Battle of the Himera River

The Battle of the Himera River was fought in 311 BC between Carthage and Syracuse near the mouth of the Himera river . Hamilcar, grandson of Hanno the Great, led the Carthaginians, while the Syracusans were led by Agathocles. Agathocles initially surprised the Carthaginians with an attack on their camp, but the Greeks lost the battle when they were attacked by unexpected Carthaginian reinforcements. The Greek army took many casualties as it retreated. Agathocles managed to gather the remains of his army and retreated to Syracuse, but lost control of Sicily.
In classical antiquity the name Himera was used for two rivers on Sicily: the Grande and the Salso. The Grande flows north towards its mouth at the site of ancient Himera, the Salso follows a southern course to its mouth in modern Licata. The battle took place near the mouth of the Salso river because the Carthaginians positioned themselves on the hill of Ecnomus during the battle. This hill lies west of Licata.

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