What is "hamilcar"

Hamilcar ( Punic-Phoenician ḥmlqrt, Canaanite Hebrew אחי-מלקרת, meaning brother of Melqart, a Tyrian god) was a common name in the Punic culture. There are several different transcriptions into Greek and Roman scripts. The ruling families of ancient Carthage often named their members with the traditional name Hamilcar. For example:

• Hamilcar the Magonid — Basileus (king) of Carthage
• Hamilcar, son of Hanno, led the Carthaginian forces at the Battle of Himera in 480 BC during the First Sicilian War
• Hamilcar — Punic strategus against Timoleon of Syracuse
• A brother of Gisco (3) and possibly brother of Hanno (9) with whom he was executed in the middle of the 4th century BC (Polyen. Strat. V 11)
• Hamilcar the Rhodian — Possibly Carthaginian spy in the entourage of Alexander the Great, executed when returning to Carthage.
• Hamilcar, son of Gisgo and grandson to Hanno the Great, led a campaign against Agathocles of Syracuse during the Third Sicilian War. He defeated Agathocles in the Battle of the Himera River in 311 BC. He was captured during the Siege of Syracuse and then killed in 309 BC.
• Hamilcar — Strategus in Sicily and Punic Africa from 261 to 255 BC during the First Punic War. He is not identical with the homonym officer mentioned by Diod. XXIV 12. ELip
• Hamilcar was a Carthaginian commander whose greatest achievement was winning the Battle of Drepanum in 249 BC during the First Punic War.
• Hamilcar Barca (about 270 – 228 BC) served as a Carthaginian general during and after the First Punic War (264 – 241 BC). His son was famed general Hannibal of the Second Punic War.

The name has been adopted by other cultures. Amilcare was one of Benito Mussolini's given names, and was the forename of the composer Amilcare Ponchielli.

Hamilcar was a general who succeeded to the command of the Carthaginians in the First Punic War, and after successes at Thermae and the Battle of Drepanum was defeated at Ecnomus (256 BCE). Subsequently, apart from unskillful operations against Marcus Atilius Regulus, nothing certain is known of him.

He is sometimes confused with the better known Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal.

Category:Carthaginians Category:First Punic War commanders Category:3rd-century BC people