Barkids

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The Barkids ( Greek  Βαρκαῖοι ) were members of an elegant Carthaginian family who traced their origins back to the city's founders. They served her in domestic politics and as the military. The name comes from the nickname of Hamilkar Barkas , with which it comes into the light of history, and also extends to its partisans. In addition to the namesake, the most famous representative is his son Hannibal .

history

After the defeat in the First Punic War and the heavy fight against the mercenaries , Carthage sought to compensate for the lost territories and trading centers. Probably it was the former strategist Hamilkar, on whose initiative the city turned to the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, where it had previously exercised influence. Within a short time he brought large parts of the Iberian Peninsula under his rule. After his death in 229 BC BC succeeded his son-in-law Hasdrubal , based on connections at home and with the ruling house of Numidia , to consolidate and expand the position. Through his diplomatic skills he managed to win the sympathy of the important tribal leaders. On this basis, the next strategist, Hamilkar Barkas' son Hannibal, was later able to wage his war against Rome ( Second Punic War ), while his brothers Hasdrubal and Mago held the position in Spain. The capital of the empire was the newly founded Carthago Nova .

Even in antiquity, it was said that the Barkids were striving for their own rule on the Iberian Peninsula or even for absolute power in the mother city, and in fact the thought of simultaneous Hellenistic dynasts is not far off, especially since the older Hasdrubal had coins minted, on which he is depicted with the royal diadem. In Rome, too, with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the development began in this time that great individual personalities emerged from the circle of their peers. The Barkids ruled relatively independently in their newly established empire, but no concrete plans for overturning are known. The leadership of the city was also constantly represented by members of the council in the Iberian capital and the army camp .

literature

  • Pedro Barceló : Carthage and the Iberian Peninsula before the Barkids . R. Habelt Verlag., Bonn 1988, ISBN 3-7749-2354-X . (Antiquitas, R. 1.37)
  • Klaus Geus: Prosopography of the literarily attested Carthaginians . Peeters., Leuven 1994, ISBN 90-6831-643-5 . (Studia Phenicia 13) (Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta 59)
  • Wilhelm Hoffmann: Carthage's struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean , in: ANRW I 1 (1972), pp. 341–363.
  • Werner Huss : History of the Carthaginians . Beck Verlag., Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-39825-1 . (Handbook of Classical Studies III 8)
  • Klaus Zimmermann: Rome and Carthage . Scientific Book Society., Darmstadt 2005, ISBN 3-534-15496-7 .

Fiction

Individual evidence

  1. ^ So the contemporary Fabius Pictor , The early Roman historians 1 F 31