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Biography of Hamilcar Barca
Name: Hamilcar Barca
Birth Date: c. 285 B.C.
Death Date: c. 229 B.C.
Place of Birth: N/A
Nationality: Carthaginian
Gender: Male
Occupations: statesman, general
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca (ca. 285-ca. 229 BC) was a great Carthaginian general and statesman in the First Punic War who firmly established Carthaginian rule in Spain.Hamilcar Barca was a daring, intelligent young man. He was appointed commander in chief in Sicily in 247 B.C., when, after 18 years of fighting, the Carthaginian forces were at their lowest. Entrusted with naval operations, he immediately set out to attack and ravage the coastline of Lucania and Bruttium. He then landed on the north coast of Sicily, seizing Mt. Hercte west of Panormus. From this vantage point he hoped to strike at the rear of the armies besieging Lily-baeum and Drepanum and possibly draw off their forces to the defense of Panormus. Meanwhile, he fortified the site, built a harbor for his fleet, and continued the raids on the Italian coast as far north as Cumae.When, after 3 years of harassing the Romans and holding …showed first 150 words…
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…showed last 150 words…since he arrived too late on the scene to change the tide. The historian Polybius--although conceding the Romans' superiority in individual courage--gave the palm of leadership to Hamilcar. The anti-Barcid tradition, found in Roman historians, blamed Hamilcar's personal ambition for his wars in Spain and denied that he was backed by his home government. Although this tradition is untrue, there can be no question that Hamilcar's conquests and the rising power of Carthage in Spain ultimately led to the great conflict with Rome in the Second Punic War. Further Reading The major ancient source for the life of Hamilcar is Polybius. For the historical background of Hamilcar's life and the Punic Wars see B. H. Warmington, Carthage (1960; rev. ed. 1969), and Gilbert Charles Picard and Colette Picard, The Life and Death of Carthage, translated by Dominique Collon (1969). Hamilcar received extensive treatment in Gavin de Beer, Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy (1969).
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