Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar Barca or Barcas (Punic: 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤁𐤓𐤒, romanized: Ḥamilqart Barqa; c. 275 – 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.

Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian land forces in Sicily from 247 BC to 241 BC, 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 241 BC, following the defeat of Carthage. When the Mercenary War broke 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 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.

Hamilcar is the latinization of Hamílkas (Ancient Greek: Ἁμίλκας), the hellenized form of the common Semitic Phoenician-Carthaginian masculine given name ḤMLK (Punic: 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤊) or ḤMLQRT (𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕),^{[citation needed]} meaning "Melqart's brother".

The cognomen or epithet BRQ (𐤁𐤓𐤒) means "thunderbolt" or "shining". 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.

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. 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.

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 strongholds – in 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" was in charge of operations in Africa since 248 BC and had conquered considerable territory by 241 BC. 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. 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.