carthage and nearly succeeds in conquering the city.
Soon after the State of Qin has conquered the State of Shu (in modern-day Sichuan province), they employ the Shu engineer Bi Ling to create the Guanxian irrigation system, which will eventually provide for over five million people in an area of 40 to 50 square miles (130 km2), still in use today.
Antigonus marches his main army east to confront Seleucus. The Antigonid and Seleucid armies meet somewhere in southern Mesopotamia or northern Babylonia and a battle is fought to a draw. The next morning Seleucus launches a surprise attack on Antigonus' camp and wins a simple victory. After his defeat Antigonus gives up on his ambitions to reconquer the eastern provinces.[3]
The Etruscans sue for peace with Rome, which is granted by the Romans on severe terms.
North Africa
The Carthaginians send out an army to coerce the Zuphones, a Numidian tribe, back into their alliance with Carthage; they are successful in their endeavour.[5]
Agathocles leaves his main army under the command of his son Archagathus encamped before Tunis while he, with a strikeforce of 8,000 infantry, 800 cavalry and 50 chariots, marches after the Carthaginian army.[5]
The Carthaginians send the Numidians to harass Agathocles' strike force, the skirmishing draws in more and more troops until it eventually leeds to a battle which is won by Agathocles.[5]
While Agathocles was in pursuit of the defeated Carthaginian army, the Numidians (who had retreated from the battle earlier on) attack his camp and ride off with a part of his army's booty. Agathocles returns to his camp, divides what is left of the booty (so no one can complain) and sets up a victory trophy.[6]
Agathocles sends Orthon the Syracusan to Cyrene to request aid in subduing Carthage from Ophellas (Ptolemy's governor of Cyrenaica).[7]
Ophellas recruits an army of 10,000 infantry, 600 cavalry and 100 chariots for his campaign in support of Agathocles.[8]
After a arduous march from Cyrenaica to Carthaginian Libya Ophellas' forces link up with Agathocles' army.[8][9]
Agathocles lures Ophellas into a false sense of security and launches a surprise attack on his camp. Ophellas is killed in the fighting and Agathocles takes over Ophellas' army, adding its numbers to his own.[9]
While the Carthaginian army is away from the city, Bomilcar tries to make himself tyrant of Carthage. He fails and is executed.[10][11]
Antigonus prepares an expedition to Greece under his son Demetrius. They gather a fleet of 250 ships and a large army in western Asia Minor. Antigonus gives his son 5.000 talents and some of his top officers, chief among them Medius of Larissa and Aristodemus of Miletus.
Greece
At the beginning of June (the 26th day of the Attic month of Thargelion: Plut. Dem. 8,3) Demetrius, son of Antigonus, launches a surprise attack on Pireaus, Athens' harbour; his forces are able to secure control of the entire port city, except the fortress on the Munychia which remains in the hands of Dionysius, the commander of Cassander's garrison in Athens.
Demetrius of Phalerum, who ruled Athens for 10 years with the support of Cassander, recognizes his position has become untenable. He opens up negotiations, and after several diplomatic exchanges involving Aristodemus of Miletus, Antigonus top diplomat, he is given safe conduct to Thebes. Eventually he settles in Alexandria[13]
Demetrius captures the fortress on the Munychia and razes it to the ground. The old democracy, with the old constitution, is re-established in Athens under the leadership of Stratocles and Demochares. The grateful Athenians honour Antigonus and Demetrius as divine saviours (theoi soteres).[13]
Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, (who has been campaigning in North Africa for several years) launches a surprise attack on Utica. He captures around 300 citizens outside the walls and tries to negotiate a surrender of the city; Utica refuses. Agathocles then uses the prisoners as human shields by binding them to his siege engines.[16]
Agathocles assaults the walls of Utica. The Uticans, despite having to inflict death and injury on their fellow citizens, fiercely defend their city. Eventually, Agathocles' army is able to break into the city, they sacked the city and left behind a garrison.[16][17]
Agathocles besieges and takes a town called Hippu Acra. After capturing Hippu Acra several towns and cities come over to his side; even some Numidian tribes start sending their warriors to join Agathocles.[17]
With his expeditionary army now superior in numbers to the Carthaginians, Agathocles decides to leave his son Archagathus in command of the African campaign and return to Sicily. He starts constructing transports and when enough ships have been built sets sail for Sicily.[17]
Archagathus sends Eumachus, one of his father's generals, on two successful inland campaigns. On both occasions Eumachus gained a lot of war booty.[18][19]
Carthage musters (30,000 soldiers in total) and sends out three armies; one inland, one into the midlands, and one against the cities along the coast.[20]
Archagathus counters by dividing his army in three and sending them against the Carthaginian armies. Unfortunately for the Greeks, one army (commanded by Aeschrion) gets ambushed and another (commanded by Eumachus) is defeated in battle. Archagathus retreats to Tunis, regroups his army and sends messengers to his father in Sicily to inform him on the situation .The Carthaginians concentrate their forces at Tunis as well and start a blockade of the city.[21][22]
Agathocles returns to his expeditionary army. Trying to restore his army's moral, he fights a battle under less than ideal conditions and suffers a bloody defeat (losing 3,000 soldiers).[23]
During a victory ceremony involving human sacrifice (the Carthaginians sacrificed prisoners of war by burning them alive) the Carthaginian camp catches fire, in the ensuing panic the Carthaginian army breaks and flees back to Carthage.[24][25]
5,000 Libyans deserters, who came fleeing back to Agathocles' camp, cause panic in the Greek camp, scattering the army.[26]
After the lost battle and the night-time panic, all his Libyan allies desert. With his army in no condition to fight on, Agathocles decides to return to Sicily.[27][28]
Agathocles abandons his army and his sons and secretly sails back to Sicily. His soldiers kill his sons in anger.[27][28]
Sicily
Xenodocus, a general from Acragas, leads an army of 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry against Agathocles' generals on Sicily. Leptines and Demophilus, two of Agathocles' generals, oppose Xenoducus with 8,200 infantry and 1,200 cavalry. Xenoducus is defeated and retreats to Acragas. As a result of this defeat the people of Acragas give up the fight against Agathocles.[29]
Agathocles puts in at Selinus, marches on Heraclea (probably Heraclea Minoa) and forces its people to submit once more. He then marches across the island on the city of Therma, makes a treaty with its people and removes its Carthaginian garrison. After taking Cephaloedium (near Therma), he marches back south taking the cities of Centuripa and Sicily.[29]
Deinocrates, the leader of the exiles, proclaims himself the champion of common liberty and uses this to gather the bulk of Agathocles' enemies into one army. After mustering an army of 20,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, he marches on Agathocles, who refuses to do battle and retreats to Syracuse.[18]
Receiving word of the losses that had been inflicted on his expeditionary army (commanded by his son Archagathus) in Africa, Agathocles equips 17 warships to go to his son's aid. While breaking through the Carthaginian blockade, he is able to defeat his opponents' fleet.[22]
Leptines, one of Agathocles' generals, defeats Xenodocus for the second time.[30]
Agathocles purges Syracuse of his opponents; 500 citizens are executed. With the city secure in his loyalty he sets sail for Africa.[31]
After meeting disaster in Africa (losing his army and two of his sons), Agathocles returns to Sicily. In dire need of cash, he razes the city of Segesta.[32]
Antigonus I Monophthalmus proclaims himself king of Asia Minor and northern Syria thus commencing the Antigonid dynasty. He appoints his son Demetrius king and co-regent.[34]
Egypt
Antigonus Monophthalmus tries to follow up his victory in Cyprus by invading Egypt with a large army and a formidable fleet, but Ptolemy Soter successfully holds the frontier against him. However, the year's events mean that Ptolemy no longer engages in overseas expeditions against Antigonus.
Demetrius shows ingenuity in devising a new siege engine: a wheeled siege tower named Helepolis (or "Taker of Cities"), which stands 40 meters tall and 20 meters wide and weighs 180 tons.[37]
Demetrius Poliorcetes and the Rhodians come to a truce, with the agreement that the city should be autonomous, should keep its own revenue and that the Rhodians should be allies of Antigonus unless he is at war with Ptolemy.[38]
Antigonus then concludes a peace treaty and an alliance with the island state, guaranteeing it autonomy and neutrality in his conflicts with Ptolemy.[39][38]
Demetrius Poliorcetes invades mainland Greece for Asia-Minor, drives Cassander out of central Greece and liberates Athens. In return, the Athenians bestow on him a new religious honour, synnaos (meaning "having the same temple") of the temple of the goddess Athena.
Roman Republic
The second Samnite war formally ends with a peace agreement in which the Samnites obtain peace on terms that are severe but not as crushing as those agreed by the Romans with the Etruscans four years earlier. Under the peace, Rome gains no territory, but the Samnites renounce their hegemony over Campania. Rome is also successful in ending the revolts amongst the tribes surrounding Roman territory.[40]
Sicily
The tyrant Agathocles takes on the title of King of Sicily. He extends his influence into southern Italy and the Adriatic.
Seleucus refounds the town of Orrhoa in northern Mesopotamia as a military colony and mixes Greek settlers with its eastern population. He names Edessa in memory of the ancient capital of Macedon.[citation needed]
The Macedonian general, Philetaerus, moves his allegiance from Antigonus to Antigonus' rival, Lysimachus. In return, Lysimachus makes Philetaerus guardian of the fortress of Pergamum with its treasure of some 9,000 talents.
Greece
Antigonus' son Demetrius Poliorcetes attacks Cassander's forces in Thessaly. Cassander loses his possessions south of Thessaly to Demetrius. Antigonus and Demetrius crown their success by renewing the pan-Hellenic league. Ambassadors from all the Hellenic states (with the exception of Sparta, Messenia and Thessaly) meet at Corinth to elect Antigonus and Demetrius protectors of the new league.
As Antigonus is finding his enemies closing in on him, a truce is made and the gains by Demetrius have to be abandoned. Demetrius reaches Ephesus to support his father.
Pyrrhus is dethroned as King of Epirus by an uprising and joins Demetrius while in exile.
Antigonus' defeat and death secures Cassander's control of Macedonia. Through this victory, Lysimachus is able to add the greater part of Asia Minor to his European possessions while Seleucus now controls most of Syria. However, Demetrius is able to keep a foothold in Greece.[43]
Seleucid Empire
The southern part of Syria is occupied by Ptolemy.
