HAMILCAR BARCA or BARCAS, Carthaginian general and statesman, father of Hannibal, was born c. 270 B.C. During the First Punic War in 247, he took over the chief command in Sicily, which at this time was almost entirely in the hands of the Romans, and seizing Mt. Ercte (Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo), carried his raids as far as the coast of south Italy. By the peace of 241 Hamilcar's unbeaten force was allowed to depart from Sicily without any token of submission. On return ing to Africa his troops broke out into open mutiny when their rewards were withheld by Hamilcar's opponents among the gov erning aristocracy. The serious danger into which Carthage was brought was averted by Hamilcar, whom the government rein stated. After crushing the revolt (237), Hamilcar enjoyed a vir tual dictatorship. On his own responsibility he led an expedition into Spain to gain a new empire to compensate Carthage for the loss of Sicily and Sardinia. In eight years by force of arms and diplomacy he secured an extensive territory, but his premature death in battle (228) prevented him from completing the conquest.
This Hamilcar has been confused with another general who succeeded to the command of the Carthaginians in the First Punic War, and after successes at Therrna and Drepanum was defeated at Ecnomus (256 s.c.) . Apart from subsequent unskilful operations against Regulus, nothing is certainly known of him. For others of the name see CARTHAGE, SICILY, Smith's Classical Dictionary.
See Polybius i.—iii.; Cornelius Nepos, Vita Hamilcaris; Appian, Res Hispanicae, chs. 4, 5 ; Diodorus, Excerpta, xxiv., xxv. ; 0. Meltzer, Geschichte der Karthager (1877), also PUNIC WARS.