Hasdrubal Gisco persuades the Carthaginians to raise a new army and to send for Hannibal to return home from Italy.
The Phocaean Greeks from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) had founded the colony of Massalia around 600 BC, which the Carthaginians had tried and failed to prevent.
But the Carthaginians were not going to let this threat pass unchallenged and launched an equally large fleet to intercept the Romans, commanded by Hanno the Great and Hamilcar the later victor of Drepanum (not to be confused with Hamilcar Barca).
The Battle of Panormus was fought in 251 BC between a Roman consular army led by Lucius Caecilius Metellus and Carthaginians led by Hasdrubal during the First Punic War.
This occurred during the First Punic War that pitted Rome against Carthage: the Etruscans and Carthaginians were traditional allies (see Battle of Alalia).
At a later period we find it again independent, but apparently on friendly terms with the Carthaginians, on which account it was attacked and taken by Agathocles, 307 BC.
Cirta's populace was as diverse as the Roman Republic itself — alongside native Numidians were Carthaginians displaced by the Second and Third Punic Wars, as well as Greeks, Romans, and Italians.
During the Iron Age they received several influences, from central-western Europe (Hallstatt and, to a lesser extent, La Tène culture), and from the Mediterranean (Phoenicians and Carthaginians).
Hence it is probable that the treaty between Dionysius and the Carthaginians which had fixed the Halycus as the boundary of the latter, had left Heraclea, though on its southeast bank, still in their hands: and, in accordance with this, we find it stipulated by the similar treaty concluded with them by Agathocles (314 BC), that Heraclea, Selinus, and Himera should continue subject to Carthage, as they had been before.
Thus, in 314 BCE, Diodorus tells us that, by the treaty between Agathocles and the Carthaginians, it was stipulated that Heracleia, Selinus and Himera should continue subject to Carthage as they had been before.
During the Second Punic War, Livy mentions Hybla as one of the towns that were induced to revolt to the Carthaginians in 211 BCE, but were quickly recovered by the Roman praetor M. Cornelius.
During the invasion of Hannibal of 218-217 BC, the Insubres rebelled in support of the Carthaginians.
The power to which Ophellas had thus attained, and the strong mercenary force, mainly from Athens which he was able to bring into the field, caused Agathocles, during his expedition in Africa in 308 BC to turn his attention towards the new ruler of Cyrene as likely to prove a useful ally against the Carthaginians.
While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits.
In 207 BC, the reorganized Carthaginians and their reinforcements left Africa under Hannon's leadership managing to recover most of the south of the peninsula.
The later debacles at Lake Trasimene and Cannae, forced the proud Romans to avoid battle, shadowing the Carthaginians from the high ground of the Apennines, unwilling to risk a significant engagement on the plains where the enemy cavalry held sway.
Historically, the southern Himera is remarkable for the great battle fought on its banks between Agathocles and the Carthaginians, in which the latter obtained a complete victory, 311 BCE.
The setting is New Carthage (Cartagena), 210 BCE, after the Roman army, led by Scipione has captured the city from the Carthaginians and their Spanish allies.
It was certainly one of the cities that usually formed part of their dominions in the island; and in 307 BCE it was given up by them to the soldiers and mercenaries of Agathocles, who had made peace with the Carthaginians when abandoned by their leader in Africa.
The history of the temple is unclear, but it was probably founded to commemorate the Battle of Himera (480 BC), in which the Greek cities of Akragas (Agrigento) and Syracuse defeated the Carthaginians under Hamilcar.