HAMILCAR BARCA

died , winter 229/228 BC Barca also spelled Barcas general who assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome (264241). He was the father of Hannibal. By 247, when Hamilcar took charge in Sicily, Carthage had lost to Rome all its Sicilian possessions except Lilybaeum (now Marsala) and Drepanum (now Trapani). While harassing Roman troops with guerrilla tactics in western Sicily, Hamilcar staged a landing on the north coast, capturing Mount Ercte (probably Pellegrino near Palermo), which he held in the face of determined Roman attempts to dislodge him (247244). From this area he mounted naval expeditions against the shores of Sicily and southern Italy. Suddenly he left Ercte for Mount Eryx (modern Erice near Trapani), which he held until 241. After the defeat of the Carthaginian fleet in that year by Gaius Lutatius Catulus, Hamilcar made a treaty with the Romans ending the war. He then returned to Africa, where his mercenary troops revolted. Until 238 Hamilcar was engaged in recapturing his northern African provinces from the rebels. His success resulted in a growth in his strength as leader of Carthage's popular party and led him, probably with his government's sanction, to occupy Spain as a compensation for the loss to Rome of Sicily and Sardinia. In Spain he founded the city of Acra Leuce (perhaps modern Alicante) and made extensive conquests (237229/228) before his death in battle.