Originally a Carthaginian city, Sicca became Sicca Veneria under Roman rule, due to its important shrine to Venus. The city was built on a cliff face, leading to its modern name, which translates to “the rock.” Over the years, Sicca was the sight of several fascinating incidents, including the mercenary wars, the first engagement between Marius and Jugurtha, and even the crowning of a seven day emperor. The Vandals conquered the city around 439 A.D., and later became a part of the Berber Kingdom. Although the modern city of El Kef has covered much of ancient Sicca, those remains still present are in remarkably good condition.

The Mercenary Wars

Following the First Punic War between Carthage and Rome, Carthage suffered greatly under the heavy tribute owed to Rome. Unable to pay their Numidian mercenaries, they unwisely gathered all of the mercenaries together in Sicca until they could gather the payments. However, with little to do in Sicca, the men sat around tallying up all of the money owed to them. This included large sums that the Carthaginian generals had promised and never seriously intended to pay. The general Hanno attempted to convince them to renounce some of the money expected, but that only heightened their anger and discontent, and they began to organize in mutiny. Increasing confusion, anger, and mistrust eventually boiled over, and the soldiers organized to march on Carthage.

The Carthaginians sent Gesco, a highly respected general, to reason with the mercenaries. However, riled up by two men, Spendius and Mathos, the mutineers seized Gesco and the other Carthaginians and threw them in chains. As a result, Carthage declared open war, and eventually sent Hamilcar Barcas to coordinate the war. Desperate not to appear weak, Spendius and Mathos brutally executed their captives, starting by cutting off their hands. After that, “they cut off the wretched men’s other extremities too, and after thus mutilating them and breaking their legs, threw them still alive into a trench” (Polybius 1.80). Spendius attempted to surrender, but due to a misunderstanding he was instead crucified in sight of his comrades. Mathos and the remaining mercenaries fought on, but eventually Hamilcar defeated them. Mathos was captured, paraded in a triumphal march, and then eventually tortured and crucified.

Jugurtha Versus Marius

Sicca again saw chaos between 112 and 106 B.C. during the Jugurthine Wars. Rome and Numidia had formed a close alliance following the Second Punic War. When King Micipsa of Numidia died, he left the kingdom to his two sons and his nephew, Jugurtha, naming Rome the arbitrator of his will. However, Jugurtha was not content to divide the kingdom with his two cousins. He assassinated Hiempsal and declared war on Adherbal, pursuing him to Cirta. There, with the help of Roman equites living in the city, Adherbal defended against Jugurtha for a time, but eventually surrendered. Jugurtha executed his cousin, and unwisely executed the Roman defenders as well. Infuriated by the death of Romans, the Senate declared war. After three years of war, the Senate sent Quintus Metellus.

With him was Gaius Marius, then just a plebian tribune, but soon to become famous for his civil war against Sulla. Yet Marius almost lost his life in Africa when he was sent to forage for supplies at Sicca. Jugurtha learned of the foraging party and hurried toward the town, engaging in a skirmish with the Roman forces as they were leaving the gates. Jugurtha urged the citizens of Sicca to surround the Roman cohorts from behind and fight. However, Marius and the Romans fought fiercely and broke out before the Siccans were able to mobilize. Marius escaped, returned to Rome, ran for consul, and returned to take command of the Roman forces in Numidia. In 106 B.C., Marius convinced King Bocchus of Mauretainua to betray Jugurtha. Jugurtha was paraded through Rome in Marius’s triumph, and then thrown into prison. He died of starvation in 104 B.C.

Emperor in Sicca

In 265 B.C., Sicca held a Roman emperor for seven days. The Emperor Gallienus was proving to be more interested in luxury than ruling, and pretenders to the throne sprung up in all corners of the empire. In Sicca, Vibius Passienus, proconsul, and Fabius Pomponianus, general of Libya, decided to sponsor their own bid for the throne. They chose a man named Titus Cornelius Celsus. He had never risen high in rank, but he was a man of good character and capable of command. They clothed him with a royal robe taken from the statue of a goddess and proclaimed him their emperor.

Unfortunately for Celsus, his reign was short-lived. After only seven days, Galliena, cousin to the emperor, killed Celsus. The people of Sicca were also loyal to Gallienus, and in disgust, they left his body to be devoured by dogs. They then made an image of Celsus, placed it upon a cross, and danced about it in triumph.

What to See Here?

The modern city has incorporated much of the ancient city, and still more remains deep below the ground. However, of the Roman buildings that do survive, several are in an excellent state of preservation.

Bath house: Multiple walls of this building still exist almost to their full height, along with several arches. The hexagonal pool still sits at the centre of the frigidarium. There are also some mosaics which survived in situ. A series of 12 cisterns with barrel vaulted ceilings most likely provided the water for the baths. These also survived largely intact.

Dar El Kous (Basilica of St Peter): This is a 5th century AD Christian Basilica that has seen little damage since ancient times. In 1891, during the period of the French Protectorate and after only minimal restoration, the building was reopened and once again used for catholic church services. It contains three naves and an atrium. Although the roof is missing, the exterior walls still exist at almost their original height. A beautifully preserved 6m wide apse still survives. Excavations in the 19th century suggest that the basilica lies on the site of an earlier pagan building, possibly the city’s capitolium.

Ksar el Ghoula: Another early Christian basilica of which significant remains still survive. The thick exterior walls of the building exist to the height of a few feet and some features of the building’s interior can still be made out.

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Sources: Polybius, Histories; Sullust, The Jugurthine War; Historia Augusta, The Thirty Pretenders

Header image: Excavation of Roman bath in Sicca Veneria, todays El Kef. By SupapleX – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Colonists from Megara in Greece founded the city sometime in the middle of the 7^th century B.C., and it was the westernmost Greek colony in Sicily. They soon came into conflict with the neighboring city of Segesta, inhabited by local Sicilians. Over the next several decades, Selinus was frequently at war with Segesta. Yet by the early 5^th century B.C., Selinus was prospering.

Carthage Invades Sicily

In 480 B.C., at the same time that the Persians were moving on Greece in the famous invasion that would end at Thermopylae and Salamis, the Carthaginians were moving against Sicily. Diodorus claims that this was a pre-made agreement between Persia and Carthage. They intended to fully dominate the Greeks in a joint effort. The general Hamilcar led 300,000 men over the Mediterranean to Sicily, and began conquering its cities. Interestingly enough, despite being a Greek colony, Selinus supported Carthage. They sent a message to Hamilcar informing him that their cavalry would arrive the next day.

However, unfortunately for Hamilcar, Gelon, ruler of Gela and Syracuse, who had brought 55,000 men against Carthage, intercepted the letter. Gelon cleverly sent his own cavalry into Hamilcar’s camp at sunrise, posing as the horsemen from Selinus. The Carthaginians welcomed them as friends, and they rode easily into the camp, killed Hamilcar, and set fire to the Carthaginian ships. They signaled Gelon, who marched his infantry into to join in battle. Leaderless and panicked, the soldiers of Carthage were easy prey. When the men from Selinus arrived, Carthage had already lost the battle, and failed in its bid to conquer Sicily.

The Siege of Silenus

Carthage eventually dropped its alliance with Selinus, and supported the city’s old rivals in Segesta. In the spring of 409 A.D., Carthage sent an army of at least 100,000 men to Sicily under the command of Hannibal Mago. The Selinuntians were dismayed by the overwhelming force, but resolved to fight to the end, and hoped for rescue from their allies. The entire population of Selinus contributed to its defense. Every young man in the city took up arms. The old men organized supplies, bringing weapons and ammunition, and encouragement to the men on the walls. The women and girls worked the mills and brought food to the defenders. Yet, the walls were weak. Selinus had not been often under threat, and as a result had not kept them in peak condition. Hannibal’s siege engines knocked down a substantial section within the first day.

The defenders expelled the initial attack through the bottleneck of the fallen wall, but the next day fell back under the onslaught.  The fighting moved into the city, and was far from over. The Selinuntians fought fiercely, for they were fighting for their lives. Both sides took heavy casualties, but Carthage could supply constant fresh troops, while the defenders of Selinus grew exhausted. Still, the battle raged for nine days. The men of Selinus built barricades, and the women threw stones and tiles from the rooftops. Eventually, they began to falter, and the Carthaginians pushed past the barricades. Some Selinuntians gathered in the marketplace, where they died fighting. Others defended individual houses to the end. The frustrated Carthaginians set fire to the homes, and slaughtered all those that ran out, mutilating their bodies. They only spared the women and children who had taken refuge in the temples.

Final Destruction

 “By nightfall the city had been sacked, and of the dwellings some had been burned and others razed to the ground, while the whole area was filled with blood and corpses. Sixteen thousand was the sum of the inhabitants who were found to have fallen, not counting the more than five thousand who had been taken captive.”

Hannibal destroyed the walls of Selinus, and left it abandoned, and yet it was not the final end of the city. A man named Hermocrates, exiled from Syracuse, rebuilt the walls and invited any surviving Selinuntians to return home. Using Silenus as a base, he fought the local Sicilians and the Carthaginians. He received much praise from the Greek colonies on the island, but eventually returned to Syracuse. The city worked to rebuild, and was successfully re-established. From the early 4^th century B.C. it was a tributary and subject of Carthage.

During the Second Punic War, Rome was more directly involved in Sicily. The hapless city of Selinus found itself at the center of military operations between Rome and Carthage. As Rome began to gain ground, Carthage resolved to defend as few cities as possible to concentrate their forces. They subsequently moved all the inhabitants of Selinus to Lilybaeum, and razed Selinus to the ground. The Selinuntians’ troubles were far from over, as the Romans proceeded to lay siege to Lilybaeum for the next ten years. Selinus was never rebuilt, though the Romans remembered its location. Both Pliny the Elder and Strabo mentioned the city. Strabo counted it among a list of extinct cities.

What to See Here:

Despite its destruction at the hands of the Carthaginians, there are excellent archaeological remains at Selinus. There are substantial remains of a number of religious structures. The best preserved is the one known as Temple E. Dating to around 455 B.C., this Doric structure is one of the most recent of the plethora of religious structures at Selinus. A stele recovered at the site indicated that this temple was originally dedicated to Hera. Fragments of the decorative assembly of the temple survive in the form of four metopes. These are all kept in the Museo Archeologico di Palermo. Also of note is the wealth of archaeological remains on the ancient acropolis.

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Author: written for Timetravelrome by Marian Vermeulen.

Sources: Diodorus, Library of History; Strabo, Geography; Pliny the Elder, Natural History; Pausanias, Description of Greece.

Header photo: Selinunte Panoramic View, by Rattiane, picture is in public domain.