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sent him eight years before to conquer such inhospitable country and had no intentions to
make him return.
But Halmicar Barca would pay them with the same coin, he would demonstrate to the
government of Carthage the same indifference and would usufruct in his family and own
advantage the immense conquered territory: Spain would be the particular Barca's estate! But,
for it, would be necessary to count with the indispensable collaboration of the native
population, who had ruled until that moment the country and knew all the mechanisms of its
operation. And such bellicose countries, who were free for centuries, would not easily submit to
the slavery, this was clearly adverted by the Barcas, at least that their own Kings and Lords
would convince them that it was better to not resist the occupation. The solution would not be
impossible due to, according to the particular philosophy of the Carthaginians, «only would
need to be destroyed the one who could not be bought».
The strange and contradictory news reached then to the refuge of the Lords of Tharsis:
Halmicar Barca would offer them to save their lives if they renounced to every right over
Tartessos and accepted to enter at his service to govern the country; on the contrary case,
would be exterminated as the Golems claimed. With so much pain, but without possible
alternatives, the Lords of Tharsis had to accept such dishonorable offer: they made it for a
superior interest, for the familiar mission and the Wise Sword.
Once arranged the surrender, Tharsis passed to serve the Barca’s and they were occupied
in to pacify Tartessos and reorganize the agricultural and industrial production. Due to the
demonstrated good disposition they were rewarded with a farm located very near from the
emplacement of the disappeared Tartessos, where would live since then the «Tharsis family»,
except for the members that performed functions in the cities or accompanied the Barca’s in
the inspection journeys. While the Carthaginian occupation lasted, nonetheless the protection
assured by the Barcas, the tranquility was scarce due to the Golems were constantly spying,
who explored inch by inch seeking for the Wise Sword and had added now the death of twenty
of them to the list of pending charges to pay off by the House of Tharsis.
At the death of Halmicar Barca, in 228 B.C., he is succeeded by his son Hasdrubal Barca,
but, after his assassination in 220 B.C., Hannibal Barca assumes the command of the
Carthaginian army. The nephew of Halmicar invaded the Greek colony of Sagunt in the year
219 B.C., which was under the protection of Rome, and started with this action the second
Punic War, that would end in 201 B.C., with the unconditional capitulation of Carthage. Thirty
years after the destruction of Tartessos, Spain was free forever from the Carthaginian invader!
But it was too late for Tartessos: the new Roman occupant would not abandon the peninsula
until the dismemberment of his own empire, seven hundred years later.
With the Romans, the House of Tharsis had a relative good time because it was
considered an allied nobility and their govern functions of the region were restored, now a
Roman province, subjected to the law of the Republic and to the authority of a proconsul or
praetor. The region of the ancient Tartessos, between the rivers Tinto and Odiel, remained
included in the province of «Baetica», denominated with this name for the river Betis, today
Guadalquivir, which was extended up to the river Anas, today Guadiana, frontier of Lusitania;
Romans gave to the Tartessians the name of «Turdetani»: in a few decades the Turdetani was
Romanized, the use of Latin was popularized, and great rural states were constructed,
properties of the governors of each province, magistrates, or army Chiefs.

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