Hamilcar Barca or Barcas (ca. 275 BC – 228 BC) 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. The name Hamilcar (Punic-Phoenician ḥmlqrt, "brother of Melqart") was a common name for Carthaginian men. The name Brq (or Baraq) means "thunderbolt" in the Punic language and is thus equivalent to the epithet or cognomen Keraunos, common among many contemporary Greek commanders.^[1] The word remains in Lebanese, Arabic and Hebrew with the same meaning.

Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian land forces in Sicily during 247–241 BC during the later stages of the First Punic War. He kept his army intact and led a successful guerrilla war against the Romans in Sicily. After the defeat of Carthage in 241 BC Hamilcar retired to Africa after the peace treaty. When the Mercenary War burst out in 239 BC, Hamilcar was recalled to command and was instrumental in concluding that conflict successfully. Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian expedition to Spain in 237 BC, and for 8 years expanded the territory of Carthage in Spain before dying in battle in 228 BC.

Introduction[link]

Little is known about the Barcid family prior to Hamilcar Barca. The names of Hamilcar's parents are unknown, and it is hypothesized that the family may have come from Cyrene^[2] and was part of the landed aristocracy of Carthage.^[3] He was relatively young (33 years old) when he received the Sicilian command. By this time he had sired 3 daughters, and his son Hannibal was born in 247 BC.

Hamilcar in Sicily[link]

The Carthaginians had gained command of the sea after their victory in the Battle of Drepanum in 249 BC, but they only held two cities in Sicily: Lilybaeum and Drepanum by the time Hamilcar took up command in Sicily. 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in North Africa),^[4] and as a result Hamilcar was given a fairly small army and the Carthaginian fleet was gradually withdrawn so that by 244 BC Carthage had no ships to speak of in Sicily. Hamilcar was in command of a mercenary army composed of multiple nationalities and his ability to successfully lead this force demonstrates his talent as field commander. He employed combined arms tactics, like Alexander or Pyhrrus,^[5] and his strategy was similar to the ones employed by Quintus Fabius Maximus in the Second Punic War, ironically against the eldest son of Hamilcar. The difference is that Fabius commanded a numerically superior army than his opponent and had no supply problems, and had room to maneuver, while Hamilcar was static and had a far smaller army than his opponent.

Hamilcar, upon taking command, punished the rebellious mercenaries (unruly because of overdue payment) by murdering some of them at night and drowning the rest at sea, and dismissing many to Africa.^[6] With a reduced army and fleet, Hamilcar commenced his operations. Hamilcar raided Locri and Brindisi in 247 BC, and upon his return he seized a strong position on Mount Ercte (Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo, or Mt. Castellacio, 7 miles NW of Palermo),^[7] and not only maintained himself against all attacks, but carried on with his raids from Catana in Sicily to far as Cumae in central Italy. He also set about improving the spirit of the army, and succeeded in creating a highly disciplined, versatile force. While Hamilcar won no large scale battle or recaptured cities lost to the Romans, his Carthaginians waged a relentless campaign against the Roman land forces, and their efforts were a constant and heavy drain on Roman resources.

In 244 BC he transferred his army at night by sea^[8] to a similar position on the slopes of Mt. Eryx (Monte San Giuliano), from which he was able to lend support to the besieged garrison in the neighboring town of Drepanum (Trapani). Hamilcar had seized a position between Roman forces stationed in the summit and their camp at the base, but continued his activities unhindered. He managed to foil a plan by his Celtic mercenaries to betray his position to the Romans. During one of the raids, when troops under a subordinate commander named “Boaster” engaged in plunder against the orders of Hamilcar and suffered severe casualties when the Romans caught them, Hamilcar requested a truce to bury his dead. The Roman consul arrogantly replied that Hamilcar should request a truce to save his living and denied the request. 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.^[9]

The actions of Hamilcar, and his immunity to defeat, plus the stalemate at the siege of Lilybaeum, may have caused the Romans to start building a fleet in 243 BC. The Roman Republic was broke and nearly exhausted and had to borrow money from wealthy citizens to fund the construction. In 242 BC, this fleet blockaded the Carthaginian positions and defeated a hastily raised, undermanned Carthaginian fleet off Aegates islands in 241 BC. Hamilcar was authorized by Carthage to negotiate for peace, but the actual parley was conducted by Gisco, the Carthaginian commander of Lilybaeum. By a provision of the peace of 241 BC Hamilcar's unbeaten force was allowed to depart from Sicily without any token of submission — a rare gesture granted by the Romans to a defeated enemy.

The Truceless War[link]

Upon returning to Carthage, his troops, which had been kept together only by his personal authority and by the promise of good pay, broke out into open mutiny when their rewards were withheld by Hamilcar's opponents among the governing aristocracy, starting the conflict later named the Mercenary War. The serious danger into which Carthage was brought by the failure of the aristocratic generals was averted by Hamilcar, whom the government in this crisis could not help but reinstate. By the power of his personal influence among the mercenaries and the surrounding African peoples, and by superior strategy, he speedily crushed the revolt (237 BC). Rome, which had dealt with Carthage with all due honor and courtesy during the crisis, going as far as to release all Punic prisoners without ransom and refuse to accept the offer from Utica and Sardinia to incorporate these territories into the Roman domain, seized Sardinia and Corsica and forced Carthage to pay 1200 talents for her initial refusal to renounce her claim over the islands.^[10] This is one of the causes of the Second Punic War and held as the motivation of the subsequent activities of Hamilcar.

Operations in Africa[link]

After this success Hamilcar enjoyed such influence among the popular and patriotic party that his opponents could not prevent him being raised to a virtual dictatorship. Hamilcar allied with Hasdrubal the Fair, his future son in law, to restrict the power of the aristocracy led by Hanno the Great. 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. Training for the army was obtained in some Numidian forays, then Hamilcar marched the army West to the straits of Gibraltar. Hasdrubal the Fair commanded the fleet carrying supplies and elephants along the coast, keeping pace with the army. Hamilcar on his own responsibility ferried the army across to Gades to start an expedition into Hispania (236 BC), where he hoped to gain a new empire to compensate Carthage for the loss of Sicily and Sardinia, and to serve as a base for any future conflicts against the Romans.

Barcid Spain[link]

In eight years by force of arms and diplomacy Hamilcar secured an extensive territory in Hispania, but his premature death in battle (228 BC) denied Carthage a complete conquest. 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.^[11] Hamilcar stood out far above the Carthaginians of his age in military and diplomatic skill and in strength of patriotism; in these qualities he was surpassed only by his son Hannibal, whom he had imbued with his own deep suspicion of Rome and trained to be his successor in the conflict.

Family[link]

Hamilcar had at least three daughters and at least three sons.

• His first daughter was married to Bomilcar, who was a suffete of Carthage and may have commanded the Punic fleet in the Second Punic war. His grandson, Hanno, was an important commander in the army of his son Hannibal Barca.
• The second daughter was married to Hasdrubal the Fair.
• The third daughter married Naravas,^[12] a Numidian chieftain whose defection had saved Hamilcar and his army during the mercenary war.
• Hamilcar had three sons, Hannibal, Hasdrubal Barca and Mago Barca, all to have distinguished military careers. A fourth unnamed son is often mentioned but details are lacking.

Legends[link]

He allegedly founded the city of Barcino (currently named Barcelona) while he was on Hispania.^[13]

Hamilcar in literature[link]

• Salammbô, by Gustave Flaubert
• Pride of Carthage, by David Anthony Durham
• The cat of the titular protagonist of The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard, by Anatole France, begins the book with a cat named Hamilcar, and ends it with a kitten named Hannibal.
• In the manga Bio Booster Armor Guyver, one of the villains is named Hamilcar Barcas.
• The father of the protagonist, Claus Valca, in the anime television series Last Exile is named Hamilcar Valca, "Valca" being a Japanese mis-transliteration of "Barca" (V for B, and L for R).
• In the 2002 film The Emperor's Club, starring Kevin Kline, Hamilcar Barca is the subject of a question asked during the final stages of an educational competition. The question, trivial in nature, initiates an important turning point in how events of the story unfold.

See also[link]

• Barcid family
• Battle of the Bagradas River (239 BC)

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hamilcar Barca". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Baker, G. P. (1999). Hannibal. New York: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0-8154-1005-0. 
• Bath, Tony (1995). Hannibal's Campaigns. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-88029-817-0. 
• Bagnall, Nigel (2005). The Punic Wars. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-34214-4. 
• Goldsworthy, Adrian (2003). The Fall of Carthage. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-36642-0. 
• Lancel, Serge (1999). Hannibal. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21848-3. 
• Lazenby, John Francis (1998). Hannibal's War. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3004-0. 
• Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 1-85728-136-5. 

Further reading[link]

• Warry, John (1993). Warfare in The Classical World. Salamander Books Ltd.. ISBN 1-56619-463-6. 
• Lancel, Serge (1997). Carthage A History. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1-57718-103-4. 

External links[link]

• Livius.org: Hamilcar Barca

This article is about the antique North African city. For the modern city see Marj; for the landscape and province called Barqah, see Cyrenaica. For other uses see Barca (disambiguation).

"Barce" redirects here. For the village in Poland, see Barce, Poland. For the true bug genus, see Barce (bug).

Barce (sometimes Barca) (Greek: Βάρκη, Arabic: برقة‎, Berber: Berqa) was an ancient Greek colony and later Roman, Byzantine, city in North Africa. It occupied the coastal area of what is modern day Libya. As a Greek city it was part of the Cyrenaican Pentapolis along with the city of Cyrene itself.

According to most archeologists, it was situated at Marj, but according to Alexander Graham at Tolmeitha (Ptolemais).^[1]

The city's name, Arabized as Barqah, came to refer to the former state and province of Cyrenaica.^[2]

History[link]

Barkē was founded by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC.

Early Christianity spread to the Pentapolis of North Africa from Egypt. Synesius of Cyrene (370–414), bishop of Ptolemais, received his instruction at Alexandria in both the Catechetical School and the Museion, and he entertained a great deal of reverence and affection for Hypatia, the last pagan Neoplatonists, whose classes he had attended. Synesius was raised to the episcopate by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, in 410 A.D. Since the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Cyrenaica had been recognized as an ecclesiastical province of the See of Alexandria, in accordance with the ruling of the Nicaean Fathers. The patriarch of the Coptic Church to his day includes the Pentapolis in his title as an area within his jurisdiction.^[3]

After often being destroyed and then restored, during the Roman period it became a mere borough but was, nevertheless, the site of a bishopric. Its bishop, Zopyros, was present at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.^[4] The subscriptions at Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) give the names of two other bishops, Zenobius and Theodorus.

Barce was part of the Exarchate of Africa until it was conquered by the Arabs in AD 643–644 during the Islamic conquest of North Africa. It originally served as the capital of the Barqah province of the Caliphate. When the Ottoman Turks conquered the region in 1521 they used the Turkish form "Barka" for the province, but did not retain the city's status as its capital.

Barca is now a Roman Catholic titular see of Cyrenaica in Libya, Northern Africa, but vacant. The Eparchy of the Western Pentapolis was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as the Pope of Alexandria was the Pope of Africa, the most senior position in The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church after the Pope was the Metropolitan of Western Pentapolis, but since its demise in the days of Pope John VI of Alexandria as a major Archiepiscopal Metropolis and now being held as a Titular See attached to another Diocese.

During World War II, a battle for Barce of the North African campaign was won on 5 February 1941 by the 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery. The regiment remembers this battle through the naming of its facilities at its base at Enoggera, Barce Lines.

The modern city on the same site, Marj, grew up around a 19th century Turkish fort. It was developed by the Italians during their colonial dominance of Libya and today has a population of 120,000. The Italian settlement was severely damaged in a 1963 earthquake and is now largely abandoned. No remains of the ancient settlement are visible, but some of the finds made during the Italian period are on display in the museum at nearby Ptolemais.

Sources and references[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Barca.

•  "Barca". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• GigaCatholic – Titular sees
• Butler, The Arab Conquest of Egypt, p. 430
• Heinrich Gelzer, Patrum Nicaenorum nomina, p. 231
• Marquardt, Staatsverwaltung, I, p. 459
• Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)

References[link]

See also[link]

• Apollonia
• Ptolemais

Coordinates: 32°29′54″N 20°53′34″E / 32.49833°N 20.89278°E / 32.49833; 20.89278

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar Barca
A coin showing Hasdrubal as the strategos of Iberia
Born	245 BC Carthage, Tunisia
Died	207 BC Metauro River, Italy
Allegiance	Carthaginian Republic
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Second Punic War: Battle of Cissa, Battle of Ebro River, Battle of the Upper Baetis, Battle of Baecula, and Battle of the Metaurus

Hasdrubal (245–207 BC) was Hamilcar Barca's second son and a Carthaginian general in the Second Punic War. He was a younger brother of the much more famous Hannibal.

Youth and Iberian leadership[link]

Little is known of Hasdrubal's early life. Hasdrubal was present when the Iberians ambushed the Carthaginian forces at Akra Leuka, nowadays Alicante. He, along with his brother Hannibal, escaped, as Hamilcar led the Iberians in the opposite direction and drowned in the River Jucar.

Hannibal, when he set out for Italy, left a force of 13,000 infantry, 2,550 cavalry and 21 war elephants in Iberia. The Punic navy had a fleet of 50 Quinqueremes and 5 Triremes stationed there. However, only 32 Quinqueremes were manned at the start of the Second Punic War.

Left in command of Hispania when Hannibal departed to Italy in 218 BC, Hasdrubal was destined to fight for six years against the brothers Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio. The expedition led by Gnaeus Scipio in 218 BC had caught the Carthaginians by surprise, and before Hasdrubal could join Hanno, the Carthaginian commander on the North of Ebro River, the Romans had fought and won the Battle of Cissa and established their army at Tarraco and their fleet at Emporiae. Hasdrubal raided the Romans with a flying column of light infantry and cavalry, which inflicted severe losses and on their naval crews and reduced the fighting strength to 35 ships. This loss was offset by the arrival of an allied Greek contingent from the city of Massilia.

In the spring of 217 BC, Hasdrubal led a joint expedition north to fight the Romans. He commanded the army, while his deputy commanded the fleet. The Army and the fleet moved north side by side and encamped on the mouth of the Ebro River. Carelessness of the Carthaginian fleet enabled Gnaeus Scipio to surprise the Carthaginians and crush their naval contingent at the Battle of Ebro River. Hasdrubal retreated without fighting the Roman army. The year 216 was spent quelling an uprising of Iberian tribes, possibility the Trudetanii around the area near Gades.

Hasdrubal was reinforced by 4,000 infantry and 500 cavalry and was ordered by the Carthaginian senate to march to Italy in the same year. He left Himilco the Navigator in charge at Cartagena and marched for the Ebro river, but was heavily defeated in the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC. This defeat prevented reinforcements reaching Hannibal from both Iberia and Africa at a critical moment of the War, when the Carthaginians held the upper hand in Italy. The Carthaginians from now were forced to contest the Romans in the area between the Ebro and Jucor rivers.

Joint command[link]

This defeat also led to Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arriving in Iberia with two armies and ending the undisputed command of the Barcid family in Iberia. The Carthaginains fought the Scipio brothers and had on the whole the worst of the conflict between 215 and 212 BC, but managed to prevent the loss of any territory. At the instigation of the Romans, Syphax, one of the kings of the Numidian tribes, attacked Carthaginian territories in Africa in 213/212 BC. The situation in Iberia was sufficiently under control, because Hasdrubal and his Iberian army crossed over to Africa and crushed the threat of Syphax in a battle where 30,000 Numidians were killed. With his Roman trained army shattered, Syphax fled to Mauritania. The aid of Masinissa, a Numidian prince, was invaluable during this episode, and he crossed over to Iberia with Hasdrubal after the African expedition ended with 3,000 Numidian cavalry.

In late 212 BC Hasdrubal, with timely cooperation from Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, completely routed his opponents at the Battle of the Upper Baetis, destroying the majority of the Roman army in Iberia and killing both the Scipios. Carthaginians gained control of Iberia up to the Ebro as a result of this victory. However, the lack of cooperation between the Carthginian generals after the battle led the surviving Roman force of 8,000 retiring north of the river Ebro safely. These troops somehow managed to keep the Carthaginian armies from gaining a foothold north of the Ebro River. The Romans reinforced this detachment with 10,000 troops under Cladius Nero in 211 BC and with another 10,000 soldiers under Scipio Africanus Major in 210 BC, who spent the year training his army and improving his diplomatic contacts.

The Carthaginian armies had dispersed in the interior of Iberia in 209 BC, possibly to maintain control over the Iberian tribes, on which they were dependent on for soldiers and provisions. The Carthaginian armies were subsequently outgeneralled by Scipio Africanus Major, who, taking advantage of the absence of the three Carthaginian armies being away in 209 BC captured Carthago Nova and gained other advantages. Hasdrubal was defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Baecula, but managed to retreat with 2/3 of his army intact.

Second Carthaginian expedition to Italy[link]

Later in 209 BC, Hasdrubal was summoned to join his brother in Italy. He eluded Scipio by crossing the Pyrenees at their western extremity and safely made his way into Gaul in the winter of 208. Hasdrubal had waited until the spring of 207 to make his way through the Alps and into Northern Italy. Hasdrubal made much faster progress than his brother had, partly due to the constructions left behind by Hannibal's army when he had passed via the same route a decade earlier, but also due to the removal of the Gallic threat that had plagued Hannibal during said expeditions. The Gauls now feared and respected the Carthaginians, and not only was Hasdrubal allowed to pass through the Alps unmolested, his ranks were bolstered by many enthusiastic Gauls. Hasdrubal, in the same fashion as his brother, succeeded in bringing his war elephants, raised and trained in Hispania. It was not until Hasdrubal sent messengers to Hannibal that decisive measures were taken. Hasdrubal wished to meet with his brother in South Umbria. However, this was not to be. Hasdrubal's messengers were captured and he was ultimately checked by two Roman armies, and being forced to give battle was decisively defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus. Hasdrubal himself died bravely in the fight; he was beheaded, his head packed in a sack and thrown into his brother Hannibal's camp as a sign of his utter defeat, in stark contrast of Hannibal's treatment of the bodies of fallen Roman Consuls.

Hasdrubal in literature[link]

• Pride of Carthage, by David Anthony Durham
• "The Histories," by Polybius

See also[link]

• Hasdrubal for other Carthaginians of this name

External links[link]

• Livius.org: Hasdrubal Barca