Coin from Tarentum, in southern Italy, during the occupation by Hannibal (c. 212–209 BC).

ΚΛΗ above,
ΣΗΡΑΜ/ΒΟΣ below, nude youth on horseback right, placing a laurel wreath on his horse's head; ΤΑΡΑΣ,
Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident in right hand, aphlaston in his left hand.

By 410 BC, Carthage had recovered from its serious defeats in Sicily. It had conquered much of modern-day
Tunisia and founded new colonies across northern Africa. It also extended its reach well beyond the
Mediterranean; Hanno the Navigator journeyed down the West African coast,[66][67] and Himilco the
Navigator had explored the European Atlantic coast.[68] Expeditions were also led into Morocco and Senegal,
as well as the Atlantic.[69] The same year, the Iberian colonies seceded, cutting off Carthage from a major
source of silver and copper. The loss of such strategically important mineral wealth, combined with the desire
to exercise firmer control over shipping routes, led Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, to make
preparations to reclaim Sicily.

In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily with his force. He captured the smaller cities of Selinus (modern
Selinunte) and Himera—where the Carthaginians had been dealt a humiliating defeat seventy year prior—
before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war.[70] But the primary enemy, Syracuse,
remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition to claim the rest of
the island.

This time, however, he met with fiercer resistance as well as misfortune. During the siege of Agrigentum,
Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, which claimed Hannibal Mago himself.[71] His successor,
Himilco, managed to extend the campaign, capturing the city of Gela and repeatedly defeating the army of
Dionysius of Syracuse. But he, too, was struck with plague and forced to sue for peace before returning to
Carthage.

By 398 BC, Dionysius had regained his strength and broke the peace treaty, striking at the Carthaginian
stronghold of Motya in western Sicily. Himilco responded decisively, leading an expedition that not only
reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messene (present-day Messina).[72] Within a year, the Carthaginians
were besieging Syracuse itself, and came close to victory until the plague once again ravaged and reduced
their forces.[73]

The fighting in Sicily swung in favor of Carthage less than a decade later in 387 BC. After winning a naval
battle off the coast of Catania, Himilco laid siege to Syracuse with 50,000 Carthaginians, but yet another
epidemic struck down thousands of them. With the enemy assault stalled and weakened, Dionysius then
launched a surprise counterattack by land and sea, destroying all the Carthaginian ships while its crews were
ashore. At the same time, his ground forces stormed the besiegers' lines and routed them. Himilco and his
chief officers abandoned their army and fled Sicily.[74] Once again, the Carthaginians were forced to press for
peace. Returning to Carthage in disgrace, Himilco was met with contempt and committed suicide by starving
himself.[75]

Notwithstanding consistently poor luck and costly reversals, Sicily remained an obsession for Carthage. Over
the next fifty years, an uneasy peace reigned, as Carthaginian and Greek forces engaged in constant
skirmishes. By 340 BC, Carthage had been pushed entirely into the southwest corner of the island.