Hannibal : A Great Carthaginian War General And The Greatest Strategists Of All Time

In both ancient and modern interpretations and perceptions, Hannibal is infamous for leading the Carthaginian army and a squadron of elephants athwart the Southern European region and the Alps Mountains against the Roman Empire, who were manifested as the most powerful army, in the Second Punic War. Hannibal is overly expressed and given light to throughout his career and conquest in Italy by prominently well-renowned historians, including: Titus Livy, who was considered as the least reliable source as he was tremendously reliant on other eyewitness accounts of contingency, and was greatly one-sided toward the Romans. Polybius, who was ultimately much more detached, and perceived sources objectively with balance. And modern historians,

Fabius, Scipio, and Hannibal were all good leaders but they all had different qualities. Fabius was wise and patient, which meant that he could not be tricked and ambushed in battle. Scipio was clever but rash. He managed to conquer several nations but he made some decisions that could have destroyed his army. Hannibal was warlike and inspiring, but also unwilling to accept blame. He managed to hold an army made of several different nations together for a while, but did not take the blame when things fell apart. In my belief, Fabius was the best general because clever ideas and inspiring speeches are less important than patience and wisdom.

Rome and Carthage shared many aspects when the two first clash. Carthage had two chief magistrates referred to as Suffetes, which compared to the political power of the Roman consuls, a council of elders named the “hundred,” which was similar to the Roman senate, and there was a Carthaginian assembly, the consistency resembled the Roman comitia (Morey, 1901). This is where the similarities end for Carthaginian, ruled by a few wealthy families, the Carthaginians did not integrate their subjects into the state, and they did not have the great loyalty of its citizens that Rome enjoyed. By placing its army under the command of a single permanent leader, Carthage created an overwhelming advantage to Rome, which had its armies controlled by the ever-changing civil magistrates and consuls (Morey, 1901).

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

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.

Rome’s main military opposition was Carthage, a kingdom located on the northern coast of Africa. Carthage and Rome fought in a series of three wars known as the Punic Wars. The second Punic War, fought from 218-202 BC was led by Hannibal on the Carthaginian side and Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus on the Roman side. The Battle of Lake Trasimene 217 BC was a major battle in the Second Punic War. Under Hannibal, the Carthaginian army defeated the Romans, who were lead by the consul Gaius Flaminius. This battle helped the Carthaginians to bring the Romans close to defeat, Hannibal was able to execute his father Hamilcar’s strategy perfectly in this battle. In the Battle of Cannae, the Carthaginians were just as lucky. Rome’s larger army, under Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro, was efficiently and easily defeated by the Carthaginian forces. Though Carthage surprised Rome with many victories, the Punic War ended in 202 BC with the The Battle of Zama. Scipio lead the Roman army and defeated the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal. Though Hannibal's army had more men than Scipio's, and he had eighty elephants, Rome showed their superiority and skill in ending the Second Punic War with this battle. Many years after this, another kingdom of North Africa, Numidia, fostered a connection with Rome. King Jugurtha of this region was able to benefit from the Roman soldiers through bribery and connections with them.

Carthage was founded around 813 BCE by the Phoenician Queen Elissa also known as Dido. Originally the city was called Kart-hadasht, but the Greeks called it Karchedon and then the Romans changed it to Carthago. The city started off as only a small port on the coast used for short stops, however over time Carthage became the most powerful city in the Mediterranean before the progression of Rome. After the fall of the Phoenician city of Tyre in 332 BCE, Carthage became the new center of Phoenician trade with a harbor made up of 220 docks in a semi-circle. The Carthaginians enslaved and demanded money from native africans in the area and grew the city in size. They also became very successful in trading. In less then one hundred years Carthage became the richest city in the Mediterranean.

Over the course of one-hundred years the Mediterranean antiquity was rocked by an ancient cold war between the North African seafaring state of Carthage, and the newly rising city of Rome located on the Italian Peninsula. In the course of two major wars and one extended three year long siege of Carthage itself Rome would conquer its last major foe and turn the Mediterranean into a Roman lake.

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

the strongest of the two in this field. This superiority was met by a large scale Roman construction of the navel fleet after their land forces captured one of the Carthaginian ships. Soon this was reflected in the fightings, and in 256 Carthage was besieged, but the Romans were defeated. Then for some years Carthage was the most successful who was commanded by Hamilcar. However, at the battle at the Aegates Islands in 241, the Carthaginians were beaten so badly that they requested peace. This agreement involved leaving

Julius Caesar is a man famous for his death, but his death was in fact the least exciting part of his life. Stretching from 100 BC to 44 BC, he accomplished much with his life as both a politician and ruler during a prosperous time of ancient Rome that he created. Julius Caesar was an admirable leader of ancient Rome that carried his fame into modern times because of his interesting early life, ways as a military leader, and time as dictator.

One of the first wars Julius Caesar encountered was the Gallic War. The city of Gaul was rising just like Rome. However, one day German troops took back their land forcing one Gaul tribe to retreat back their main city. To do this they would have to cross some Roman territory. Gaul thought that this wouldn’t be a problem as they thought of Romans as understanding people. Julius Caesar soon learned about the Gaul tribe’s plans and took an army to the area in which the Gaul tribe would be crossing. Gaul sent two of their leaders and discuss their problem. The Gaul leaders then left to find out what date they wanted to cross. In that time Julius Caesar wanted to show how much force the Roman army had. He ordered his troops to build a wall across the point in which Gaul wanted to cross. The leaders soon came back and were astonished by the Roman army’s creation. When Julius Caesar and Gaul leaders met this time Julius Caesar said that he wouldn’t allow them to cross. Gaul was not about to give up so easily, from then on they began to check for weak spots in the Roman’s defenses. The Gaul tribe finally gave up as they knew that there were not any weak spots. Gaul decided that they would take a more dangerous route. They would travel through a narrow valley even though enemy could attack from above. Julius Caesar learned of Gauls new plans and was fearful. He thought that if Gaul went back to its main city it would hold a grudge against Rome and come to destroy them. So Julius

Julius Caesar, a man born in around 12 to 13, 100 BC, was considered the start of a new legacy in the history of Rome. Participating in several wars, becoming dictator after forming multiple military alliances, to being assassinated on the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was a politically-flexible, popular leader of the Roman Empire. (Julius Caesar Biography, April 23, 2014) Although Caesar’s birth was never confirmed on the exact date, he was born and raised by his mother, Aurelia, and by his father, Gaius Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar: Historical Background, April 23, 2014)

Hannibal Barca, lived around 247-182 B.C. As the son of Hamlicar Barca, the general of the Carthage army, and empire builder during the first Punic war, Hannibal was trained and mentored by his father. Hannibal was considered to be one of the world’s greatest military strategists. This great strategist at twenty-five years of age was the general of the Carthaginian Empire that reached across the northern tip of Africa. His career as the top military leader of Carthage began at the beginning of the second Punic war where Carthage fought against the Roman republic.

"Among the praiseworthy deeds of Hannibal is counted this: that, having a very large army, made up of all kinds of men, which he commanded in foreign lands, there never arose the slightest dissention, neither among themselves nor against their princes, both during his good and bad fortune." (The Prince Chapter XVII)