Editing Hannibal (section)

==Name==
[[File:Hannibal as a child, accompanied by a Roman soldier.jpg|thumb|upright|Circa 1850 engraving of ''Young Hannibal'' (left) by [[Charles Turner (engraver)|Charles Turner]]]]
[[Hannibal (given name)|Hannibal]] was a common [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] Phoenician-Carthaginian personal name. It is recorded in Carthaginian sources as {{sc|ḥnbʿl}}{{sfnp|Huss|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC&pg=PA565 565]}} ({{langx|xpu|𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋}}). It is a combination of the common Phoenician masculine given name [[Hanno (given name)|Hanno]] with the [[Northwest Semitic]] [[Canaan]]ite deity [[Baal]] (lit, "lord") a major god of the Carthaginians ancestral homeland of [[Phoenicia]] in Western Asia. Its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include ''Ḥannobaʿal'',<ref name=brown>Brown, John Pairman. 2000. Israel and Hellas: Sacred institutions with Roman counterparts. pp. 126–128</ref> ''Ḥannibaʿl'', or ''Ḥannibaʿal'',<ref name=benz/><ref name=baier/> meaning "Baʿal/The lord is gracious", "Baʿal Has Been Gracious",<ref name=baier>Baier, Thomas. 2004. Studien zu Plautus' Poenulus. p. 174</ref><ref>Friedrich, Johannes, Wolfgang Röllig, [[Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo|Maria Giulia Amadasi]], and Werner R. Mayer. 1999. Phönizisch-Punische Grammatik. p. 53.</ref> or "The Grace of Baʿal".<ref name=benz>Benz, Franz L. 1982. Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions. pp. 313–314</ref> It is equivalent to the fellow Semitic Hebrew name [[Haniel]]. [[Greek historiography|Greek historians]] rendered the name as ''Anníbas'' ({{lang|grc|Ἀννίβας }}).

The Phoenicians and Carthaginians, like many West Asian Semitic peoples, did not use hereditary surnames, but were typically distinguished from others bearing the same name using [[patronymic]]s or [[epithet]]s. Although he is by far the most famous Hannibal, when further clarification is necessary he is usually referred to as "Hannibal, son of Hamilcar", or "Hannibal the Barcid", the latter term applying to the family of his father, [[Hamilcar Barca]]. ''[[B-R-Q|Barca]]'' ({{langx|xpu|𐤁𐤓𐤒}}, {{sc|brq}}) is a [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] [[cognomen]] meaning "lightning" or "thunderbolt",<ref>{{citation |last=Sullivan |first=Robert Joseph |title=A Dictionary of the English Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d24CAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA489 |page=489 |year=1877 }}</ref> a surname acquired by Hamilcar on account of the swiftness and ferocity of his attacks. 

Barca is cognate with similar names for lightning found among the [[Israelites]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Babylonians]], [[Arameans]], [[Arab people|Arabs]], [[Amorites]], [[Moabites]], [[Edomites]] and other fellow Asiatic Semitic peoples.<ref>S. Lancel, ''Hannibal'' p. 6.</ref> Although they did not inherit the surname from their father, Hamilcar's progeny are collectively known as the [[Barcids]].<ref>Ameling, Walter ''Karthago: Studien zu Militär, Staat und Gesellschaft'' pp. 81–82.</ref> Modern historians occasionally refer to Hannibal's brothers as [[Hasdrubal Barca]] and [[Mago Barca]] to distinguish them from the multitudes of other Carthaginians named Hasdrubal and Mago, but this practice is ahistorical and is rarely applied to Hannibal.