city state · Italy
Lilybaeum
Origins
After Dionysius I destroyed Motya in 397 BCE, Carthage settled the survivors on Cape Lilybaeum, the westernmost point of Sicily. The new city, on a headland with a sheltered harbour facing Africa, became Carthage's main base on the island.
Rule and society
Lilybaeum was a heavily fortified port with walls, towers and a deep ditch. Its population was mainly Punic with Greek elements, and its trade linked Carthage with Sicily. It successfully resisted Pyrrhus in 276 BCE and, in the First Punic War, a Roman siege by land and sea from 250 to 241 BCE.
Decline and legacy
Carthage ceded Lilybaeum to Rome by the treaty ending the First Punic War in 241 BCE. It became the seat of one of the quaestors of Roman Sicily, a post Cicero held in 75 BCE. It later became the Arab port of Marsa Allah, modern Marsala.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Lilybaeum was part of Punic Empire397 BCE – 241 BCE
- Lilybaeum was conquered by Roman Republic241 BCE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lilybaeum. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lilybaeum
- MLA
- “Lilybaeum.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lilybaeum. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Lilybaeum.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lilybaeum.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lilybaeum’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lilybaeum (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻