CART 
Carthaginian prifoners, were put to death ; and when Ha. 
milcar lent to demand his countrymen, lie received for 
anfwer, that whoever prefumed to come upon that errand 
again, fliould meet with Gifco’s fate. In return for this 
enormity, Hamikar threw many of the prifoners that fell 
into his'hands to be devoured by wild beads. 
The war now, though lavage and brutal, was carried 
on generally to the advantage of the Carthaginians ; ne- 
verthelefs, the malecontents Hill found themfelves in a 
capacity to take the field with an army of 50,000 men. 
They watched Hamilcar’s motions; hut kept on the hills, 
carefully avoiding to come down into the plains. Hamil- 
car, being much fuperior in (kill to any of their generals, 
lie at lad dnit them tip in a narrow pafs, fo lituatcd, that 
it was impoflible for them to get out of it. Here he clofe- 
ly befieged them ; and the mercenaries, not daring to riIk 
a battle, began to fortify their camp, by furronnding it 
with ditches and entrenchments. They were loon, how¬ 
ever, fo pred'ed by famine, that they were obliged to eat 
one another : they then infided that Spendius, Autaritus, 
and Zarxas, their leaders, diould have a conference with 
Hamilcar, and make propofals to him. Peace was in con- 
fequence concluded, upon the following terms, viz. That 
ten of the ringleaders of the malecontents diould be left 
entirely to the mercy of the Carthaginians, and that the 
troops diould be all difarmed, every man retiring only in 
a dr.gle coat. The treaty was no fooner concluded, than 
Hamilcar, by virtue of the firlt article, feized upon the 
negociators themfelves; and the army, being informed that 
tiieir chiefs were under arred, immediately flew to arms, 
fufpedting they were betrayed ; but Hamilcar, drawing 
out bis army in the form of an extended crefcent, fur- 
rounded them, and either cut them to pieces, or trod them 
to death with his elephants. The number of miferable 
wretches who periihed on this occafion amounted to 40,000. 
After the dedruftion of this army, Hamilcar inveded 
Tunis, whither Matlios had retired with his remaining 
forces. Hamilcar had another general, named Hannibal, 
joined with him in the command. Hannibal’s dation was 
on the road leading to Carthage, and Hamilcar’s on the 
oppofite fide. The army w-as no fooner encamped, thanHa- 
milcar cauled Spendius, and the red of the prifoners, to 
be led out in the view of the belieged, and crucified near 
the walls. Matlios, however, obferving that Hannibal 
was not fo much on his guard as lie ought, falliea out 
upon him, killed many of his men, and took feveral pri¬ 
foners, among whom was Hannibal himfelf. Taking the 
body of Spendius from the crofs, Matlios fubdituted Han¬ 
nibal in its room ; and thirty Carthaginian prifoners of 
didindtion were crucified around him. The fenate, (hock¬ 
ed at this favage barbarity, fent thirty fenators, with 
Hanno at their head, to confult with Hamilcar about pro¬ 
per meafures for putting an end to this unnatural war. 
They alfo ordered all the youth capable of bearing arms 
to be pred'ed into the fervice : by which means Hamilcar 
reduced the rebels to the neceffity of hazarding a decifive 
battle, which proved fatal to them. The mercenaries were 
defeated almod at the firftonfet, and mod of their army 
fell in the field of battle. Matlios efcaped to a neigh¬ 
bouring town, from whence he was taken to Carthage, 
and executed ; and thus an end was put to this war, which, 
from the exceflive cruelty committed in it, went by the 
name of tlie inexpiable war. 
During this time, the,Romans wreded theifland of Sar¬ 
dinia from the Carthaginians ; which the latter, not being 
able to rend, were obliged to fubmit to. Hamilcar, find- 
ino- his country not in a condition to contend with Rome, 
formed a fcheme to put it more on a level with that re-- 
public. This was by making an entire conqued of Spain, 
by which means the Carthaginians might have troops ca¬ 
pable of coping with the Romans. Toenfure the execu¬ 
tion of this plan, he infpired both his fon-in-lavv Afdru- 
bal, and his fon Hannibal, with an implacable averfion to 
the Romans, as the great oppofers of his country. Hav¬ 
ing completed the necellarv preparations* Hamilcar enter- 
H A G E. 843 
ed Spain, where he continued nine years, during which 
time lie made exteniive conqueds, and amatfed an immenfe 
treafure. At lad, he was killed in battle, and was fuc- 
ceeded by his fon-in-law Afdrubal. This general fully 
anfwered the expeditions of his countrymen ; greatly en¬ 
larged their dominions in Spain; and built the city of New 
Carthage, now Carthagena. He made Inch progrefs in 
his conqueds, that the Romans began to grow jealous. 
They did not, however, choofe to come to an open rup¬ 
ture, on account of the apprelienfions they were under of 
an invafion from the Gauls. They judged it mod proper 
to have recourfe to milder methods ; and prevailed upon 
Afdrubal to conclude a new treaty with them. The arti¬ 
cles of it were, 1. That the Carthaginians diould not pafs 
the Iberus. 2. That the Saguntines, a colony of Zacyn- 
thians, afnd it city fituated between the Iberus and that 
part of Spain fubjedt to the Carthaginians, diould conti¬ 
nue fubject to Rome. Afdrubal, after governing the Car¬ 
thaginian dominions in Spain for eight years, was mur¬ 
dered by a Gaul, whole mader he had put to death. 
Three years prior to this, he had written to Carthage, to 
defire that young Hannibal, then twenty-two years of age* 
might be fent him. This was complied with, notwith- 
danding the oppofition of Hanno : and, from the firft arri¬ 
val of the young man into the camp, he became the fa¬ 
vourite of the army. After the death of Afdrubal, lie 
was made general by the unanimous content of the army : 
he immediately put himfelf in motion, and in the fiiit 
campaign conquered the Olcades, a nation feated near the 
Iberus. The next year he fnbdued the Vaccrei, another 
nation in that neighbourhood. Soon alter, the Carpae- 
tani, one of the mod powerful nations in Spain, declared 
againd the Carthaginians. Their army confided of 100,000 
men, with which they attacked Hannibal on his return 
from the Vacctei ; but they were utterly- defeated, and 
the whole nation obliged to fubmit. 
Nothing now remained in the way of the Carthaginians, 
but the city of Saguntum. Hannibal, for lome time, did 
not think proper to come to a rupture with the Romans; 
by attacking that place. At lad, however, he found means 
to embroil fome of the neighbouring cantons with the Sa¬ 
guntines, and thus furnifhed himfelf with a pretence to at¬ 
tack their city. Upon the commencement of the (lege, 
the Roman fenate difpatched ambadadors to Hannibal, re¬ 
quiring him to defid from all further operations, under 
pain of chadifement from them. Hannibal inluhingly told 
the ambadadors that he defpifed their menaces, and re¬ 
ferred them to the fenate of Carthage. O11 their arrival in 
that capital, they demanded that Hannibal (hould be de¬ 
livered up to the Romans, to be punilhed according to 
their pleafure ; but, this not being complied with, war 
was immediately declared between the two nations. The 
Saguntines, in the mean time, defended themfelves for 
eight months with incredible bravery. At lad the city 
was taken, and the inhabitants were treated with the utmolf 
cruelty. Hannibal now put his African troops into win¬ 
ter-quarters at New Carthage, and permitted the Spaniards- 
to retire to their refpedfive homes. 
The next campaign lie palled the Iberus, fnbdued the 
nations betwixt that river and the Pyrenees, appointed. 
Hanno commander of the conquered didricts, and began 
his march for Italy. Upon muttering his forces, lie found 
them amount to 50,000 foot, and 9000 horfe, all veteran- 
troops, and fome of the hardied in the world. As they 
had left their heavy baggage with Hanno, and were light¬ 
armed, Hannibal eafily eroded the Pyrenees, patted by 
Rulcino, a frontier town of the Gauls,, and arrived on the 
banks of the Rhone without oppofition. This river he 
palfed, notvvithdanding an oppofition from the Gauls ; and 
was for fome time in doubt whether he PnouId advance to 
engage the Romans, who, under Scipio, were bending their 
march that way, or continue his route for Italy. But to 
the latter he v.as foon determined bv the arrival of Magi- 
lus, prince of the Boii, who brought rich prefents- with 
him, and offered to conduct the. Carthaginian army, over 
the- 
