Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar Barca (circa 270-228 bc), Carthaginian general, appointed commander of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the First Punic War between Carthage and Rome. In 247 bc, after establishing himself in the mountains near Panormus (now Palermo), Hamilcar made frequent raids on the southwest Italian coast. His actions forced the Romans to withdraw many of their troops from the port city of Lilybaeum (now Marsala), thereby freeing an important Carthaginian supply route. The defeat of the Carthaginian fleet in 241 bc, however, terminated the war, and Hamilcar then negotiated the peace in which Carthage was forced to cede Sicily and pay heavy financial indemnities. When the Carthaginian government refused to pay the mercenaries that he had engaged for the Sicilian campaign, his troops, joined by a number of Libyan slaves, revolted. Hamilcar was summoned to suppress the uprising, and he succeeded in defeating the rebels in 238 bc. Appointed commander in chief of the army in 237 bc, Hamilcar began the reconquest of Spain, planning to build a new empire from which he could launch a major attack on Rome. He spent nine years in Spain, organizing the conquered tribes into an army that was of great help to his son, the Carthaginian general Hannibal, during the Second Punic War.