The power of Ancient Rome seems absolute today,
but that wasn’t always the case. Over 150 years before the great drama of Julius
Caesar, the Roman Republic faced its greatest existential threat. Carthage, the great North African merchant
empire, battled Rome for supremacy of the Mediterrenean. And at the vanguard of Carthage’s forces
was one of the most brilliant tacticians the world has ever seen: Hannibal. For nearly 20 years, Hannibal fought against
the Romans, waging a war that would ultimately decide the fate of the known world. He invaded Italy and brought terror to the
doorstep of Rome itself. Every army sent against him was destroyed,
the brilliance of the general allowing him to repeatedly surprise, baffle, outmaneuver,
and outfight his enemy. For a time, it seemed Rome itself would be
conquered, but in the end, Hannibal was undone, not by Roman armies, but by the apathy and
greed of his own leaders. He ended his days in exile, watching as Roman
power grew unchecked over his homeland, and eventually, most of the known world. This is the story of Hannibal. Early Life To understand Hannibal, you have to understand
where he came from. Carthage, located near the modern day capital
of Tunis on the coast of North Africa, began as a small trade colony and quickly bloomed
into the center of a vast trading empire. At one point, it controlled all or large parts
of all the islands of the Western Mediterreanean, including Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. This brought them into conflict with the Roman
Republic, which was consolidating its hold on the Italian peninsula and expanding outwards
in search of power and wealth. In 264 BC, the two powers went to war with
each other, a conflict that lasted for over 20 years and was financially and militarily
a disaster for the Carthaginians. They were forced to surrender control of much
of their island territory, a huge blow. They were also forced by treaty to pay an
indemnity to Rome, which further sapped Carthage’s resources. In the midst of this, Hannibal was born in
247 BC, the son of Hamilcar Barca, one of the leading Carthaginian generals during the
war with Rome. Hamilcar was engaged in a bitter political
struggle with other Carthaginian aristocrats for control of the country. He decided that the best way to advance Carthage’s
interests (as well as his own), was to conquer the Iberian Peninsula, the modern day countries
of Spain and Portugal. There was enough territory and resources there,
especially silver mines, to both pay the war debt to Rome and to rebuild and pay for Carthage’s
armies. Hamilcar left for this mission in 237 BC,
accompanied by his 9 year old son Hannibal. Legend says that before they left, Hamilcar
took his son to a temple and had him make a vow of eternal hatred towards Rome. It would be many years before Hannibal would
see the city of Carthage again. Over the course of the next 9 years, Hamilcar
campaigned ceaselessly in Iberia, gaining vast tracts of territory for Carthage and
vast amounts of wealth flowing back to the capital, mainly gold and silver from mines
in the conquered territories. During this time, Hannibal grew up surrounded
by soldiers, learning the science of war from his father and his officers. It was clear the boy had a talent for battle:
by the age of 18 he was already commanding troops. Hamilcar Barca was killed in battle in 228
BC, and command of the Carthaginian forces in Iberia fell to Hannibal’s brother in
law, Hasdrubal the Fair. Over the next 7 years, as Hannibal gained
more experience and influence, Hasdrubal consolidated Carthage’s holdings and signed a treaty
with the Romans designating the Ebro River as the border between Carthaginian controlled
territory and that under the influence of Rome. But Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 BC,
and at only 26, Hannibal was appointed commander in chief of the army in Iberia. Hannibal continued the Iberian conquest of
his father and brother in law for the next two years, drawing right up against the Ebro
River border Hasdrubal had agreed upon with Rome. The Romans watched Carthage’s expansion
in Iberia with growing concern, in an attempt to check Hannibal’s power in the region,
they allied themselves with the city of Saguntum. Saguntum was far south of the Ebro River,
and Hannibal felt the Romans had violated the treaty setting the river as a demarcation
line. He laid siege to the city, and captured it
after 8 months in 219 BC. Rome sent a delegation to Carthage demanding
that they turn over Hannibal to them to face Roman justice, but the Carthaginian government,
appreciative of the treasure Hannibal’s conquests were bringing in, backed their general. The second war between Carthage and Rome had
begun. War with Rome Hannibal decided on a bold strategy to defeat
the Romans: he would march overland from Iberia across southern Gaul (modern day France),
and invade Italy itself. The Romans anticipated this, and sent armies
to intercept him, but he evaded them and made his way across Gaul, at the head of an army
made up of 40,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 38 war elephants. His troops came from all over the place: many
were mercenaries, fighting not for country but for treasure. Many more were local tribesmen who Hannibal
recruited along the way, who hated Rome and would fight with anyone who opposed her. Always one for the audacious, Hannibal crossed
the Alps in 218 BC. The journey was hard going: it’s believed
that half his army perished in the mountains, including most of his elephants. But he took the Romans completely by surprise
when he emerged in the Po Valley in Northern Italy, recruiting allies among the local population
to bolster his ranks. Opposing him were two Roman armies, commanded
by the two consuls elected that year. Publius Scipio was the older of the two, a
seasoned commander. But he’d been wounded in an earlier skirmish
with Hannibal’s forces and hadn’t yet recovered. Tiberius Sempronius was brash and headstrong,
he was itching to engage Hannibal, despite Scipio cautioning him to wait. The two armies faced each other across the
River Trebia. The year was almost over, new consuls would
soon be elected for 217 and Sempronius knew he was about to lose his chance at glory. Military victories were the surest way of
political advancement in the Roman Republic. Hannibal knew this, and sought to take advantage
of it. On December 21st, 218, Hannibal put his plan
into motion. He sent a force of Numidian cavalry across
the river to harass the Roman camp. In response, Sempronius deployed his entire
army to drive them off. The Romans pursued the Numidians back across
the River Trebia, forcing the infantry to wade through chest high water that was freezing
cold in the snowy conditions. By the time the army made it across, they
were exhausted, and probably suffering from hypothermia. Hannibal’s army, on the other hand, was
well rested, and he quickly moved to engage the disorganized Romans. Suddenly, a small force under the command
of Hannibal’s younger brother Mago emerged from its hiding place and attacked the Romans
from behind, causing the entire formation to break and run. It was a massacre: many Romans were killed
fleeing for their lives, and more drowned in the river, too exhausted to make it across. It’s believed the Roman army suffered 28,000
to 30,000 casualties that day, compared to only 5,000 for Hannibal. The Battle of the River Trebia was a resounding
success for Hannibal. It was the first demonstration of his tactical
genius, and the first time he had truly terrified Rome. But it would not be the last time. Triumph In the spring of 217, Hannibal decided he
needed to march south. The Gallic allies he’d won over after the
Battle of the Trebia would not remain his friends for long if his army sat still and
ate all the food in the region instead of fighting the hated Romans. Meanwhile, on the Roman side, the two newly
elected consuls were sent north with armies to stop Hannibal. There were only two roads that Hannibal could
use to advance south, and the Roman plan was for each consul to position his army on one
of these routes, forcing Hannibal to fight his way through them, and giving the other
army time to reinforce them. Gnaeus Servilius was in command of the eastern
army, on the Adriatic coast, while Gaius Flaminius commanded the western army at Arretium, south
of the Apennine mountains in central Italy. Hannibal was faced with two bad options, but
again showing the audacity for which he was quickly becoming legend, chose a third route. The Arno River Valley to the west of Flaminius’
position was known for flooding at that time of year, and was considered to be impassable
to an army, so it wasn’t guarded. Hannibal’s army boldly crossed it in just
four days. Though the march was not without loss (many
men drowned in the marshes or died of infections, Hannibal himself was blinded in one eye by
such an infection), Hannibal once again had surprised the Romans by appearing where he
wasn’t supposed to. Flaminius sent word to Servilius to come to
his support. Hannibal knew he couldn’t allow both Roman
armies to combine, so he resolved to destroy Flaminius before Servilius could arrive. He attempted to goad Flaminius into battle
by laying waste to the countryside around Arretium, and when that didn’t work, he
boldly marched completely around Flaminius and cut him off from Rome, then continued
south as if marching on the city. Flaminius was another Roman commander who
was prone to impetuousness and rash action, and this insult by Hannibal could not go unchallenged. He rallied his troops and started quickly
after Hannibal, while Servilius was still too far away to help him. On June 21st, 217, Flaminius was pursuing
the Carthaginian army down a narrow road, hemmed in on the left by tall hills and on
the right by the shores of Lake Trasimene. A thick mist hung over the area, reducing
visibility. The Romans were strung out in marching formation,
still believing that Hannibal was ahead of them on the move. Suddenly, trumpets sounded from their left. Unknown to the Romans, Hannibal had doubled
back during the night, positioning his army in the hills above the road, in perfect position
to ambush Flaminius. The Romans were caught completely by surprise. The Carthaginian forces rushed down the hills
and attacked the unprepared Romans. More units cut the road on both sides, pinning
their enemy between their swords and the waters of Lake Trasimene. Many legionnaires attempted to flee from the
Carthaginians by swimming, most of whom drowned in their heavy armor. Flaminius was dead, hacked to pieces by Hannibal’s
Gallic allies, and the rest of his army didn’t fare much better: at least 15,000 men were
killed, and another 15,000 taken prisoner. The Battle of Lake Trasimene remains to this
day, the largest and most successful ambush in military history. With Flaminius’ army destroyed, and Servilius’
army unexpectedly pinned in place by attacking Gauls along the Adriatic coast, there was
now no one to oppose Hannibal. Rome, panicked at the thought of the Carthaginian
general at the gates to their city, appointed a dictator, Fabius Maximus, to save the Republic. Hannibal, meanwhile, decided not to attack
Rome at this time. He didn’t think he needed to in order to
bring them to heel. He figured by turning Rome’s Italian allies
against them, and hampering their ability to make war by destroying and looting their
food supplies, he could force them to the negotiating table. The aim of the war was not to conquer the
Roman Republic, but to regain the lost territories of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, and to humble
Rome as Rome had done to Carthage at the end of the first war. But Hannibal had misjudged his enemy. The Romans were what modern military tacticians
would call a “total war nation”. The fate of the entire nation rode on its
military success, they did not surrender. They would rather Rome be burned to the ground
than negotiate with a victorious enemy. Many people consider Hannibal’s bypassing
Rome instead of besieging it in 217 as his greatest mistake. Regardless, Hannibal was now loose south of
Rome, burning and pillaging as he went, pursued by Fabius at the head of a new army. Fabius adopted a new strategy: instead of
seeking open battle with Hannibal, he sought to contain him, to shadow his movements and
force him into making a mistake. But this strategy wasn’t popular with the
Roman Senate, especially not to the aristocrats whose estates were being looted in Campania. They urged him to pursue a more aggressive
strategy, but Fabius refused. He’d already seen two Roman armies destroyed
by Hannibal, and he wasn’t about to be the third. But Fabius’ prestige was damaged when Hannibal
escaped a planned encirclement through a clever ruse at Ager Falernus, and the Roman public
was beginning to deride him as a coward. He was removed from his post as dictator,
and the Republic elected two new consuls for 216: Terentius Varro and Aemilius Paullus. Both were placed in co-command of a massive
new army of 86,000 men, the largest Rome had ever fielded, and ordered to stop Hannibal. Hannibal’s Greatest Victory Hannibal had spent the time since his escape
from Fabius encouraging defections from Rome’s Italian allies in the south and attacking
Roman settlements. He heard about the deployment of the massive
Roman force against him and moved quickly to strike first, capturing the important supply
depot at Cannae on the Adriatic Coast. Once again, he was forcing the Romans into
a battle on the ground of his choosing. On August 2nd, 216, the two armies met outside
of Cannae. Varro, in command of the army that day (Roman
law required the two consuls to alternate command each day), tightly packed his legionnaires
together in order to smash the Carthaginians in the center of their battleline. As a result, though he had vastly more troops
than Hannibal did, their battle lines were roughly the same size. Hannibal, anticipating this, planned to use
Varro’s deep formation against him. He placed light infantry in the center of
his line and his strongest infantry on the two flanks. When the battle was joined, the center of
Hannibal’s line was forced back, while the flanks held firm. Hannibal’s line took on a crescent shape,
drawing more and more legionnaires to the center of the attack. What they didn’t realize, however, was that
they were being drawn into a trap. Pushing back Hannibal’s line in the center
and not on the flanks, they had surrounded themselves on three sides with enemy troops,
and their already tight formation became even tighter, to the point of many Romans being
unable to swing their weapons. At this crucial moment, the Carthaginian cavalry,
who had chased off the Roman horsemen earlier in the battle, returned and attacked the Romans
from the rear. The Roman army was now completely surrounded,
and Hannibal ordered all forces to attack. It was complete slaughter. The Romans had nowhere to go, and were killed
by the tens of thousands. By the time darkness fell, there was nothing
left of the Roman army, it had been utterly annihilated. The few survivors, led by Varro, escaped back
to Rome to reveal the horror to the Roman people. The totality of the defeat was astounding:
in one day the Romans had suffered 68,000 casualties. The dead included the other consular commander,
Aemilius, and over 100 other Romans who held high leadership positions in the Republic,
including 80 Senators. Hannibal’s brother Mago demonstrated the
scale of the victory by overturning a large urn filled with gold signet rings in the Carthaginian
Senate, each ring taken from the hand of a slain Roman nobleman. The Battle of Cannae would be the worst defeat
suffered by Rome in her 1,000 year history as a Republic and later as an Empire. Things got even worse for the Romans. After Cannae, the entire south of Italy defected
to Hannibal’s side, including two of the largest cities on the peninsula: Capua and
Tarentum. In addition, The Kingdoms of Macedon and Syracuse
allied with Carthage against Rome. In less than 2 years, Rome had lost 20% of
her military age males to Hannibal’s campaigns. The entire Italian peninsula was devastated. And yet, when Hannibal offered to negotiate
peace terms, the Roman Senate refused. They would not give up and so the war continued. Downfall Hannibal did not march on Rome after Cannae,
though many in his army called for him to do so. His reasoning for doing so was the same as
when he didn’t attack the city the year before: that wasn’t the goal of this war. He continued to consolidate his position in
southern Italy, rallying more Italian allies to his cause, while the Romans returned to
the Fabian strategy of containment over open battle. And this is the point where things started
to go against Hannibal. While Carthage celebrated Hannibal’s victories,
they seemed to treat the Italian invasion as a sideshow of the war. Hannibal was never seriously reinforced or
resupplied from Carthage. All of Carthage’s available troops were
being sent to places like Iberia, where a Roman army had been sent to block Hannibal’s
reinforcement, and to efforts to retake Sicily. The central failing of Carthage was coming
to light: they were too greedy, trying to take too much territory, fight on too many
fronts at once. This was caused by Carthage not being a martial
culture the way Rome was: sons of wealthy Carthaginian aristocrats were not expected
to serve in the army the way Romans were. They relied heavily on mercenaries, which
required vast sums of money to maintain. That in turn required territory and treasure
from her existing armies and trade fleets. The bottom line was that, for essentially
the entire time he was in Italy, Hannibal was on his own, fighting a personal battle
with Rome and being supported very little by his home country. He remained in essentially a stalemate in
southern Italy for years, fighting a back and forth battle with an increasingly strong
Roman force. Meanwhile, the Romans repulsed the Carthaginians
in Sicily, and in Iberia, the Romans were using the same tactic Hannibal was, recruiting
local allies to fight on their behalf. The turning point came in 204 BC. Scipio Africanus, Rome’s best general, who’d
commanded armies to great success in Iberia, invaded Africa. Carthage seemed unable to stop him, and in
desperation, recalled Hannibal from Italy to defend the Carthaginian homeland. And so, 15 years after crossing the Alps,
Hannibal left Italy behind and returned to Africa for the first time since he was a small
boy. In command of a large army including veterans
of his Italian campaign, he faced Scipio at Zama in 202. But this time, he faced an enemy who had studied
Hannibal’s tactics, and the best way to counter them. Hannibal’s army was defeated in large part
due to the superiority of the Roman cavalry, which had been a critical weakness of their
armies in Italy. Later Life The war was over. Carthage was forced to agree to peace terms
even harsher than at the end of the first war, essentially ending any hope of ever challenging
Rome again. Hannibal started a political career in Carthage
after the war, helping to rebuild the country’s shattered economy, but was driven into exile
by his enemies, who wanted to surrender him to the Romans. He found refuge in the court of the Seleucid
King Antiochus III, in Anatolia (modern day Turkey), serving as chief military advisor. But Antiochus was defeated by the Romans in
188 BC and Hannibal left again for the kingdom of Bithynia, which was on the shores of the
Black Sea. But the Romans eventually tracked him down,
and threatened the Bithynians into handing him over. Hannibal heard they were coming, and refused
to be taken by his lifelong enemy. He committed suicide by drinking poison as
Roman legionnaires closed on his home in 181, at the age of 66. Carthage itself only outlived its greatest
son by 35 years. The Romans went to war with Carthage a third
time in 146 BC, capturing the city and burning it to the ground. It’s difficult to overstate the impact Hannibal
had on world history. His campaign was the last serious threat posed
to the Roman Republic by an external invader: it would go on to become one of the greatest
empires in world history. The lessons learned against Hannibal were
surely influential in that, as their militia army that had been beaten by Hannibal was
transformed into a professional force that defeated every opponent they faced (when they
weren’t fighting each other). Hannibal became a bogeyman for every Roman,
when calamity would strike a Roman citizen, a common turn of phrase was “Hannibal is
at the gates!” Hannibal’s tactics were revolutionary for
the time period he lived in. Over the course of the next 2,200 years, every
great commander studied Hannibal, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and Robert
E. Lee. His tactics are still taught in military academies
today. His victory at Cannae in particular is cited
as a true masterpiece of military strategy, the “perfect battle”. How much would things have been different
had Hannibal’s invasion gone differently? There’s no way to know for sure. But there is no doubt that he stands as one
of the most talented, audacious, and truly great military leaders of not just the ancient
world, but in world history.
