Random History: Hannibal of Carthage

The forces of Hannibal against Rome

Hannibal Barca, better known as Hannibal of Carthage, was a legendary general and leader from the African state of Carthage who led the Second Punic War against the growing power of the Roman Republic. For his skill, daring, and military genius, he would become immortalized as the greatest foe to ever challenge Rome, and was, for centuries, the only man to ever threaten the destruction of Rome herself.

Hannibal

Hannibal was one of the sons of the African leader Hamilcar Barca (meaning 'lightning bolt'). He was born in the African empire of Carthage, in what is now Tunisia. In 200 BC, the Carthaginian Empire was one of the greatest in the Mediterranean, rivaled only by a growing power in the heart of Italy--a city-state called Rome. Legend holds that when he was a boy, his father Hamilcar held Hannibal over a burning fire-pit and made his son swear an oath that he would never be a friend of Rome, and that for all the days of his life, he would "...use flame and sword alike to hold back the destiny of Rome."

The Second Punic War

Tensions between Rome and Carthage had only grown as Rome expanded. Carthage held much of the coast of Africa and most of Spain--lands Rome desired. After the first Punic War, Rome and Carthage had signed several treaties--treaties Hannibal and his father broke in their expansions of Carthage's empire. At last, Hannibal initiated open warfare by attacking and conquering the city of Sargentum, which was protected by the Romans, perhaps hoping to fulfill his oath to his now long-dead father--to hold back the destiny of Rome with flame and sword alike.

Hannibal crossing the Alps

Hannibal's army in Spain was one of the largest and most well-equipped the western world had ever seen. To crush the Roman legions, however, the army first had to reach them. In a brilliant military tactic, Hannibal evaded Roman troops in Gaul, what is now modern-day France, and crossed the Alps--at that time the most inhospitable mountains in the world--with his vast army, counting among his forces 37 war-elephants. He timed his crossing of the Alps, when he was most vulnerable, with several uprisings of barbarian tribes in Roman-held lands that were allied to Carthage.

The Battle of Cannae

Hannibal succeeded in crossing the Alps in late winter, without supplies, in hostile territory--something wholly unprecedented in history. His army surprised the Romans, who had not expected his arrival before spring, and worked with his Gallic allies to defeat Roman forces in upper Italy. After smashing several Roman forces in battles at Trebia and Trasimene, Hannibal met a massive Roman army of 100,000 at Cannae, one which far outnumbered his force, weakened as it was from crossing the Alps.

What followed was, and still is, one of the greatest military triumphs of all time. Hannibal allowed the Romans to crush his army's weak center, digging into the heart of his forces--where the right and left flanks of the army swung around to encircle the Romans. Trapped in the circle, the Romans were slaughtered almost to a man, one of the most devastating defeats in Roman history.

Rome in disarray

Rome's vassals and allies, once entirely intimidated by Roman power, began to revolt and rise up against them in the face of Hannibal's unstoppable conquests. While the legions struggled to put down uprisings and revolts across Italy and Greece, Hannibal continued his inexorable march for Rome, gaining the alliance of many Italian city-states. By 215, much of Italy and Greece was in alliance with Hannibal, and he had at last amassed enough power to assault Rome itself, the beating heart of the Republic. It seemed, perhaps, that Hamilcar's oath would at last be fulfilled, and that the destiny of Rome would end here, at the hands of great Hannibal.

Scipio Africanus

It was not to be, however. Scipio Africanus, a brilliant Roman military commander, was assigned by the Roman Senate to stop Hannibal. First, he headed for Hispania, or Spain, where he conquered many of the core cities of Hannibal's power base, and broke Carthaginian power in Hispania. He then took command of Roman forces in Sicily, quickly driving the Carthaginians back. In 205, Scipio used his growing power to propose an end to the war--he would invade Carthage itself and defeat the enemy at their heart. Though his invasion was successful, and he initially forced Carthage to accept a treaty, they quickly rebuffed it when Hannibal returned to Africa at the head of his army.

The Last Stand of Hannibal

The Carthaginian Empire, and, indeed, the very survival of Carthaginian civilization, now rested on the shoulders of Hannibal. Hannibal and Scipio's troops met in battle at Zama, near the capital of Carthage. The battle was fierce and pitched, with the brilliance of both commanders turning the battle first one way, then the other. Yet Scipio had devised a cunning plan to confuse Hannibal's elephants, turning his army's source of power on itself. The superior Roman cavalry then decimated Hannibal's own, at last defeating Rome's greatest foe.

Though the city of Carthage would survive, the Carthaginians were forced to surrender their overseas empire, being reduced only to the immediate city itself. Hannibal would later commit suicide to escape the clutches of his Roman foes, ending the legacy and the oath of Hamilcar.

Hannibal Barca, Great Enemy of Rome

Yet Hannibal would live on. The fear and terror he inspired in early Romans by shattering their powerbase and threatening the city itself would echo through Roman history. Roman admiration and respect for Hannibal would cause his military legacy to be remembered for centuries, and he would long be immortalized as the greatest and most worthy foe to ever challenge the power of Rome. For centuries after, the historians and common people of Rome alike would ever remember the days when great Hannibal led his vast armies over the uncrossable Alps to halt the destiny of Rome with fire and sword.