Adherbal (admiral)

Adherbal (Punic: 𐤀𐤃𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋, ʾDRBʿL;[1] died 230 BC), also known as Atarbas (Ancient Greek: Ατάρβας, Atárbas), was the admiral of the Carthaginian fleet which battled the Romans for domination of the Mediterranean Sea during the First Punic War (264–241 BC).

[2] He led the Carthaginian fleet to Drepana in Sicily and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Roman consul P. Claudius Pulcher during the naval battle in 249 BC.

[3][4] Encouraged by previous victories, the new consul for 250 Gaius Atilius Regulus launched a campaign to attack the last Punic strongholds on the island of Sicily: Lilybaeum and Drepana.

[8] Adherbal commanded the Punic fleet and immediately ordered his forces to set to sea when the straggling line of Roman galleys approached the shore by dawn.

[9] He would later write that Adherbal "won great praise as the man who, by virtue of his courage and skill, restored to his fellow Carthaginians their lost reputation as a sea power.