WI Hamilcar Barca had made himself King of Carthage?

What if Hamilcar, during the Mercenary War, had gained the allegiance of the mercenaries, and marched on Carthage. Hamilcar could have gained control of Carthage, established the Barcid dynasty on the throne, and eliminated any opposition among the aristocracy. Hamilcar could have given the mercenaries grants of land and citizenship. Hamilcar could have reformed the army and increased the size of the navy. Hamilcar could have gradually extended citizenship to the Africans they ruled and, by making military service mandatory for citizens, increased the manpower of Carthaginian armies. Hamilcar, and eventually Hannibal, could use this reformed army to conquer Iberia. The Barcids could eventfully offer citizenship to Iberians to further increase Carthage’s manpower. With such reforms made in Carthage, could the Barcids have defeated Rome?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
The funny thing is that we know a lot about the political organization of Carthage, thanks to Aristotle, but we don't really know that much about the internal politics of Carthage, besides the fact that there seems to have been a Barca faction opposed to a faction led by a guy named Hanno the Great, the former favoring overseas expansion and the latter favoring development of Africa. Carthage never had a king. It's hard to say whether the people would have stood for it and it seems likely to me that someone would have speedily arranged for Hamilcar's speedy exit from this world if he had tried it. After all, it's almost absurd to imagine anyone declaring himself King of Athens in the same time period.

Perhaps a better POD would be something along the lines of Hamilcar declaring himself dictator with the support of the people. But had he then tried to institute the policies you're suggesting, he would rapidly have lost public support. Fact is, Carthaginians didn't like fighting; they liked making money. Their entire military culture revolved around paying other people to do their fighting for them. Only when faced with total destruction during the Mercenary War and the Third Punic War was there any considerable military mobilization of the Carthaginian citizenry itself. Such a massive change as you suggest, it seems to me, could not be affected within a single man's life.
 
What if Hamilcar, during the Mercenary War, had gained the allegiance of the mercenaries, and marched on Carthage. Hamilcar could have gained control of Carthage, established the Barcid dynasty on the throne, and eliminated any opposition among the aristocracy. Hamilcar could have given the mercenaries grants of land and citizenship. Hamilcar could have reformed the army and increased the size of the navy. Hamilcar could have gradually extended citizenship to the Africans they ruled and, by making military service mandatory for citizens, increased the manpower of Carthaginian armies. Hamilcar, and eventually Hannibal, could use this reformed army to conquer Iberia. The Barcids could eventfully offer citizenship to Iberians to further increase Carthage’s manpower. With such reforms made in Carthage, could the Barcids have defeated Rome?

Nice WI. Gives me ideas for my ATL of Massalia durng that era :)
 
Carthage did have kings for centuries but after the defeat and death of Hamilcar I in 480 BC, the kings of Carthage were forced to give up most of their political power to the Senate, two suffets, and the Tribunal of 104. In 308 BC, when Bomilcar attempted to restore the king to full power, he failed and the monarchy was ended. Hamilcar Barca (Hamilcar II has a nice ring to it) could make himself king and even increase the power of the monarchy to rival the power of a Roman dictator.
 
I think if you want a Barcid Monarchy, the easiest option is an empire in Spain which would be Celtiberian with a Carthaginian overlord ship. But that doesn't preclude a King of Carthage - Hamilcar may just need to bring a large army of loyal troops in, after Carthage bankrupts itself, and relies on him for protection. But to maintain the monarchy, he would need to give the Carthaginians a whole lot of stuff that he might not like. Whilst he might seek to create an army with Celtiberian Troops, with a largely Carthaginian officer-class, to exist with the largely mercantile world of Carthage, he'd need to sell the army as a way to protect trade outposts, seize resources from partners that refuse to trade fairly (i.e. breaking treaties), etc. Amusingly, he might need to spend money on the explorations of Hanno The Great - who benefits from having a military force at his back.

The political give and take, and salesmanship would be interesting, but not exaftly what the Barcids want. You might see a tradition of electing the Barcids as Dictator, rather than as a Hereditary monarchy, but no legal requirement, much more easily.
 
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