How many Japanese people come to mind when they hear Hamilcar Barca's name?
The name recognition in Japan will be almost zero.
Who the hell is he?
Let's say it talks a lot.
Hamilcar Appears
Hamilcar Barca was born in 275 BC in ancient Carthage, what is now Tunisia.
Carthage began the war with Rome in 264 BC. The famous Punic War.
There are three Punic Wars in all, the first being a fairly long-running war in human history that has fought for over 20 years, between 264 BC and 241 BC. I can say.
Since World War II was six years between 1939 and 1945, you can see how long it is.
Initially, the Carthaginian side had an advantage in the battle. Especially in naval battles, Rome has little experience, and the difference in strength with the Carthaginian side is overwhelming. It was as if he couldn't be the opponent, but if Rome improved the ship with its own technology, it would win the naval battle.
However, although Rome is strong in naval battles, its nautical skills are inexperienced and it suffers a heavy blow when returning from battle, but the battle situation has gradually leaned toward Rome.
The first Punic War was set in Sicily (now Italian territory) in the Mediterranean Sea, not in Africa, but before the war, Carthage occupied more than half of the west.
In other words, it looks like this.
Carthage was the Phoenician country that created the alphabet and was the champion of the Mediterranean after the fall of Greece.
It's a little confusing, but Sicily still has a Greek police (city-state), and its representative city, Syracuse, was effectively a Roman force. In other words, the battle between Greeks and Phoenicians was initially changed to Greeks and Romans vs. Phoenicians.
Due to the Roman offensive, the Sicilian power retreated, leaving behind the western cities of Marsala and Trapani.
That's when Hamilcar, the protagonist of this time, entered the war.
The year he entered the Punic Wars was 247 BC, when the war was about to end.
Power struggle in Carthage
Considering the initial national power of the Punic Wars, Carthage was overwhelmingly more advantageous. It can be said that it was overwhelming in terms of both technology and troops.
Still, there are several reasons why the Carthaginian side has become inferior, but one of the biggest is the political conflict within Carthage.
Rome is a military nation in which the consul Consul holds military power, while Carthage is an agricultural nation that emphasizes agriculture. Therefore, the Roman side is its own national, while the Carthaginian side relies on mercenaries.
Hamilcar was actually led by mercenaries, and in the early days it was the mercenary Xanthippus of Sparta, a military nation, who led the Carthaginian side.
Within Carthage, it was divided into a group that emphasized the military and a group that emphasized the internal affairs, and they began to drag each other's legs.
In the later Sangokushi, Yuan Shao's army was destroyed by such an internal division, but what he is doing does not change even if the times and places change. The manga "Attack on Titan" also depicts this part well.
The Barca faction led by Hamilcar was a force that emphasized the military, but was very close to the Hannon faction, which was leading the internal affairs-oriented faction at that time.
It is said that Hamilcar was able to actually lead two division-level troops, and it was impossible to recover the inferiority at that time.
Hamilcar decided to give up the extermination of Rome and take a strategy of aiming for a consensus in an endurance battle.
He did not stand on the remaining Marsala and Trapani, but on a nearby mountain. It is a mountaintop lineup.
If the Roman army attacks either city, Hamilcar will be behind him, aiming for a stalemate.
In fact, Hamilcar was undefeated. He never lost to a strong Roman soldier.
However, the Roman army decided to attack Marsala from the sea to counter this. I dared to take a strategy not to fight Hamilcar. Therefore, Rome only issued the first war bonds.
Marsala was dropped by the Roman fleet. The fleet from Carthage did not come. Perhaps as a result of an internal struggle he was unable to dispatch a fleet. It's like a big company that has only money that can't make any decisions even if it becomes a big deal in the company. There are so many Japanese companies that have fallen into poor performance as a result of exhaustion of internal politics.
Carthage dispatched a fleet after Marsala fell. As a result, the Carthaginian fleet was defeated by the Roman fleet. The damage on the Roman side seems to have been severe, but the Carthaginian side seems to have been almost wiped out.
Hamilcar could only see it.
Carthage lost.
After the Punic Wars
Carthage applied for peace in the Punic Wars in Rome. The representative is Hamilcar.
The representative of the Roman side was Catullus, who was a consul at that time, and the consul had the authority to make decisions during the war as a system of Romans.
The contents of the peace concluded between the two are as follows.
・ Carthage permanently abandons sovereignty in Sicily
・ Carthage does not invade Roman friendly countries including Syracuse
・ Both countries release prisoners unconditionally
・ Carthage is Rome
・ Rome guarantees Carthage's autonomy and independence
Hamilcar at this time must have been just a miserable feeling. He had no choice but to drink the conditions from the Roman side unilaterally.
Furthermore, after this, the Carthaginian side will be reluctant to pay the mercenaries who participated in the Punic War.
This is said to be the harassment of the anti-Hamilkal factions in Carthage, and of course the mercenaries were furious.
The mercenaries organized a corps and attempted a rebellion against Carthage. The rebellion will be joined by the forces of cities dissatisfied with Carthage, and will swell to the scale of tens of thousands.
It was none other than Hamilcar who suppressed the rebellion.
He has crushed the rebellion with less than 10,000 troops. Moreover, the rebels are annihilated. It's a story that clearly shows how good Hamilcar is.
Hamilcar then left Africa, the home of Carthage, to embark on the development of Spain.
A flame of revenge on Rome was burning in Hamilcar's chest. He followed his little son to the Temple of Barr and had his son vow to overthrow Rome.
He organized a corps in Spain and quickly overwhelmed Spain. He built farms and mines on the land he had conquered, bringing wealth to Carthage, or the Barca clan.
All to overthrow Rome.
Hamilcar taught his son everything he had.
Hamilcar died in 228 BC.
His son-in-law, Hashludvar, succeeded him.
He successfully negotiated with Rome. Instead of invading Rome, he found Spanish sovereignty.
He enriched the country and quietly waited for time.
Believe that Hamilcar's son will one day relieve his father's remorse and Carthage's remorse.
Hamilcar's son's name is Hannibal Barca.
He is a warrior representing world history who later called himself the greatest tactician of all time.
It's another story that he shakes Rome.