# Imilce

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{{Short description|Wife of Punic general Hannibal}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Imilce
| image              = Himilce, princesa de Cástulo (Baeza).jpg
| caption            = Statue in [Baeza](/source/Baeza%2C_Spain) named ''Himilce, princesa de Cástulo''.
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| citizenship        =
| spouse             = [Hannibal Barca](/source/Hannibal)
| children           = [Haspar Barca](/source/Haspar_Barca)
| mother             = 
| father             = 
| family             = [Barcids](/source/Barcids) (by marriage)
}}
'''Imilce''' or '''Himilce''' was the [Iberian](/source/Iberians) wife of [Hannibal Barca](/source/Hannibal) according to a number of historical sources.
[[File:Himilce (20230324 155313).jpg|thumb|Mural portrait of Imilce in [Cartagena, Spain](/source/Cartagena%2C_Spain)]]

==History==
[Livy](/source/Livy) records that Hannibal married a woman from [Castulo](/source/Castulo), a powerful Iberian city allied with [Carthage](/source/Ancient_Carthage).<ref name="brainfly1">{{cite web|url=http://www.brainfly.net/html/books/brn0131c.htm|title=''The History of Rome: Vol III''}}, by Livy</ref> The Roman poet [Silius Italicus](/source/Silius_Italicus) identifies this woman as Imilce.<ref>Silius Italicus, ''Punica'', III, 97</ref> Silius suggests a Greek origin for Imilce, but [Gilbert Charles-Picard](/source/Gilbert_Charles-Picard) argued for a Punic heritage based on an etymology from the [Semitic root](/source/Semitic_root) [m-l-k](/source/Malik) ('chief', 'king').<ref>[Picard, Gilbert Charles](/source/Gilbert_Charles-Picard) (1967), ''Hannibal'' p. 119; https://docer.tips/charles-picard-gilbert-hannibal-h.html p. 72 (in Polish)</ref> Silius also suggests the existence of a son,<ref>Silius Italicus, ''Punica'', III, 63-64</ref> who is otherwise not attested by Livy, [Polybius](/source/Polybius), or [Appian](/source/Appian). The son is thought to have been named Haspar or Aspar. According to Silius, during the [Punic wars](/source/Punic_Wars) Hannibal tearfully sent Imilce and their son back to Carthage for their safety. Some historians have questioned the historicity of this event and suggested that it is an imitation of [Pompey](/source/Pompey) sending his wife away to [Lucca](/source/Lucca) for her safety during military conflict.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

== Cultural depictions ==
Imilce is honored in [Baeza, Andalusia](/source/Baeza%2C_Spain) with a statue as part of the ''Fuente de Los Leones'' (meaning ''Fountain of the Lions'').

== See also ==
* [List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula](/source/List_of_the_Pre-Roman_peoples_of_the_Iberian_Peninsula)
* [Carthaginian Iberia](/source/Carthaginian_Iberia)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Hannibal
Category:3rd-century BC women
Category:2nd-century BC women
Category:2nd-century BC Punic people
Category:Carthaginian women
Category:Iberians

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Imilce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imilce) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imilce?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.