Hamilcar Barca or Barcas (; – 228BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair.
Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian land forces in Sicily from 247BC to 241BC, during the latter stages of the First Punic War. He kept his army intact and led a successful guerrilla war against the Romans in Sicily. Hamilcar retired to Carthage after the peace treaty in 241BC, following the defeat of Carthage. When the Mercenary War broke out in , Hamilcar was recalled to command and was instrumental in concluding that conflict successfully, in particular, having won victories in the battles of Bagradas and Saw. Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian expedition to Spain in 237BC, and for eight years expanded the territory of Carthage in Spain before dying in battle in 228 BC. 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.
Name
Hamilcar is the latinization of Hamílkas (), the hellenized form of the common Semitic Phoenician-Carthaginian masculine given name (). or ().. Various etymologies have been suggested, including "Melqart's brother".
The cognomen or epithet means "thunderbolt" or "shining". It is cognate with the Arabic name Barq, Maltese word Berqa, the Neo-Aramaic name Barkho, and the Hebrew name Barak, and is equivalent to ancient Greek Keraunos, which was borne by many commanders contemporary with Hamilcar and his son Hannibal.S. Lancel, Hannibal p. 6.
Early life Little is known about the origins or history of the Barca family prior to the Punic Wars. According to the Dictionary of African Biography, it has been suggested that the Barca family originally came from Cyrene, i.e., modern-day Libya. Lance Serge states that Hamilcar's family was part of the landed aristocracy of Carthage.Lancel, Serge, Hannibal, p. 8 Hamilcar was 28 when he received the Sicilian command in 247 BC. By this time he had three daughters, and his son Hannibal was born during the same year.
Situation in Sicily The war, which had started in 264 BC, continued after the Romans abandoned Africa; neither side gained a decisive advantage until 249 BC. The Romans rebuilt their fleet after losing 364 ships in a storm in 255 BC, added 220 new ships, and captured Panormus (modern Palermo) in 254 BC; 150 ships were lost in another storm in 253 BC. The Romans had occupied most of Sicily by 249 BC and they besieged the last two Carthaginian strongholdsin the extreme west. The situation changed when the surprise attack on the Carthaginian fleet met defeat at the Battle of Drepana and the following Carthaginian victory at the Battle of Phintias; the Romans were all but swept from the sea. It was to be seven years before Rome again attempted to field a substantial fleet.
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. The Carthaginian state was led by the landed aristocracy at the time, and they preferred to expand across northern Africa instead of pursuing an aggressive policy in Sicily. Hanno "The Great"Appian Hispania 4 was in charge of operations in Africa since 248 BC and had conquered considerable territory by 241 BC.Diodorus Siculus 24.10, Polybius 1.73.1, 1.72.3 Carthage did not take advantage of their naval supremacy and carry the war to Italy other than launching a few raids.
Carthage at this time was feeling the strain of the prolonged conflict. In addition to maintaining a fleet and soldiers in Sicily, they were also fighting the Libyans and Numidians in northern Africa.Bagnall, Nigel, The Punic Wars, pp. 92–94 As a result, Hamilcar was given a fairly small army and the Carthaginian fleet was gradually withdrawn; Carthage put most of its ships into reserve to save money and free up manpower, so by 242 BC, Carthage had no ships to speak of in Sicily.Polybius 1.59.9
Hamilcar in Sicily
The Carthaginian leadership probably thought Rome had been defeated and invested little manpower in Sicily.Lazenby, J.F, First Punic War, p. 144 With a small force and no money to hire new troops, Hamilcar's strategic goal probably was to maintain a stalemate, as he had neither the resources to win the war nor the authority to peacefully settle it.Miles, Richard, Carthage Must be Destroyed, p. 193, Hamilcar was in command of a mercenary army composed of multiple nationalities and his ability to successfully lead this force demonstrates his skill as field commander. He employed combined arms tactics, like Alexander and Pyrrhus,Baker, G.P, Hannibal, p. 54 and his strategy was similar to the one employed by Fabius Maximus during the Second Punic War, ironically against Hannibal, Hamilcar's eldest son. 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.
Panormus 247 BC – 244 BC Hamilcar, upon taking command in the summer of 247 BC,Polybius 1.56.2 punished the rebellious mercenaries (who had revolted because of overdue payments) by murdering some of them at night and drowning the rest at sea,Zonaras 8.16 and dismissing many to different parts of northern Africa. With a reduced army and fleet, Hamilcar commenced his operations.Lazenby, John F., First Punic War, p. 145 The Romans had divided their forces: Consul Lucius Caelius Metellus was near Lilybaeum, while Numerius Fabius Buteo was besieging Drepanum at that time. Hamilcar probably fought an inconclusive battle at Drepanum, but there is cause to doubt this.Lazenby, John .F, First Punic War, p. 146
Hamilcar next raided Locri in Bruttium and the area around Brindisi in 247 BC.Polybius 1.56.3 On his return he seized a strong position on Mount Ercte (Monte Pellegrino, just north of Palermo or Mount Castellacio, northwest of Palermo),Lazenby, John F., First Punic War, p. 147 ; Claudio Vacanti, Operazione Heirkte: Monte Pellegrino e la campagna di Amilcare Barca in Sicilia (247-244 a.C.) (PDF), in Rivista interdisciplinare della società italiana di storia Militare, vol. 1, n. 2, Società Italiana di Storia Militare, 2 giugno 2020.https://www.nam-sism.org/Articoli/NAM%206042%20Fascicolo%20n.%202%20-%20VACANTI%20Operazione%20Heirkte.pdf and not only maintained himself against all attacks, but carried on with his seaborne raids ranging from CatanaDiodorus Siculus 24.10 in Sicily to as far as Cumae in central Italy.Polybius, 1.56.9–10 He also set about improving the spirit of the army, and succeeded in creating a highly disciplined and versatile force. While Hamilcar won no major battles or recaptured any cities lost to the Romans, he waged a relentless campaign against the enemy, causing a constant drain on Roman resources. However, if Hamilcar had hoped to recapture Panormus (now Palermo), he failed in his strategy. Roman forces led by the consuls Manius Otacilius Crassus and Marcus Fabius Licinus achieved little against Hamilcar in 246 BC, and the consuls of 245 BC, Marcus Fabius Buteo and Atilius Bulbus, fared no better.
Eryx 244 BC – 241 BC
In 244 BC, Hamilcar transferred his army at night by seaDiodorus Siculus 24.8 to a similar position on the slopes of Mt. Eryx (Monte San Giuliano),Lazenby, John F., First Punic War, p. 148 from which he was able to lend support to the besieged garrison in the neighbouring town of Drepanum (Trapani). Hamilcar seized the town of Eryx, captured by the Romans in 249 BC, after destroying the Roman garrison, and positioned his army between the Roman forces stationed at the summit and their camp at the base of the mountain.Polybius 1.58.2 He removed the population to Drepana. Hamilcar continued his activities unhindered from his position for another two years, being supplied by road from Drepana,Polybius 1.58.3 although Carthaginian ships had been withdrawn from Sicily by this time and no naval raids were launched. During one of the raids, when troops under a subordinate commander named Bodostor engaged in plunder against the orders of Hamilcar and suffered severe casualties when the Romans caught up to them, Hamilcar requested a truce to bury his dead. Roman consul Fundanius (243/2 BC) arrogantly replied that Hamilcar should request a truce to save his living and denied the request.Diodorus Siculus 24.9.1–3 Hamilcar managed to inflict severe casualties on the Romans soon after, and when the Roman consul requested a truce to bury his dead, Hamilcar replied that his quarrel was with the living only and the dead had already settled their dues, and granted the truce.Lazenby, J.F, The First Punic War, p. 149
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. However, the constant skirmishing without ultimate victory may have caused the morale of some of Hamilcar's troops to crack and 1,000 Celtic mercenaries tried to betray the Punic camp to the Romans, which was foiled.Polybius 2.7.6–11, Zonaras 8.16 Hamilcar had to promise considerable rewards to keep the morale of his army up, which was to produce near fatal problems for Carthage later on.
Roman response: privately funded fleet 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.Polybius 1.59.9–10 The better-trained Roman fleetPolybius 1.59.9–12 defeated a hastily raised, undermanned and ill-trained Punic fleet at battle of the Aegates Islands in 241 BC, cutting Sicily off from Carthage. Carthaginian leadership requested terms to the victorious Roman commander, Gaius Lutatius Catulus and authorised Hamilcar Barca to open negotiations, probably to avoid the responsibility of the defeat. Hamilcar in turn nominated Gisco,Diodorus Siculus 24.13, Polybius 1.66.1 the Carthaginian commander of Lilybaeum, to conduct the talks. Carthage often hauled defeated generals and admirals before the Tribunal of 100 and had them crucified, so Hamilcar probably distanced himself from the possibility of prosecution if the Roman terms turned out to be harsh enough for Carthaginian authorities to seek a scapegoat.Lazenby, John F. The First Punic War, p. 157
Peace of Lutatius terms of the treaty
This treaty replaced all previous treaties between the two powers. The initial conditions laid out by Lutatius to Gisco were:Polybius 1.62.8–9 The Carthaginians will evacuate all Sicily. Carthage should not make war on Syracuse and their allies. Carthage would pay Rome 2,200 Euboean silver talents (56 tons) over a 20-year period as reparations. The Carthaginian army would surrender their weapons and all Roman deserters immediately.
Hamilcar Barca refused the demand to surrender Roman deserters or disarm Carthaginian soldiers, despite being threatened by Lutatius to have the Punic army pass under the yoke.Diodorus Siculus 24.13, Cornelius Nepos, Hamilcar, 1.5 Lutatius did not press the issue further, and the Carthaginian soldiers were later allowed to leave Sicily under arms with their honor intact,Polybius, 1.20.6–14 and without any token of submission – a rare gesture granted by the Romans to a defeated enemy. Roman deserters may have been surrendered on a later date.Zonaras 8.17