Editing Marsala (section)

== History ==
[[File:Attacksrenewed2.JPG|right|thumb|250px|c. 250 BC, First Punic War]]
[[File:Main street of Ancient Lilybaeum.jpg|thumb|250px|Ancient main street of Lilybaeum]]

===Carthaginian Period===
[[File:Carthago exhibition - Stela with Cultic Scene & Votive Inscription (49340901392).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lilybaeum stele]], showing a cultic scene and votive Punic inscription]]
The Carthaginian army sent to conquer [[Selinunte]] in 409 BC landed and camped near the site of the later Lilybaeum. In 397&nbsp;BC when the [[Phoenicians|Phoenician]] colony of [[Motya]] on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracusan]] tyrant [[Dionysius I of Syracuse|Dionysius I]], the survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby, the site of modern-day Marsala, which they called by a [[Punic language|Punic]] name, recorded in Greek as ''Lilýbaion'' ({{lang|grc|Λιλύβαιον}}) and in Latin as ''{{lang|la|Lilybaeum}}''. Over the following two centuries, it became a trade centre for manufactured goods and served as a strategic port between Carthage and Carthaginian territories in [[Sardinia]]. It was built with strong defensive walls<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Merola|first1=Pasquale|last2=Allegrini|first2=A|last3=Bajocco|first3=Sofia|editor1-first=Manfred|editor1-last=Ehlers|editor2-first=Ulrich|editor2-last=Michel|date=2005-10-06|title=Hyperspectral MIVIS data to investigate the Lilybaeum (Marsala) Archaeological Park|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252307096|journal=Proceedings of SPIE|volume=5983|pages=59830W|doi=10.1117/12.627629|series=Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring, GIS Applications, and Geology V|bibcode=2005SPIE.5983..212M|s2cid=129386884}}</ref> from the beginning and had three linked harbours.  Punic Lilybaion was never conquered although it was besieged several times e.g. by [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] and the [[ancient Rome|Romans]]. The walls were ultimately over 10m high and 7m thick. They were strengthened for Pyrrhus' [[Siege of Lilybaeum (278 BC)|Siege of Lilybaeum]] in [[278 BC]] by a second wall 10m from the first. The siege lasted 2 months before he withdrew.<ref>Cowan, Ross (2007). For the glory of Rome:a history of warriors and warfare. MBI Publishing Company. {{ISBN|9781853677335}} p 66</ref> It was the only city which Pyrrhus could not conquer during his campaign at Sicily.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/place/378124ULil|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org}}</ref>

The [[First Punic War]] began here when the [[Punic]] army landed at Lilybaion in 265–264&nbsp;BC, then marched across Sicily to [[Messina]], where the [[Battle of Messana|opening clash]] of the war took place.<ref>Diodorus Siculus, Biblioteca Historica, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/23*.html#1 23.1.2]</ref>

In 250 BC the Romans sent a huge naval expedition of up to 240 ships towards Lilybaeum, the Carthaginian headquarters. A massive Roman army of 4 legions under the two consuls was also sent.<ref>Rickard, J: Siege of Lilybaeum, 250-241 BC, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_lilybaeum.html</ref> The Carthaginians also understood the importance of this port and put their whole force together to save the city including about 10,000 mercenaries (Celts and Greeks). The Carthaginians sailed 50 ships from Africa under the command of Hannibal to try to save the city by charging towards the centre of the harbour. The Romans did not attempt to stop the entry of the fleet because of their sudden appearance and unfavourable winds in a foreign port.

The Roman fleet was defeated at [[Drepana]] in 249 BC when attempting a surprise attack there, followed by the destruction of the rest of the fleet soon afterwards in a storm. This forced the Romans to settle in for a long siege.<ref>Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War: A Military History. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|0-8047-2673-6}}. p 148.</ref>

The [[Siege of Lilybaeum (250 BC)]] lasted for 9 years without Roman success. Carthage was able to reinforce and re-supply Lilybaeum during the war. Some of the Gallic mercenaries planned to betray the city but [[Alexon]], who had previously saved [[Agrigentum]] from similar treachery, foiled the plot by informing the Carthaginian commander Himilco.<ref>Polybius, i. 43, ii. 7</ref>

In 241 BC the city was given to the Romans as part of the peace treaty ending the First Punic War and then became one of the most important cities in Sicily.

===Roman Lilybaeum===
[[File:Roman baths Lilybaeum.jpg|thumb|250px|Roman baths Lilybaeum]]
[[File:Town houses, Lilybaeum.jpg|thumb|250px|Town houses, Lilybaeum]]

In 218 BC, in the [[Second Punic War]], the [[Battle of Lilybaeum]] was fought between the navies of Carthage and Rome when Carthage attempted a secret raid on the city to re-establish a base. [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 232 BC)|Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]], the praetor at Lilybaeum, was told about the impending raid and prepared his 20 ships which managed to defeat the 50 opposing quinqueremes.

In the [[Roman Republic|republican period]] the city was enriched with mansions and public buildings and dubbed ''splendidissima urbs'' by [[Marcus Tullius Cicero|Cicero]], who served as [[quaestor]] in the region between 76 and 75&nbsp;BC. During the Civil Wars Lilybaeum was twice besieged, in 43 BC by [[Sextus Pompeius]] and 38 by [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]] during which the walls were further strengthened as shown by an inscription.

The city walls were abandoned in the 4th c. AD as shown by buildings erected over or beside the walls.

===Post-Roman Period===
The city was the seat of the [[Diocese of Lilybaeum]] from at least the early 5th century AD. Ravaged by [[Vandals]] during the 5th century AD, the town was annexed in the 6th century to [[Justinian]]'s [[Byzantine Empire]]. In this period the town was struck by dysentery, raided by pirates, and neglected by [[Constantinople]]. The arrival of the [[Arabs]] at the nearby Granitola mount in the 8th century entailed the resumption of commerce and the start of the rebirth of the town. The town was renamed ''Marsa ʿAlī'' "ʿAlī's harbour" or maybe, ''Marsa ʿāliyy'', "Big harbour", for the width of the ancient harbour, placed near Punta d'Alga. Another possible derivation is ''Marsa Allāh'', "God's harbour".

Since the end of the 11th century, the area has been conquered by [[Italo-Normans|Norman]], [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] troops. During this time, Marsala became wealthy, primarily through trade. However the blocking up of the harbour of Punta Alga, decreed by Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] so as to stop [[Saracen]] forays, brought an end to this period of prosperity.

The development of [[Marsala wine]] at the end of the 18th century, headed by English merchants settled in Sicily, considerably improved local trade. This triggered an economic expansion in Marsala, including the funding of infrastructure projects such as the current harbour of Margitello.

On 11 May 1860 [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] [[Expedition of the Thousand|landed at Marsala]], beginning the process of [[Italian unification]].

On 11 May 1943, in the lead-up to the [[World War II]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], an Allied bombardment of the town permanently damaged its [[Baroque]] centre and claimed many victims: "Marsala Wiped Off the Map" titled the New York Times on 13 May 1943.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3018713/posts|title=TUNISIAN RESISTANCE ENDS IN ROUT OF GERMANS; GEN. VON ARNIM AND 150,000 MEN CAPTURED (5/13/43)|website=freerepublic.com}}</ref>