Editing Hamilcar Barca (section)

==Hamilcar in Sicily==
[[Image:Panormus 247BC.PNG|thumb|191x191px|right|Hamilcar Barca's probable base near Panormus in 247 BC. A generic representation, not to exact scale and not all information shown.]]


The Carthaginian leadership probably thought Rome had been defeated and invested little manpower in Sicily.<ref>Lazenby, J.F, ''First Punic War'', p. 144</ref> With a small force and no money to hire new troops, Hamilcar's strategic goal probably was to maintain a stalemate, as he had neither the resources to win the war nor the authority to peacefully settle it.<ref>Miles, Richard, Carthage Must be Destroyed, p. 193, {{ISBN|978-0-141-01809-6}}</ref> Hamilcar was in command of a [[mercenary]] army composed of multiple nationalities and his ability to successfully lead this force demonstrates his skill as field commander. He employed [[combined arms]] tactics, like [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] and [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]],<ref>Baker, G.P, Hannibal, p. 54 {{ISBN|0-312-34214-4}}</ref> and his strategy was similar to the one employed by [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus|Fabius Maximus]] during the [[Second Punic War]], ironically against [[Hannibal]], Hamilcar's eldest son. The difference was that Fabius commanded a numerically superior army to his opponent, had no supply problems, and had room to manoeuvre, while Hamilcar was mostly static, had a far smaller army than the Romans and was dependent on seaborne supplies from Carthage.

=== Panormus 247 BC – 244 BC ===
Hamilcar, upon taking command in the summer of 247 BC,<ref>Polybius 1.56.2</ref> punished the rebellious mercenaries (who had revolted because of overdue payments) by murdering some of them at night and drowning the rest at sea,<ref name="Zonaras 8.16">Zonaras 8.16</ref> and dismissing many to different parts of northern Africa. With a reduced army and fleet, Hamilcar commenced his operations.<ref>Lazenby, John F., ''First Punic War'', p. 145 {{ISBN|1-85728-136-5}}</ref> The Romans had divided their forces: Consul [[Lucius Caecilius Metellus (consul 251 BC)|Lucius Caelius Metellus]] was near [[Lilybaeum]], while Numerius Fabius Buteo was besieging [[Drepanum]] at that time. Hamilcar probably fought an inconclusive battle at [[Drepanum]],<ref name="Zonaras 8.16" /> but there is cause to doubt this.<ref>Lazenby, John .F, ‘’First Punic War’’, p. 146</ref>

Hamilcar next raided [[Locri]] in Bruttium and the area around [[Brindisi]] in 247 BC.<ref>Polybius 1.56.3</ref> On his return he seized a strong position on Mount Ercte ([[Monte Pellegrino]], just north of [[Palermo]] or Mt. Castellacio, 7 miles north-west of Palermo),<ref>Lazenby, John F., ''First Punic War'', p. 147 {{ISBN|1-85728-136-5}};   [https://www.nam-sism.org/Articoli/NAM%206042%20Fascicolo%20n.%202%20-%20VACANTI%20Operazione%20Heirkte.pdf Claudio Vacanti, ''Operazione Heirkte: Monte Pellegrino e la campagna di Amilcare Barca in Sicilia (247-244 a.C.)'' (<abbr>PDF</abbr>), in ''Rivista interdisciplinare della società italiana di storia Militare'', vol. 1, n. 2, Società Italiana di Storia Militare, 2 giugno 2020.https://www.nam-sism.org/Articoli/NAM%206042%20Fascicolo%20n.%202%20-%20VACANTI%20Operazione%20Heirkte.pdf]</ref> and not only maintained himself against all attacks, but carried on with his seaborne raids ranging from [[Catana]]<ref>Diodorus Siculus 24.10</ref> in Sicily to as far as [[Cumae]] in central [[Italy]].{{sfn|Caspari|1911|p=877}}<ref>Polybius, 1.56.9–10</ref> He also set about improving the spirit of the army, and succeeded in creating a highly disciplined and versatile force. While Hamilcar won no large-scale battle or recaptured any cities lost to the Romans, he waged a relentless campaign against the enemy, and caused a constant drain on Roman resources. However, if Hamilcar had hoped to recapture [[Palermo|Panormus]], he failed in his strategy. Roman forces led by the consuls [[Manius Otacilius Crassus]] and Marcus Fabius Licinus achieved little against Hamilcar in 246 BC, and the consuls of 245 BC, [[Marcus Fabius Buteo|Marcus Fabius Buteo]] and Atilius Bulbus, fared no better.

=== Eryx 244 BC – 241 BC ===
[[File:Aegades241a.png|right|thumb|261x261px|Generic description of the strategic situation.]]
In 244 BC, Hamilcar transferred his army at night by sea<ref name="Diodorus Siculus 24.8">Diodorus Siculus 24.8</ref> to a similar position on the slopes of [[Eryx (Sicily)|Mt. Eryx]] (Monte San Giuliano),<ref>Lazenby, John F., ‘’First Punic War’’, p. 148 {{ISBN|1-85728-136-5}}</ref> from which he was able to lend support to the besieged garrison in the neighbouring town of Drepanum ([[Trapani]]).{{sfn|Caspari|1911|p=877}} Hamilcar seized the town of Eryx, captured by the Romans in 249 BC, after destroying the Roman garrison, and positioned his army between the Roman forces stationed at the summit and their camp at the base of the mountain.<ref>Polybius 1.58.2</ref> He removed the population to Drepana.<ref name="Diodorus Siculus 24.8" /> Hamilcar continued his activities unhindered from his position for another two years, being supplied by road from Drepana,<ref>Polybius 1.58.3</ref> although Carthaginian ships had been withdrawn from Sicily by this time and no naval raids were launched.<ref name="Polybius 1.59.9" /> During one of the raids, when troops under a subordinate commander named Bodostor engaged in plunder against the orders of Hamilcar and suffered severe casualties when the Romans caught up to them, Hamilcar requested a truce to bury his dead. Roman consul Fundanius (243/2 BC) arrogantly replied that Hamilcar should request a truce to save his living and denied the request.<ref>Diodorus Siculus 24.9.1–3</ref> Hamilcar managed to inflict severe casualties on the Romans soon after, and when the Roman consul requested a truce to bury his dead, Hamilcar replied that his quarrel was with the living only and the dead had already settled their dues, and granted the truce.<ref>Lazenby, J.F, ''The First Punic War'', p. 149 {{ISBN|0-312-34214-4}}</ref>

The actions of Hamilcar, and his immunity to defeat, plus the stalemate at the siege of [[Lilybaeum]] caused the Romans to start building a fleet in 243 BC to seek a decision at sea. However, the constant skirmishing without ultimate victory may have caused the morale of some of Hamilcar's troops to crack and 1,000 Celtic mercenaries tried to betray the Punic camp to the Romans, which was foiled.<ref>Polybius 2.7.6–11, Zonaras 8.16</ref> Hamilcar had to promise considerable rewards to keep the morale of his army up, which was to produce near fatal problems for Carthage later on.

==== Roman response: privately funded fleet ====
The [[Roman Republic]] was nearly bankrupt and had to borrow money from wealthy citizens to fund the construction of a fleet of 200 [[quinqueremes]], which blockaded Carthaginian positions in Sicily in 242 BC by seizing the harbour of Drepana and anchorages at Lilybaeum, while Roman soldiers built [[siege works]] around Drepanum.<ref>Polybius 1.59.9–10</ref> The better-trained Roman fleet<ref>Polybius 1.59.9–12</ref> defeated a hastily raised, undermanned and ill-trained Punic fleet at [[battle of the Aegates Islands]] in 241 BC, cutting Sicily off from Carthage. Carthaginian leadership requested terms to the victorious Roman commander, [[Gaius Lutatius Catulus]] and authorised Hamilcar Barca to open negotiations, probably to avoid the responsibility of the defeat. Hamilcar in turn nominated Gisco,<ref>Diodorus Siculus 24.13, Polybius 1.66.1</ref> the Carthaginian commander of [[Lilybaeum]], to conduct the talks. Carthage often hauled defeated generals and admirals before the Tribunal of 100 and had them crucified, so Hamilcar probably distanced himself from the possibility of prosecution if the Roman terms turned out to be harsh enough for Carthaginian authorities to seek a scapegoat.<ref>Lazenby, John F. ''The First Punic War'', p. 157</ref>

=== Peace of Lutatius terms of the treaty ===
{{main|Lutatius treaty}}
This treaty replaced all previous treaties between the two powers. The initial conditions laid out by Lutatius to Gisco were:<ref>Polybius 1.62.8–9</ref>

* The Carthaginians will evacuate all Sicily.
* Carthage should not make war on [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and their allies.
* Carthage would pay Rome 2,200 [[Euboea|Euboean]] silver talents (56 tons) over a 20-year period as reparations.
* The Carthaginian army would surrender their weapons and all Roman deserters immediately.

Hamilcar Barca refused the demand to surrender Roman deserters or disarm Carthaginian soldiers, despite being threatened by Lutatius to have the Punic army pass under the yoke.<ref>Diodorus Siculus 24.13, Cornelius Nepos, Hamilcar, 1.5</ref> Lutatius did not press the issue further, and the Carthaginian soldiers were later allowed to leave Sicily under arms with their honor intact,<ref>Polybius, 1.20.6–14</ref> and without any token of submission – a rare gesture granted by the Romans to a defeated enemy. Roman deserters may have been surrendered on a later date.<ref name="Zonaras 8.17">Zonaras 8.17</ref>

Lutatius did not have the authority to ratify the agreement he made with Hamilcar, so he forwarded them to the [[Comitia Centuriata]] in Rome. The Romans rejected these terms and appointed ten commissioners, led by Quantius Lutatius Cerco, brother of the consul and himself consul in 240 BC, to reexamine the conditions.<ref>Valerius Maximus 1.3.1</ref> They added some conditions and amended some of the ones given by Lutatius:<ref>Polybius 1.63.3</ref>

* Carthage would evacuate all islands between Italy and Sicily – probably the Aegates Islands in addition to the [[Aeolian Islands]]. This meant Roman acknowledgement of Carthaginian control over [[Malta]], [[Pantelleria]], [[Sardinia]] and [[Corsica]].
* Carthage would pay 2,200 silver talents in 10 year installments, and 1,000 talents immediately; a total of 3,200 talents as war reparations.
* Carthage will ransom all Punic prisoners, while all Roman prisoners would be freed without payment of ransom.<ref>Eutropius 2.27.4</ref>
* Carthaginian warships were forbidden to sail along Italian shores or those of their allies.<ref name="Zonaras 8.17" />
* Neither side should make war on the other's allies, or seek to change their allegiance by allying with them directly or interfering with their internal affairs. Neither side would seek to recruit soldiers, levy tribute or build public buildings on the other power's territories.<ref>Polybius 3.27.2–3</ref>

The last condition is mentioned by [[Polybius]] in place of the one regarding not making war on Syracuse. It is possible that Hamilcar Barca secured the last clause after the initial conditions, which were more favorable to Carthage, was altered by Rome with a harsher one. Hamilcar Barca gathered the Carthaginian soldiers from Drepana and Eryx at Lilybaeum, surrendered his command,<ref>Polybius 1.66.1, 68.12, Zonaras 8.17</ref> returned to Carthage and retired to private life, leaving Gisco and the Carthaginian government to pay off his soldiers. Whatever was the motivation behind this act, it was resented by the mercenaries left behind in Sicily.