Hasdrubal the Fair ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 , ''ʿAzrobaʿl''; –221BC) was a
Carthaginian military leader and politician, governor in Iberia after
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 ...
's death, and founder of
Cartagena.
Family
Livy's ''History of Rome'' records that Hasdrubal was the brother-in-law of the Carthaginian leader
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 ...
and son-in-law of
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 ...
.
Career
Hasdrubal followed Hamilcar in his campaign against the governing aristocracy at Carthage at the close 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 ...
, and in his subsequent career of conquest in
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
. In 237 BC, they parted towards the Peninsula, but around 231–230 BC Hasdrubal allegedly interceded in Hamilcar's name to make the Numidian tribes from northern Africa submit to the
Barcid family, and
Numidia
Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...
soon fell into Carthage's sphere of influence.
[Polybius 3.7–16, Livy 21.22.1–4, Livy 23.26.2, Diodorus of Sicily 25.2: ''Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar, was sent by his father-in-law to Carthage against the Numidians, who had rebelled against Carthaginians, killing eight thousand in combat and taking two thousand prisoners. The rest were submitted to tribute.'']
After Hamilcar's death in 228 BC, while he was fighting Iberian tribes,
[Diodorus, 25. 10.
''In the course of his flight Hamilcar contrived to save the lives of his sons and his friends by turning aside on another road; overtaken by the king, he plunged on horseback into a large river and perished in the flood under his steed, but his sons ]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 ...
and Hasdrubal made their way safely to Akra Leuke
Lucentum ( grc-gre, Λούκεντον, ''Loúkenton''), called Lucentia by Pomponius Mela, is the Roman predecessor of the city of Alicante, Spain. Particularly, it refers to the archaeological site in which the remains of this ancient settlemen ...
''. Hasdrubal succeeded him in command and followed orders from Carthage since Hamilcar's sons were too young. Hannibal, the elder, was 19 at the time. Unlike his predecessor, Hasdrubal largely preferred diplomacy over military campaigns.
[Livy 21.2.7 ''He augmented Carthaginian dominion promoting hospitality bonds with lesser kings and leaders, attracting new nations by noblemen friendships, and not by war and weapons''.] In accordance with the common diplomatic customs of the time, Hasdrubal demanded hostages from the realms who bent the knee to Carthage to dissuade them from breaking their treaties.
Thus, he extended the territory by skillful diplomacy and consolidating it by founding the important city and naval base of Qart Hadasht, which the Romans later called
Carthago Nova
Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-la ...
(Cartagena) as the capital of the new province, and by establishing a treaty 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 ...
which cemented the
River Ebro (the classical Iberus) as the boundary between the two powers. This treaty was caused by a Greek colony,
Ampurias, and Iberian
Sagunto
Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, ...
, fearful of the continuous growth of Punic power in Iberia, asking Rome for help. Hasdrubal accepted reluctantly, as Punic dominion in Iberia was not yet sufficiently established to jeopardise its future expansion in a premature conflict.
Death
Seven years after Hamilcar's death, Hasdrubal the Fair was assassinated in 221 BC by a slave of the
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic king Tagus, who thus avenged the death of his own master.
Hasdrubal's successor was his brother-in-law and the son of Hamilcar,
Hannibal Barca.
See also
*
Other Hasdrubals in Carthaginian history
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
*
Diodorus of Sicily: ''History'
*
Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...
: ''Roman History''. Biblioteca Clásica Gredos 84 (in Spanish).
*
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 ...
: ''Histories''. Biblioteca Clásica Gredos 38 y 43 (in Spanish).
*
Titus Livius: ''History of Rome''. Libro de Bolsillo Alianza Editorial 1595 1–2 (in Spanish).
External links
Livius.org: Hasdrubal the Fair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasdrubal, The Fair
270s BC births
221 BC deaths
Barcids
City founders
History of Cartagena, Spain
3rd-century BC Punic people