# Thibron's War in Cyrenaica (324 BCE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/libya/timeline/-324-thibron-s-war-in-cyrenaica
Location: Cyrene and Apollonia, Libya
Themes: battle

In 324 BC Harpalus, Alexander's disgraced treasurer, fled with a large sum of money and mercenaries. After he was murdered in Crete, his officer Thibron, a Spartan, seized his treasure, fleet and army and sailed to Cyrenaica, claiming to support Cyrenean exiles. Thibron defeated the Cyreneans in battle, captured their harbour Apollonia and forced them to promise 500 talents and half their chariots. When one of his officers, Mnasicles, deserted to the Cyreneans, the agreement collapsed. Thibron, supported at times by Barca and Euesperides, took Teuchira and fought on with fresh mercenaries from the Peloponnese, while Cyrene itself suffered civil strife between democrats and oligarchs and turned to Libyan and Carthaginian help. In 322 BC the Cyrenean oligarchs who had been exiled appealed to Ptolemy, the Macedonian satrap of Egypt, who sent his general Ophellas with an army. Ophellas defeated Thibron, who was captured by Libyans and handed over to be executed. The war ended Cyrene's independence and brought Cyrenaica under Ptolemaic control. Ancient accounts of the war, mainly by Diodorus and Arrian, differ in detail, but agree on its devastating effect on the region. At this point in the timeline (324–322 BC), no single ruler is recorded in this dataset; Cyrenaica was governed by its Greek cities, Tripolitania by Carthage and its Punic towns, and the Fezzan by the Garamantes.

## Why it matters
Thibron's war destroyed Cyrene's independence and gave Ptolemy the pretext to annex Cyrenaica.

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Thibron (mercenary commander, died 322 BC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibron_(mercenary_commander,_died_322_BC))
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Cyrene](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Cyrene)
- [Livius.org — Thibron](https://www.livius.org/?s=Thibron)
- [Wikipedia — Harpalus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpalus)
- [Wikipedia — Greek Cyrene, Punic Tripolitania And The Garamantes (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrenaica)