The Romans having been repulsed, the Carthaginians now carried the war into Sicily. The long series of reverses suffered by the Africans in this campaign, which lasted nine years, were somewhat alleviated by the genius of Hamilcar Barca, then a youth in his early twenties, who, had he been adequately supported, might have made by sea that attack on Rome which his son, Hannibal, was forced to attempt a quarter of a century later by the long and perilous overland route through Spain and across the Alps. But after the great Roman sea-victory at Ægusa the Carthaginians instructed Hamilcar to make peace on the best terms he could obtain. And onerous indeed were these terms. By them Carthage was compelled to evacuate Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta and to pay an indemnity of thirty-two hundred talents—about six millions of dollars. Thus ended, in 241 B.C., the First Punic War, which had dragged along for three-and-twenty years, greatly to the disadvantage of Carthage. She had lost the most important of her insular possessions; the Mediterranean was no longer a Carthaginian lake, a _mare clausum_; and her prestige as a naval power had been irretrievably shattered. * * * * * They were always poor losers, the Carthaginians, and so, despite the brilliant generalship of Hamilcar, when he returned to Carthage he was deprived of his command, which was given to his bitterest rival, Hanno. But, knowing the temper of his people, it is to be presumed that the famous leader did not complain, for he doubtless considered himself lucky to escape crucifixion, the fate usually awarded to defeated generals according to the pleasant custom of the Carthaginians. Their ingratitude quickly brought its own reward, however, for, within a few months after the disastrous end of her struggle with Rome, Carthage was called upon to suppress the revolt of her mercenary and barbarian allies. This bloody business, which lasted from 240 to 237 B.C., was precipitated by Hanno’s refusal to give the returned troops their pay, which was greatly in arrears. The conflict which followed was known as the War of the Mercenaries, or as the Truceless War, for no quarter was asked or given. The mutinous mercenaries were now joined by hordes of barbarians from the hinterland, who saw in Carthage’s enfeebled condition an opportunity to overwhelm and loot the richest and most luxurious city in the world. From every quarter of North Africa they came, drawn by the prospects of rapine and plunder as buzzards are attracted by a dying animal. An unforgettable picture of the assembling of these Barbarian hordes has been given us by Flaubert in his “Salammbô”: