Had Hamilcar suffered a decisive defeat, casualties and prisoners would have diminished their numbers and Carthage would have had an excuse not to pay anything. The Carthaginians had gained command of the sea after their victories in 249 BC, but they only held two cities in Sicily: Lilybaeum and Drepanum by the time Hamilcar took up command. Through brilliant maneuvering, Hamilcar inflicted a heavy defeat on the rebel forces, leading to the killing of 8,000 mercenaries and the capturing of 2,000 men. The rebels mutilated prisoners, and Hamilcar had his captives trampled on by elephants. It is cognate with the Arabic name Barq, Maltese word Berqa, the Assyrian Neo-Aramaic name Barkho, and the Hebrew name Barak and equivalent to the Greek Keraunos, which was borne by many commanders contemporary with Hamilcar and his son Hannibal.[3]. He replaced Carthalo, who had not been altogether unsuccessful, as the commander of the Carthaginian fleet. Iberia would also serve as a base for any future conflicts against the Romans which would be independent of political interference from Carthage, and the campaigns would enhance the reputation of Hamilcar Barca. The war started to improve for Carthage when they were aided by Rome, who repatriated captured Carthaginian soldiers for free, and the tyrant of Syracuse Hiero, who feared that without Carthage then Rome might act at will in the central Mediterranean. In addition to maintaining a fleet and soldiers in Sicily, they were also fighting the Libyans and Numidians in northern Africa. 50 Carthaginian ships were sunk, 70 captured and 10,000 prisoners taken. Valerius Maximus has Hamilcar speak of "four lion's whelps which I have raised to exterminate the Roman name. Apr 3, 2011. [121] Hamilcar is thought to be the best commander of the First Punic War and as a man, Cato placed Hamilcar a cut above most leaders, including most Romans. Long-time rivals Hamilcar and Hanno could not agree on the best strategy and eventually the army was permitted to choose which general should lead them. found: The Encyclopedia Americana, c1992: p. 736 (Hamilcar Barca, d. 229 B.C. Hannibal Barca was a renowned general and statesman. As this was in line with the goal of the "Peace Party" of Hanno the Great, probably no serious opposition was offered. The Carthaginians will evacuate all Sicily. Carthage would evacuate all islands between Italy and Sicily probably the Aegates Islands in addition to the. Punic Mercenaries stationed in Sardinia had rebelled in 239 BC, besieged Boaster and all Carthaginians in a citadel and later executed them after the fort fell. Carthaginians celebrated Hannibals crossing of the Alps with coins that depicted his face on one side and an elephant on the other. [72] This probably dealt a fatal blow to any chance of permanent peace between Rome and Carthage[73] and is one of the causes of the Second Punic War and held as the motivation of the subsequent military and political activities of Hamilcar.[74]. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair. Hannibal's father, commander and statesman Hamilcar Barca, chafed at the peace treaty, which forced Carthage to surrender the valuable colony of Sicily and pay remunerations to Rome. His grandson, Hanno, was an important commander in the army of his son Hannibal. The actions of Hamilcar, and his immunity to defeat, plus the stalemate at the siege of Lilybaeum caused the Romans to start building a fleet in 243 BC to seek a decision at sea. Newest results. 68, 69, Punica Barcino, Goldsworthy, Adrian, The Fall of Carthage, pp95, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hamilcar_Barca&oldid=1118409183, Carthaginian commanders of the First Punic War, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2018, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Articles with German-language sources (de), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Sicily had been the principal battleground but had yet to see a decisive victory for either side. Hamilcar then returned to Africa, where his mercenary troops, long unpaid, revolted in what is known as the Mercenaries War (or Truceless War). [111] The Romans withdrew and did not bother the Carthaginians in Spain until 226 BC. Little is known about the origins or history of the Barca family prior to the Punic Wars. Please support World History Encyclopedia. The difference was that Fabius commanded a numerically superior army to his opponent, had no supply problems, and had room to manoeuvre, while Hamilcar was mostly static, had a far smaller army than the Romans and was dependent on seaborne supplies from Carthage. In 237 BCE Hamilcar had famously taken his son, then nine years old, to the temple of Baal in Carthage and made him swear never to be a friend of Rome. The aristocratic party had dominated Carthaginian politics since 248 BC. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! The subsequent Mercenary War showed that Carthage was capable of further military effort. He kept his army intact and led a successful guerrilla war against the Romans in Sicily. But who reads Polybius (1.65-83) can see how he came to this act. Until the rise to power of his son Hannibal, Hamilcar was the finest commander and statesman that Carthage had produced. Hamilcar retired to Carthage after the peace treaty in 241 BC, following the defeat of Carthage. By 247, when Hamilcar took charge in Sicily, Carthage had lost to Rome all of its Sicilian possessions except Lilybaeum (now Marsala) and Drepanum (now Trapani). Hannibal son of Hamilcar Barca was an African in the sense that he was born in Africa, but he was relative light-skinned, the same way that Tunisians are today. Livy states Hanno son of Hamilcar in 204 BC left Carthage with 4,000 cavalry and never came back. Hamilcar Barca Kordas (Public Domain) Hamilcar Barca (c. 285 - c. 228 BCE) was a Carthaginian general active in the First Punic War (264-241 BCE). Legend tells that he founded the port of Barcino (deriving its name from the Barca family), which was later adopted and used by the Roman Empire and is, today, the city of Barcelona. It is also possible that he had hoped to establish a future war chest with Spanish silver. Hamilcar is a gladiator who fights for the ludus of Batiatus. Hamilcar's army either crossed the Straits of Gibraltar into Iberia from West Africa[88] or, having returned to Carthage after the African activities, sailed along the African coast to Gades. The gloomy situation changed when first Syracuse and then Rome came to the aid of Carthage. If he had lived in the United . One of coins found in Italy, near the battle site of Lake Trasimene where Hannibals Carthaginian Army defeated the Romans, shows an African man on one side with the characteristic strong African features such as curly hair, thick lips, and full nose; on the coins opposite side shows an elephant. The Skaven warlord Ikrit accepted, but revealed only a clanrat . Mathos could not, though, resist a joint army of Hamilcar and Hanno, and he was driven out of the city and defeated at Byzacium. [89] Hasdrubal the Fair and Hannibal, then a child of nine, accompanied Hamilcar; it is not known who led Hamilcar's supporters in Carthage in the absence of Hamilcar and Hasdrubal. [112] It is possible that Hamilcar died battling the Vettoni, who lived across the Tagus west of Toledo and to the north of Turduli and northwest of Oretani territory. Hamilcar had been undefeated and was forced to make peace. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. [29] Hamilcar continued his activities unhindered from his position for another two years, being supplied by road from Drepana,[32] although Carthaginian ships had been withdrawn from Sicily by this time and no naval raids were launched. He may have been responsible for creating the strategy which his son Hannibal implemented in the Second Punic War to bring the Roman Republic close to defeat. Since the coins male image is shown in the way Apollo, the Roman and Greek sun god, was depicted, indicates that he wasnt a common warrior riding a war elephant, but he was a high ranking military commander. Hamilcar died in battle, most likely drowning in the Jucar River while besieging a place called Helice and trying to escape from a Celtiberian army. Hanno marshaled his soldiers, but twice failed to engage the rebels under favorable conditions and twice failed to surprise them on other occasions. Completed Exodus Transitional Program. While Hamilcar campaigned in Iberia, Rome was entangled in Sardinia, Corsica and Liguria, where the natives had put up stiff resistance against Roman occupation campaigns had been fought in these areas between 236 231 BC to retain and expand Roman dominion. Thank you! Hamilcar Barca, Barca also spelled Barcas, (died winter 229/228 bce ), general who assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome (264-241 bce ). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Best walking boots for men and women for 2023, tested by experts. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. In 244 BC, Hamilcar transferred his army at night by sea[29] to a similar position on the slopes of Mt. Hamilcar, upon taking command in the summer of 247 BC,[21] punished the rebellious mercenaries (who had revolted because of overdue payments) by murdering some of them at night and drowning the rest at sea,[22] and dismissing many to different parts of northern Africa. Web. The Roman Republic was nearly bankrupt and had to borrow money from wealthy citizens to fund the construction of a fleet of 200 quinqueremes, which blockaded Carthaginian positions in Sicily in 242 BC by seizing the harbour of Drepana and anchorages at Lilybaeum, while Roman soldiers built siege works around Drepanum. He is of average height for a gladiator, has tawny skin, and well-trimmed black hair with a small beard. Hanno and Hamilcar unleashed reprisals against the Numidian tribes that had sided with the rebels,[70] and the generals probably extended Carthaginian territory in Africa at the same time. Hamilcar obtained permission from the Carthaginian Senate for recruiting and training a new army, with the immediate goal of securing the African domain of Carthage. Finally, when the Carthaginian Senate was unable to decide between Hamilcar and Hanno, the people's assembly left it to the army to decide on their Commander in Chief, and Hamilcar Barca was elected to sole command. It is possible that Hamilcar Barca secured the last clause after the initial conditions, which were more favorable to Carthage, was altered by Rome with a harsher one. Furthermore, Hamilcar had invited Hanno the Great to join forces and try to end the rebellion as quickly as possible, but the generals failed to cooperate. Hamilcar Barca was a daring, intelligent young man. Hamilcar probably landed at Gades in the summer of 237 BC. Over the years I've covered thousands of miles and worn holes in even the best walking boots, putting one foot in front of the other to write walking features for this paper. All his family members were employed in the army and made major contributions to . Deprived of leadership, and unaware of the pact, the mercenaries suspected treachery; the Libyans were the first to attack Hamilcar's positions. [43], Lutatius did not have the authority to ratify the agreement he made with Hamilcar, so he forwarded them to the Comitia Centuriata in Rome. The Carthaginian army would surrender their weapons and all Roman deserters immediately. He defeated Rome 's allies at the Battle of Thermae in 259 BC and killed 4,000-6,000 of them with the help of surprise and good use of military intelligence. The Undefeated army now created a unique problem for Carthage. Seizing upon Carthages weakness, Rome took the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and, when an enraged Hamilcar moved to respond, Rome increased the amount of the Carthaginian indemnity. was a great Carthaginian general and statesman in the First Punic War who firmly established Carthaginian rule in Spain. [5] Hamilcar was a young man of 28 when he received the Sicilian command in 247 BC. He then left Ercte for Mount Eryx (modern Erice near Trapani), which he held until 241. Led a successful guerrilla War against the Romans withdrew and did not bother the in! Had hoped to establish a future War chest with Spanish silver this page may have different terms! 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