A Smaller History of Rome Part 6

CHAPTER X.

THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. B.C. 264-241.

Rome, now mistress of Italy, entered upon a long and arduous straggle with Carthage, which ruled without a rival the western waters of the Mediterranean. This great and powerful city was founded by the Phoenicians[26] of Tyre in B.C. 814, according to the common chronology. Its inhabitants were consequently a branch of the Semitic race, to which the Hebrews also belonged. Carthage rose to greatness by her commerce, and gradually extended her empire over the whole of the north of Africa, from the Straits of Hercules to the borders of Cyrene.

Her Libyan subjects she treated with extreme harshness, and hence they were always ready to revolt against her so soon as a foreign enemy appeared upon her soil.

The two chief magistrates at Carthage were elected annually out of a few of the chief families, and were called _Suffetes_.[27] There was a Senate of Three Hundred members, and also a smaller Council of One Hundred, of which the latter were the most powerful, holding office for life, and exercising an almost sovereign sway over the other authorities in the state. The government was a complete oligarchy; and a few old, rich, and powerful families divided among themselves the influence and power of the state. These great families were often opposed to each other in bitter feuds, but concurred in treating with contempt the ma.s.s of the people.

In her foreign wars Carthage depended upon mercenary troops, which her great wealth enabled her to procure in abundance from Spain, Italy, and Greece, as well as from Libya. Sardinia and Corsica were among her earliest conquests, and Sicily was also one of the first objects of her military enterprise. The Phoenician colonies in this island came under her dominion as the power of Tyre declined; and having thus obtained a firm footing in Sicily, she carried on a long struggle for the supremacy with the Greek cities. It was here that she came into contact with the Roman arms. The relations of Rome and Carthage had hitherto been peaceful, and a treaty, concluded between the two states in the first years of the Roman republic, had been renewed more than once. But the extension of Roman dominion had excited the jealousy of Carthage, and Rome began to turn longing eyes to the fair island at the foot of her empire. It was evident that a struggle was not far distant, and Pyrrhus could not help exclaiming, as he quitted Sicily, "How fine a battle-field are we leaving to the Romans and Carthaginians!"

The city of Messana, situated on the straits which divide Sicily from Italy, was occupied at this time by the Mamertini. They were a body of Campanian mercenaries, chiefly of Sabellian origin, who had served under Agathocles, and after the death of that tyrant (B.C. 289) were marched to Messana, in order to be transported to Italy. Being hospitably received within the city, they suddenly rose against the inhabitants, ma.s.sacred the male population, and made themselves masters of their wives and property. They now took the name of Mamertini, or "Children of Mars," from Mamers, a Sabellian name for that deity. They rapidly extended their power over a considerable portion of the north of Sicily, and were formidable enemies to Syracuse. Hiero, having become king of Syracuse, determined to destroy this nest of robbers, advanced against them with a large army, defeated them in battle, and shut them up within Messana. The Mamertines were obliged to look out for help; one party wished to appeal to the Carthaginians, and the other to invoke the a.s.sistance of Rome. The latter ultimately prevailed, and an emba.s.sy was sent to implore immediate aid. The temptation was strong, for the occupation of Messana by a Carthaginian garrison might prove dangerous to the tranquillity of Italy. Still the Senate hesitated; for only six years before Hiero had a.s.sisted the Romans in punis.h.i.+ng the Campanian mercenaries, who had seized Rhegium in the same way as the Mamertines had made themselves masters of Messana. The voice of justice prevailed, and the Senate declined the proposal. But the Consuls, thirsting for glory, called together the popular a.s.sembly, who eagerly voted that the Mamertines should be a.s.sisted; in other words, that the Carthaginians should not be allowed to obtain possession of Messana. The Consul App.

Claudius, the son of the blind Censor, was to lead an army into Sicily.

But during this delay the Carthaginian party in Messana had obtained the ascendency, and Hanno, with a Carthaginian garrison, had been admitted into the citadel. Hiero had concluded peace with the Mamertines through the mediation of the Carthaginians, so that there was no longer even a pretext for the interference of the Romans. But a legate of the Consul App. Claudius, having crossed to Sicily, persuaded the Mamertines to expel the Carthaginian garrison. Hiero and the Carthaginians now proceeded to lay siege to Messana by sea and land, and the Romans no longer hesitated to declare war against Carthage. Such was the commencement of the first Punic War (B.C. 264).

The Carthaginians commanded the sea with a powerful fleet, while the Romans had no s.h.i.+ps of war worthy of the name. But the Consul App.

Claudius, having contrived to elude the Carthaginian squadron, landed near the town of Messana, and defeated in succession the forces of Syracuse and Carthage. In the following year (263) the Romans followed up their success against Hiero. The two Consuls advanced to the walls of Syracuse, ravaging the territory of the city and capturing many of its dependent towns. The king became alarmed at the success of the Romans; and thinking that they would prove more powerful than the Carthaginians, he concluded a peace with Rome. From this time till his death, a period of nearly fifty years, Hiero remained the firm and steadfast ally of the Romans.

The Romans, now freed from the hostility of Syracuse, laid siege to Agrigentum, the second of the Greek cities in Sicily, which had espoused the cause of the Carthaginians at the commencement of the war. The siege lasted seven months, and numbers perished on both sides. But at length the Romans gained a decisive victory over the Carthaginian army which had been sent to raise the siege, and obtained possession of the town (B.C. 262).

The first three years of the war had already made the Romans masters of the greater part of Sicily. But the coasts of Italy were exposed to the ravages of the Carthaginian fleet, and the Romans saw that they could not hope to bring the war to a successful termination so long as Carthage was mistress of the sea. They had only a small number of triremes, galleys with three banks of oars, and were quite unable to cope with the quinqueremes, or large vessels with five banks of oars, of which the Carthaginian navy consisted. The Senate, with characteristic energy, determined to build a fleet of these larger vessels. A Carthaginian quinquereme, which had been wrecked upon the coast of Italy, served as a model; and in the short s.p.a.ce of sixty days from the time the trees were felled, 130 s.h.i.+ps were launched. While the s.h.i.+ps were building, the rowers were trained on scaffolds placed upon the land like benches of s.h.i.+ps at sea. We can not but feel astonished at the daring of the Romans, who, with s.h.i.+ps thus hastily and clumsily built, and with crews imperfectly trained, sailed to attack the navy of the first maritime state in the world. This was in the fifth year of the war (B.C. 260). One of the Consuls, Cn. Cornelius, first put to sea with only 17 s.h.i.+ps, but was surprised near Lipara, and taken prisoner with the whole of his squadron. His colleague, C. Duilius, now took the command of the rest of the fleet. He saw that the only means of conquering the Carthaginians by sea was to deprive them of all the advantages of manoeuvring, and to take their s.h.i.+ps by boarding. For this purpose, every s.h.i.+p was provided with a boarding-bridge 36 feet in length, which was pulled up by a rope and fastened to a mast in the fore part of the s.h.i.+p. As soon as an enemy's s.h.i.+p came near enough, the rope was loosened, the bridge fell down, and became fastened by means of an iron spike in its under side. The boarders then poured down the bridge into the enemy's s.h.i.+p. Thus prepared, Duilius boldly sailed out to meet the fleet of the enemy. He found them off the Sicilian coast, near Mylae.

The Carthaginians hastened to the fight as if to a triumph, but their s.h.i.+ps were rapidly seized by the boarding-bridges, and when it came to a close fight their crews were no match for the veteran soldiers of Rome.

The victory of Duilius was complete. Thirty-one of the enemy's s.h.i.+ps were taken, and fourteen destroyed; the rest only saved themselves by an ignominious flight. On his return to Rome, Duilius celebrated a magnificent triumph. Public honors were conferred upon him; he was to be escorted home in the evening from banquets by the light of torches and the sound of the flute, and a column adorned with the beaks of the conquered s.h.i.+ps, and thence called the Columna Rostrata, was set up in the forum.[28]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Columna Rostrata.]

For the next few years the war languished, and nothing of importance was effected on either side; but in the ninth year of the struggle (B.C.

256) the Romans resolved by strenuous exertions to bring it to a conclusion. They therefore made preparations for invading Africa with a great force. The two Consuls, M. Atilius Regulus and L. Manlius, set sail with 330 s.h.i.+ps, took the legions on board in Sicily, and then put out to sea in order to cross over to Africa. The Carthaginian fleet, consisting of 350 s.h.i.+ps, met them near Ecnomus, on the southern coast of Sicily. The battle which ensued was the greatest sea-fight that the ancient world had yet seen. The boarding-bridges of the Romans again annihilated all the advantages of maritime skill. Their victory was decisive. They lost only 24 s.h.i.+ps, while they destroyed 30 of the enemy's vessels, and took 64 with all their crews. The pa.s.sage to Africa was now clear, and the remainder of the Carthaginian fleet hastened home to defend the capital. The Romans landed near the town of Clupea, or Aspis, which they took, and there established their head-quarters. From thence they laid waste the Carthaginian territory with fire and sword, and collected an immense booty from the defenseless country. On the approach of winter, Manlius, one of the Consuls, by order of the Senate, returned to Rome with half of the army, while Regulus remained with the other half to prosecute the war. He carried on his operations with the utmost vigor, and was greatly a.s.sisted by the incompetency of the Carthaginian generals. The enemy had collected a considerable force, which they intrusted to three commanders, Hasdrubal, Bostar, and Hamilcar; but these generals avoided the plains, where their cavalry and elephants would have given them an advantage over the Roman army, and withdrew into the mountains. There they were attacked by Regulus, and utterly defeated with great loss; 15,000 men were killed in battle, and 5000 men, with 18 elephants, were taken. The Carthaginian troops retired within the walls of the capital, and Regulus now overran the country without opposition. Many towns fell into the power of the Romans, and among others Tunis, which was at the distance of only 20 miles from Carthage. The Numidians took the opportunity of recovering their independence, and their roving bands completed the devastation of the country. The Carthaginians, in despair, sent a herald to Regulus to solicit peace; but the Roman general, intoxicated with success, would only grant it on such intolerable terms that the Carthaginians resolved to continue the war and hold out to the last. In the midst of their distress and alarm, succor came to them from an unexpected quarter.

Among the Greek mercenaries who had lately arrived at Carthage was a Lacedaemonian of the name of Xanthippus. He pointed out to the Carthaginians that their defeats were owing to the incompetency of their generals, and not to the superiority of the Roman arms; and he inspired such confidence in the government, that he was forthwith placed at the head of their troops. Relying on his 4000 cavalry and 100 elephants, Xanthippus boldly marched into the open country to meet the enemy, though his forces were very inferior in number to the Romans. Regulus readily accepted battle thus offered; but it ended in his total overthrow. Thirty thousand Romans were slain; scarcely 2000 escaped to Clupea, and Regulus himself, with 500 more, was taken prisoner. This was in the year B.C. 255.

Another disaster awaited the Romans in this year. Their fleet, which had been sent to Africa to carry off the remains of the army of Regulus, had not only succeeded in their object, but had gained a victory over the Carthaginian fleet. They were returning home when they were overtaken off Camarina, in Sicily, by a fearful storm. Nearly the entire fleet was destroyed, and the coast was strewed for miles with wrecks and corpses.

The Romans, with undiminished energy, immediately set to work to build a new fleet, and in less than three months 220 s.h.i.+ps were ready for sea.

But the same fate awaited them. In B.C. 253 the Consuls had ravaged the coasts of Africa, but, on their return, were again surprised by a fearful storm off Cape Palinurus. A hundred and fifty s.h.i.+ps were wrecked. This blow, coming so soon after the other, damped the courage even of the Romans; they determined not to rebuild the fleet, and to keep only 60 s.h.i.+ps for the defense of the coast of Italy and the protection of the transports.

The war was now confined to Sicily; but, since the defeat of Regulus, the Roman soldiers had been so greatly alarmed by the elephants, that their generals did not venture to attack the Carthaginians. At length, in B.C. 250, the Roman proconsul, L. Metellus, accepted battle under the walls of Panormus, and gained a decisive victory. The Carthaginians lost 20,000 men; 13 of their generals adorned the triumph of Metellus; and 104 elephants were also led in the triumphal procession. This was the most important battle that had been yet fought in Sicily, and had a decisive influence upon the issue of the contest. It so raised the spirits of the Romans that they determined once more to build a fleet of 200 sail. The Carthaginians, on the other hand, were anxious to bring the war to an end, and accordingly sent an emba.s.sy to Rome to propose an exchange of prisoners, and to offer terms of peace.

Regulus, who had been now five years in captivity, was allowed to accompany the emba.s.sadors, with the promise that he would return to Carthage if their proposals were declined. This emba.s.sy is the subject of one of the most celebrated stories in the Roman annals. The orators and poets relate how Regulus at first refused to enter the city as a slave of the Carthaginians; how afterward he would not give his opinion in the Senate, as he had ceased by his captivity to be a member of that ill.u.s.trious body; how, at length, when induced by his countrymen to speak, he endeavored to dissuade the Senate from a.s.senting to a peace, or even to an exchange of prisoners; and when he saw them wavering, from their desire to redeem him from captivity, how he told them that the Carthaginians had given him a slow poison, which would soon terminate his life; and how, finally, when the Senate, through his influence, refused the offers of the Carthaginians, he firmly resisted all the persuasions of his friends to remain in Rome, and returned to Carthage, where a martyr's death awaited him. It is related that he was placed in a barrel covered over with iron nails, and thus perished. Other writers state, in addition, that, after his eyelids had been cut off, he was first thrown into a dark dungeon, and then suddenly exposed to the full rays of a burning sun. When the news of the barbarous death of Regulus reached Rome, the Senate is said to have given Hamilcar and Bostar, two of the n.o.blest Carthaginian prisoners, to the family of Regulus, who revenged themselves by putting them to death with cruel torments.

Regulus was one of the favorite characters of early Roman story. Not only was he celebrated for his heroism in giving the Senate advice which secured him a martyr's death, but also on account of his frugality and simplicity of life. Like Fabricius and Curius, he lived on his hereditary farm, which he cultivated with his own hands; and subsequent ages loved to tell how he pet.i.tioned the Senate for his recall from Africa when he was in the full career of victory, as his farm was going to ruin in his absence, and his family was suffering from want.

The Carthaginian dominion in Sicily was now confined to the northwestern corner of the island, and Lilybaeum and Drepanum were the only two towns remaining in their hands. Lilybaeum, situated upon a promontory at the western extremity of the island, was the strong-hold of the Carthaginian power; and accordingly the Romans determined to concentrate all their efforts, and to employ the armies of both Consuls in attacking this city. This siege, which is one of the most memorable in ancient history, commenced in B.C. 250, and lasted till the termination of the war. In the second year of the siege (B.C. 249), the Consul P. Claudius, who lay before Lilybaeum, formed the design of attacking the Carthaginian fleet in the neighboring harbor of Drepanum. In vain did the auguries warn him. The keeper of the sacred chickens told him that they would not eat. "At any rate," said he, "let them drink;" and he ordered them to be thrown overboard. His impiety met with a meet reward. He was defeated with great loss; 93 of his s.h.i.+ps were taken or destroyed, and only 30 escaped. Great was the indignation at Rome. He was recalled by the Senate, ordered to appoint a Dictator, and then to lay down his office.

Claudius, in scorn, named M. Claudius Glycias, a son of one of his freedmen. But the Senate would not brook this insult; they deprived the unworthy man of the honor, and appointed in his place A. Atilius Calatinus.

The other Consul, C. Junius, was equally unfortunate. He was sailing along the coasts of Sicily with a convoy of 800 vessels, intended to relieve the wants of the army at Lilybaeum, when he was overtaken by one of those terrible storms which had twice before proved so fatal to the Roman fleets. The transports were all dashed to pieces, and of his 105 s.h.i.+ps of war only two escaped. Thus the Roman fleet was a third time destroyed. These repeated misfortunes compelled the Romans to abandon any farther attempts to contest the supremacy of the sea.

About this time a really great man was placed at the head of the Carthaginian army--a man who, at an earlier period of the war, might have brought the struggle to a very different termination. This was the celebrated Hamilcar Barca,[29] the father of the still more celebrated Hannibal. He was still a young man at the time of his appointment to the command in Sicily (B.C. 247). His very first operations were equally daring and successful. Instead of confining himself to the defense of Lilybaeum and Drepanum, with which the Carthaginian commanders had been hitherto contented, he made descents upon the coast of Italy, and then suddenly landed on the north of Sicily, and established himself, with his whole army, on a mountain called Hercte (the modern _Monte Pellegrino_), which overhung the town of Panormus (the modern _Palermo_), one of the most important of the Roman possessions. Here he maintained himself for nearly three years, to the astonishment alike of friends and foes, and from hence he made continual descents into the enemy's country, and completely prevented them from making any vigorous attacks either upon Lilybaeum or Drepanum. All the efforts of the Romans to dislodge him were unsuccessful; and he only quitted Hercte in order to seize Eryx, a town situated upon the mountain of this name, and only six miles from Drepanum. This position he held for two years longer; and the Romans, despairing of driving the Carthaginians out of Sicily so long as they were masters of the sea, resolved to build another fleet.

In B.C. 242 the Consul Lutatius Catulus put to sea with a fleet of 200 s.h.i.+ps, and in the following year he gained a decisive victory over the Carthaginian fleet, commanded by Hanno, off the group of islands called the aegates.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plan of Mount Ercta. A. Ercta, now _Monte Pellegrino_. B.

Panormus, the modern _Palermo_.]

This victory gave the Romans the supremacy by sea. Lilybaeum, Drepanum, and Eryx might now be reduced by famine. The Carthaginians were weary of the war, and indisposed to make any farther sacrifices. They therefore sent orders to Hamilcar to make peace on the best terms he could. It was at length concluded on the following conditions: that Carthage should evacuate Sicily and the adjoining islands; that she should restore the Roman prisoners without ransom, and should pay the sum of 3200 talents within the s.p.a.ce of ten years (B.C. 241). All Sicily, with the exception of the territory of Hiero, now became a portion of the Roman dominions, and was formed into a Province, governed by a Praetor, who was sent annually from Rome.

[Footnote 26: The Phoenicians were called by the Latins _Poeni_, whence the adjective _punicus_, like _munire_ from _moenia_, and _punire_ from _poena_.]

[Footnote 27: Probably the same as the Hebrew _Shofetim_, i.e., Judges.]

[Footnote 28: The inscription upon this column, or, at any rate, a very ancient copy of it, is still preserved in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

[Footnote 29: _Barca_ is the same as the Hebrew word _Barak_, "lightning."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Coin of Carthage.]

CHAPTER XI.

EVENTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC WARS. B.C. 240-210.

Twenty-three years elapsed between the First and Second Punic Wars. The power of Carthage, though crippled, was not destroyed; and Hamilcar returned home, burning with hatred against Rome, and determined to renew the war upon a favorable opportunity. But a new and terrible danger threatened Carthage upon her own soil. The mercenary troops, who had been transported from Sicily to Africa at the conclusion of the war, being unable to obtain their arrears of pay, rose in open mutiny. Their leaders were Spendius, a runaway Campanian slave, and Matho, a Libyan.

They were quickly joined by the native Libyans, and brought Carthage almost to the brink of destruction. They laid waste the whole country with fire and sword, made themselves masters of all the towns except the capital, and committed the most frightful atrocities. Carthage owed her safety to the genius and abilities of Hamilcar. The struggle was fierce and sanguinary, but was at length brought to a successful issue, after it had lasted more than three years, by the destruction of all the mercenaries. It was called the War without Peace, or the Inexpiable War (B.C. 238).

The Romans availed themselves of the exhausted condition of Carthage to demand from her the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and the payment of a farther sum of 1200 talents. The mercenary troops in Sardinia, who had also revolted, had applied to Rome for a.s.sistance; and the Senate menaced her rival with war unless she complied with these unjust demands. Resistance was impossible, and Sardinia and Corsica were now formed into a Roman province, governed, like Sicily, by a Praetor sent annually from Rome (B.C. 238). This act of robbery added fresh fuel to the implacable animosity of Hamilcar against the grasping Republic. He now departed for Spain, where for many years he steadily worked to lay the foundation of a new empire, which might not only compensate for the loss of Sicily and Sardinia, but enable him at some time to renew hostilities against Rome.

Rome was now at peace, and in B.C. 235 the Temple of Ja.n.u.s, which had remained open since the days of Numa, was closed for a second time. Two new tribes were added to the Roman territory, thus making their total number thirty-five.

The Temple of Ja.n.u.s did not long remain closed. The Illyrians, who dwelt near the head of the Adriatic upon its eastern side, were a nation of pirates, who ravaged the coasts of this sea. The Senate having sent emba.s.sadors to the Illyrian queen, Teuta, to complain of these outrages, she not only refused to attend to their complaints, but caused one of the emba.s.sadors to be murdered. War was straightway declared, and a Roman army for the first time crossed the Adriatic (B.C. 229). Demetrius of Pharos, an unprincipled Greek, who was the chief counselor of Teuta, deserted his mistress, and surrendered to the Romans the important island of Corcyra. Teuta was obliged to yield to the Romans every thing they demanded, and promised that the Illyrians should not appear south of Lissa with more than two vessels. The suppression of piracy in the Adriatic was hailed with grat.i.tude by the Grecian states, and deserves notice as the first occasion upon which the Romans were brought into immediate contact with Greece. The Consul Postumius, who had wintered in Illyria, sent envoys to Athens, Corinth, and other Grecian cities, to explain what had been done. The envoys were received with honor, and thanks were returned to Rome (B.C. 228).

The Romans had scarcely brought this trifling war to an end when they became involved in a formidable struggle with their old enemies the Gauls. Since the conquest of the Senones in B.C. 289, and of the Boii in B.C. 283, the Gauls had remained quiet. The Romans had founded the colony of Sena after the subjugation of the Senones; and in B.C. 268 they had still farther strengthened their dominion in those parts by founding the colony of Ariminum. But the greater part of the soil from which the Senones were ejected became Public Land. In B.C. 232 the Tribune C. Flaminius carried an Agrarian Law to the effect that this portion of the public land, known by the name of the "Gallic Land,"[30]

should be distributed among the poorer citizens. This alarmed the Boii, who dwelt upon the borders of this district. They invoked the a.s.sistance of the powerful tribe of the Insubres, and being joined by them, as well as by large bodies of Gauls from beyond the Alps, they set out for Rome.

All Italy was in alarm. The Romans dreaded a repet.i.tion of the disaster of the Allia. The Sibylline Books being consulted, declared that Rome must be twice occupied by a foreign foe; whereupon the Senate ordered that two Gauls and a Grecian woman should be buried alive in the forum.

The allies eagerly offered men and supplies to meet a danger which was common to the whole peninsula. An army of 150,000 foot and 6000 horse was speedily raised. A decisive battle was fought near Telamon in Etruria. The Gauls were hemmed in between the armies of the two Consuls.

As many as 40,000 of their men were slain, and 10,000 taken prisoners (B.C. 225). The Romans followed up their success by invading the country of the Boii, who submitted in the following year (B.C. 224).

In B.C. 223 the Romans for the first time crossed the Po, and the Consul C. Flaminius gained a brilliant victory over the Insubres. The Consuls of the next year, Cn. Cornelius Scipio and M. Claudius Marcellus, continued the war against the Insubres, who called in to their aid a fresh body of Transalpine Gauls. Marcellus slew with his own hand Viridomarus, the chief of the Insubrian Gauls, and thus gained the third _Spolia Opima_. At the same time Scipio took Mediolanum (Milan), the chief town of the Insubres. This people now submitted without conditions, and the war was brought to an end. To secure their recent conquests, the Romans determined to plant two powerful Latin colonies at Placentia and Cremona, on opposite banks of the Po. These were founded in B.C. 218, and consisted each of 6000 men. The Via Flaminia, a road constructed by C. Flaminius during his consuls.h.i.+p (B.C. 220), from Rome to Ariminum, secured the communication with the north of Italy.

While the Romans were engaged in the Gallic wars, the traitor Demetrius of Pharos had usurped the chief power in Illyria, and had ventured upon many acts of piracy. In B.C. 219 the Consul L. aemilius Paullus crossed the Adriatic, and soon brought this second Illyrian war to an end.

Demetrius fled to Philip of Macedon, where we shall shortly afterward see him prompting this king to make war against Rome. The greater part of Illyria was restored to the native chiefs; but the Romans retained possession of Corcyra, and of the important towns of Apollonia and Oric.u.m on the coast.

Meanwhile Hamilcar had been steadily pursuing his conquests in Spain.

The subjugation of this country was only a means to an end. His great object, as already stated, was to obtain the means of attacking, and, if possible, crus.h.i.+ng that hated rival who had robbed his country of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. His implacable animosity against Rome is shown by the well-known tale that, when he crossed over to Spain in B.C.

235, taking with him his son Hannibal, then only nine years old, he made him swear at the altar eternal hostility to Rome. During the eight years that Hamilcar continued in Spain he carried the Carthaginian arms into the heart of the country. While he conquered several states in war, he gained over others by negotiation, and availed himself of their services as allies or mercenaries. He fell in battle in B.C. 229, and was succeeded in the command by his son-in-law Hasdrubal. His plans were ably carried out by his successor. The conciliatory manners of Hasdrubal gained him the affections of the Spaniards; and he consolidated the Carthaginian empire in Spain by the foundation of New Carthage, now Cartagena, in a situation admirably chosen on account of its excellent harbor and easy communication with Africa, as well as from its proximity to the silver mines, which supplied him with the means of paying his troops. The conduct of his warlike enterprises was intrusted to the youthful Hannibal, who had been trained in arms under the eye of his father, and who already displayed that ability for war which made him one of the most celebrated generals in ancient or modern times. The successes of Hamilcar and Hasdrubal could not fail to attract the notice of the Romans, and in B.C. 227 they concluded a treaty with the latter, by which the River Iberus (Ebro) was fixed as the northern boundary of the Carthaginian empire in Spain.

Hasdrubal was a.s.sa.s.sinated in B.C. 221 by a slave whose master he had put to death. Hannibal had now acquired such a remarkable ascendency over the army that the soldiers unanimously proclaimed him commander-in-chief, and the government at Carthage hastened to ratify an appointment which they had not, in fact, the power to prevent. Hannibal was at this time in the 26th year of his age. There can be no doubt that he already looked forward to the invasion and conquest of Italy as the goal of his ambition; but it was necessary for him first to complete the work which had been so ably begun by his two predecessors, and to establish the Carthaginian power as firmly as possible in Spain. This he accomplished in two campaigns, in the course of which he brought all the nations south of the Iberus into subjection to Carthage.