Analysis of Hannibal: Enemy of Rome by Leonard Cottrell Essay

Another ancient one-sided perception of Hannibal is in the source: “Hannibal turned back once more towards Placentia, and after marching about ten miles went into camp. The next day he advanced against the enemy with twelve thousand foot and five thousand horse. [2] Nor did the consul Sempronius, who had now returned from Rome, decline the combat. That day there were only three miles between the two encampments. On the following day they fought, with great spirit and with shifting fortunes. At the first encounter the Romans had so far the best of it that not only were they victorious in the battle, but they pursued the beaten enemy to his camp, and were soon attacking the camp itself. Hannibal stationed [p. 177]a few defenders on the rampart and at the gates1 and received the rest in a crowded throng within the enclosure, where he bade them watch intently for the signal to sally forth.” [2] This written source perspicuously outlines the chronology of the Second Punic War, and Livy’s one sided perception, on how they fought with ‘great spirit and shifting fortunes’, in order to embellish the Roman Empire’s image, ultimately resulting into him going into great length to demonise Hannibal. A final source to quintessentially exemplify the ancient Roman depiction of Hannibal is: “Hannibal moved out of his winter encampment. He had tried before this to cross the Apennines, but had failed because of the intolerable cold. [2] And the delay had been

The military campaigns of the Caesars made Rome one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Suetonius conveys through his writings that being a good military leader and a good Caesar were synonymous. Augustus, who Suetonius thought an excellent leader, reunited the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire ( 51) and greatly expanded Romes territory (53). Augustus “showed not only skill as a commander, but courage as a soldier” in the eyes of his contemporaries (47). On the other hand, both Caligula and Nero, considered poor leaders by Suetonius, had very limited military success and aspirations. Only once did Caligula initiate a military exploit, and it was rife with his madness. His campaign into Germany was on a whim and all he accomplished was receiving the surrender of a

Throughout his career as a politician and warrior, Fabius always took the time to make a wise decision. Hannibal tried to trick Fabius into fighting so that Hannibal could surprise Fabius, but Fabius was wise and did not fall for Hannibal’s traps. Fabius was so wise that his tactics of defeating Hannibal seemed senseless to the Romans. However, Fabius knew that it was best to try to corner Hannibal rather than attack him. Fabius cared about the good of Rome more than his own reputation that he instructed look up, his successor as leader of the Roman army, to continue Fabius’ tactics of avoiding battle with

As a result, the Hans possessed a massive continental landmass. Likewise, the Romans took over the inland sea areas along the Mediterranean. They merged the multitude of ethnic groups and city-states into a large single-unit political state. Through the assimilation of military power from the communities they conquered in Italy, Roman army accumulated and grew in control. Similar to the Hans glory over the nomads, the Roman army’s attacks against Carthage in the Three Punic Wars demonstrated the disciplined and honorable qualities of the army and their monopoly of power over the Mediterranean. As a result, both empires developed political integration.

Many of the states of Italy that Rome had conquered a century before now joined Hannibal. This was a threat to Rome, so the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio took a Roman army to north Africa and then Hannibal went back to defend Carthage. In the battle at Zama, near Carthage, in 202 BC the Romans finally defeated Hannibal.

Hannibal was very successful in the numerous battles but he knew he would not take Rome. Hannibal turned to politics to gain the support of Rome's allies, but he did not receive enough. While Hannibal was moving through Italy Rome was preoccupied on another front. They had enter their Macedonian wars and were spread thin. For several years the two empire engaged in open battles, raids, and skirmishes. By 202 B.C., Hannibal's resources were depleted and he had no choice but to return and hold a defensive position against Rome. Rome regained a large amount of land through the peace treaty and Carthage lost the advantages they once

The Romans won the Second Punic war for a variety of reasons. These included the role and strategy of the Roman Senate and the failure of the Carthaginian government to support Hannibal. Rome’s strong control of the sea as well as Carthage's failure to rebuild their navy contributed greatly. The actions of Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus brought about the decline of Hannibal's momentum in Italy and his final defeat. Thus, there was no single reason as to why Rome were victorious against Carthage.

Hannibal was born in 247BCE, he was the son of a Carthaginian general named Hamilcar Barcareerred, who rallied his North African nation-state from defeat in the First Punic War (264–241 BC) to conquer much of Iberia. Hannibal grew up in military service, and following the 221 BC assassination of his brother-in-law Hasdrubal, who had replaced Hamilcar, Hannibal took charge of the Carthaginian army. He soon proved a brilliant field commander who applied his intellect and martial skills to the singular end of winning battles. Hannibal, a sworn enemy of all things Roman, declared war against them and this was the start of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). Victory in Italy was Hannibal’s sole objective. To achieve it, he marched the bulk of his army in Iberia across southern Gaul and over the Alps into the Roman heartland. Hannibal’s strategy was to attack Rome. Although his tactics for battle were superior he had strategic failures which would eventually lead to his campaign in failure.

Finally on the 15th day, after a journey of five months from Cartagena, with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and only a few of the original 38 elephants, Hannibal descended into Italy, having surmounted the difficulties of climate and terrain, the guerrilla tactics of inaccessible tribes, and the major difficulty of commanding a body of men diverse in race and language under conditions to which they were ill fitted (wsu.edu).      Hannibal's forces were now totally inadequate to match the army of Scipio, who had rushed to the Po River to protect the recently founded Roman colonies of Placentia (modern Piacenza) and Cremona. The first action between the two armies took place on the plains west of the Ticino River, and Hannibal's Numidian cavalry prevailed. Scipio was severely wounded, and the Romans withdrew to Placentia. After manoeuvres failed to lead to a second engagement, the combined armies of Sempronius Longus and Scipio met Hannibal on the left bank of the Trebia River south of Placentia and were soundly defeated (December 218). This victory brought both Gauls and Ligurians to Hannibal's side, and his army was considerably augmented by Celtic recruits. After a severe winter (in which he contracted an eye infection), he was able to advance in the spring of 217 as far as the Arno River (wsu.edu). Although two Roman armies were now in the field against him, he was able to outmanoeuvre that of Gaius Flaminius

Hannibal of Carthage: "The Father of Strategy" Through out history there have been many great military leaders, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Generals Washington, Grant and Charles Lewis Puller. The one however that sticks out the most is General Hannibal of Carthage. Often called the "Father of Strategy" his march over the Alps is one of the most famous attacks in military history. Hannibal beat the Roman Army time and time again before in suicide in 183 BC. Hannibal was born 247 BC, the son of Hamilcar Barca, the current General of the Carthaginian Army. Hannibal's training as a military leader began at the age of nine when he went to Spain to be with his father. At Hamilcar's request Hannibal pledged an oath

Hannibal played an important role in the history of the western world( not only in Rome, but also in Carthaginian); Hannibal not only had positive impact but also negative impact. Hannibal contributed mostly in military. During his life, Hannibal took part in many wars and had many achievements. These achievements are especially in the aspects of important events which he created in time of war, his thinking of military strategy, and his speaking or action also influence on other people. Primarily, it goes without any doubt that Hannibal created an important event: he leaded the Second Punic War.

By 290BC, Rome ruled over all of central and northern Italy. Rome had networked every independent state to her via the treaties. Along with this, the conquered enemies had land taken from them. Rome’s newfound abundance of territory meant that land could be given to more citizens, including the poor. Allies provided massive army (v useful in battles of pyrrhic war), seemed that they had an endless supply of soldier, described by

The military might of Rome was second to none in its prime. Victorious battle after battle did

     'I came, I saw, I conquered.' These are the words of the man who changed the history of the world. This paper will show how no other man in the history of the world represented military and political power better than Julius Caesar. He became a legend for his military exploits and great leadership ability.

Even with his fast cavalry and strong infantry Hannibal knew that he did not have resources like Rome. In fact, he was always outnumbered in every battle. Yet despite of being outnumbered, his strategies helped the Carthaginians win most of the battles in the second Punic war. For example, in the battle of Lake Trasimene, Hannibal trapped the Romans in an ambush without an escape route. What he did was to draw the Romans in close ranks, then sneak attack them with his infantry, and block the way out with his fast cavalry. This lead to the death of 30,000 Roman soldiers plus a high ranking Roman general named Flaminius. In this battle, the casualties of Hannibal’s forces were only 2,500 soldiers.