Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1191IR // #c1191Synthesis

"Polybius records that Gisgo wanted to demobilise the Sicilian army in stages with each group being paid as they arrived in Carthage and then disbanded." "Removing the soldiers to Sicca was not a strategically sound decision."

— In our words · Source: Carthage: A New History (Eve MacDonald)

[Use when]

You owe a large group money you can't pay all at once.

[Why it matters]

Gisgo planned to bring the Sicilian army home in groups, paying each group off on arrival. The government let the men pile up unpaid in the city instead, then sent them to wait at Sicca, a region taxed and conscripted for 23 years. The soldiers asked where the generals who had made them promises were. The Mercenary War followed.

Filed under situations:When the team is looking to you to lead

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