Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar Barca commanded Carthaginian land forces in Sicily from 247 BC to 241 BC, waging a successful guerrilla campaign that kept his army intact through the closing years of the First Punic War. After Carthage's defeat and the peace treaty in 241 BC, he returned home, only to be recalled around 240 BC when unpaid mercenaries revolted; he crushed them decisively at Bagradas and Saw. In 237 BC he led an expedition to Spain, spending eight years expanding Carthaginian territory there until his death in battle in 228 BC. He left behind three sons—Hannibal, Hasdrubal, and Mago—and may have desig…