Under the leadership of the Barcid family,

Ancient Carthage Carthage () was a settlement in modern Tunisia that later became a city-state and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropolises in ...

expanded its possessions in Spain from 237 to 218 BC after the end of the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years ...

in 241 BC and the

Mercenary War The Mercenary War, also known as the Truceless War, was a mutiny by troops that were employed by Carthage at the end of the First Punic War (264241 BC), supported by uprisings of African settlements revolting against Carthaginian contro ...

in 238 BC.

Background

During the

, the members of Barcid family played a prominent role in the fighting against the Romans, particularly

Hamilcar Barca Hamilcar Barca or Barcas ( xpu, 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤁𐤓𐤒, ''Ḥomilqart Baraq''; –228BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-i ...

. After the war, Hamilcar commanded the Punic forces that defeated the former Carthaginian mercenaries, who had rebelled against

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

in the

. After the suppression of the rebellion, Hamilcar Barca understood that Carthage needed to strengthen its economic and military base to confront Rome, which had invaded and annexed Carthaginian

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

and

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. Rome had also ordered Carthage to pay an

indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one Party (law), party (the ''indemnitor'') to Financial compensation, compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or ...

1,200 talents of silver to cripple Carthage's war-making capacity. The Romans had thereby broken the

Treaty of Lutatius The Treaty of Lutatius was the agreement between Carthage and Rome of 241 BC (amended in 237 BC), that ended the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict. Most of the fighting during the war took place on, or in the waters around, the islan ...

which had ended the First Punic War. After the

, Carthaginian possessions in Spain were limited to a handful of wealthy coastal cities: Gades, Malaca, Abdera and Sexi. In 237 BC, Spain south of the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

was a land of well-developed agriculture, silver mines and fortified settlements. Hamilcar sought the creation of a new Carthaginian Empire in Spain that would make up for the loss of the Carthage's central Mediterranean island possessions and be even stronger. Before leaving, Hamilcar appointed his son-in-law

Hasdrubal the Fair Hasdrubal the Fair ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 , ''ʿAzrobaʿl''; –221BC) was a Carthaginian military leader and politician, governor in Iberia after Hamilcar Barca's death, and founder of Cartagena. Family Livy's ''History of Rome'' rec ...

as naval commander and asked his son

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

whether he would accompany Hamilcar to Spain. When Hannibal readily accepted, Hamilcar made him swear an oath on the sacrificial altar of

Baal Hammon Baal Hammon, properly Baʿal Ḥammon or Baʿal Ḥamon ( Phoenician: ; Punic: ), meaning “Lord Hammon”, was the chief god of Carthage. He was a weather god considered responsible for the fertility of vegetation and esteemed as King of t ...

to never befriend Rome. Hannibal would accompany his father and brother-in-law in Spain for the next 16 years. According to

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, Carthage, extremely weak after the war with the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

, was unable to provide him with the necessary fleet to a long journey across the sea, and so Hamilcar walked with his army to the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

. More likely is the tale of

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

, that Hamilcar embarked his army of perhaps 20,000 men and sailed along the African coast through the Strait of Gibraltar and landed at Gades in 237 BC. Carthage had the transport ships on hand and trading stations along the coast to provide resupply.

Citations

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last=Hoyos, first=Dexter, title=Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War, year=2015, publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, location=Oxford , isbn=978-0-19-986010-4 Hispania Punic Wars Wars involving Carthage 3rd century BC in Hispania 3rd century BC in the Roman Republic 237 BC Ancient history of the Iberian Peninsula Invasions of Europe

Background

See also

Citations

Bibliography