By 236 BC, and without permission from the Carthaginian government, Hamilcar set out on his own crusade. His popularity with the people and respectability amongst the opposition party in the Carthaginian assembly granted him the means to begin training a new generation of troops. Hamilcar Barca – a formidable Carthaginian general and veteran of the First Punic War – saw this act as a personal insult. Meanwhile the Romans saw their chance to steal Corsica and Sardinia from right under the Carthaginians’ noses.
It took two years for the Carthaginians to suppress these uprisings. Relations, however, remained dismal between the two powers after the peace treaty.Ĭarthage was plagued with revolts from mercenaries demanding money for their service in the past war. The First Punic War, fought between the Romans and Carthaginians between 264 and 241 BC, resulted in an ultimate Roman victory.
