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Podcast Transcript
In the third century BC, Rome faced its greatest enemy.
One man, a Carthaginian general named Hannibal Barca, led an army into the Italian peninsula and terrorized Rome for over a decade, despite having fewer resources and fighting on Rome’s home turf.
He handed the Roman Republic many of its most humiliating defeats and, in the process, developed a reputation as the greatest general in the ancient world.
Learn about the Second Punic War and Hannibal’s campaign against Rome on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Hannibal was born in Carthage in 247 BC during the final phase of the First Punic War. He belonged to the Barcid family, a rising political and military house led by his father, Hamilcar Barca.
Carthage was a trading superpower, being one of the most important trading hubs in the Ancient Mediterranean. The city was colonized by the Phoenicians, but eventually grew to become its own empire.
Carthage was also one of the principal rivals of Ancient Rome, with the two societies being engaged in a series of three wars from 264 to 146 BC. These would be known as the Punic Wars.
The first Punic War lasted twenty-three years, ending in 241 BC. The war was fought over Sicily, where Carthage had established several colonies. As Rome began to expand, the two civilizations found themselves in an inevitable conflict.
To grossly oversimplify, Rome eventually defeated Carthage after successfully upgrading their Navy, causing the Carthaginian stronghold within Sicily to collapse, forcing them to surrender and end the war.
Hannibal’s father, Hamilcar, was one of the Carthaginian generals during the later stages of the First Punic War. He was one of the more successful Carthaginian generals. By utilizing guerrilla tactics against the Romans, he was able to keep most of his army intact.
After Rome defeated Carthage, Hamilcar watched as the city he loved lost the majority of its overseas territories and was forced to pay a massive war reparation. Desperate to prevent his country from falling into obscurity, Hamilcar decided that Carthage would need to expand to a new, lucrative territory.
Hamilcar decided that the Iberian Peninsula would be the best place to colonize, as its massive supply of gold and silver would be perfect for funding Carthage’s war reparations.
According to legend, his son, Hannibal, asked to accompany him on his mission, and his father agreed under one condition. This condition was that Hannibal would need to swear “an oath of eternal hostility to Rome.”
To make this oath, a nine-year-old Hannibal would have placed his hand in the blood of a sacrificed animal on an altar and sworn to the god Baal.
After taking his oath, Hamilcar and Hannibal moved to the Peninsula in 237 BC. Here, Hamilcar would expand Carthage’s influence.
A side effect of this was that Hannibal grew up in a military camp. This gave him connections with the army and early experience in military strategy.
Unfortunately for Hannibal, his father would die in battle while in Iberia, leaving Hannibal’s brother-in-law, Hasdrubal the Fair (not to be confused with his younger brother Hasdrubal), in charge of the Carthaginian forces.
Hannibal served as one of the officers under him.
Hasdrubal worked to continue expanding Carthage’s influence over Iberia. Part of this was signing a treaty with the Romans that stated the Carthaginians would not expand North of the Erbo River as long as Rome didn’t expand southward.
Hasdrubal the Fair was later assassinated seven years after the death of Hamilcar by the slave of a Celtic king seeking revenge. The new leader of the Carthaginian forces in Iberia was the 26-year-old son of Hamilcar, Hannibal.
As commander of the Carthaginian forces, Hannibal worked to consolidate power within Spain and establish a new city called Cartagena. This city became an economic powerhouse.
However, watching the Carthaginians expand their influence over Iberia was threatening to many Roman senators. This led the Romans to take decisive action.
The Romans made an alliance with the city of Saguntum, which was located near the city of Valencia in modern Spain.
The Carthaginians considered this to be a violation of the earlier treaty that stated the northern Erbo River would serve as the line between Carthaginian and Roman influence.
To counter the Romans, Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum and eventually captured it after eight months. Hannibal then had the loot taken from the city sent to Carthage.
The move to send loot to Carthage would prove to be savvy, as the Roman senate sent a delegation to Carthage demanding that Hannibal be punished for violating the same treaty.
The delegation demanded to know if Hannibal laid siege to the city under Carthage’s orders. Carthaginian leaders responded, saying both nations had little proof of breaking the treaty.
The leader of the Roman delegation responded to this, stating that Carthage could either turn Hannibal in to them and there would be peace, or that the two nations would be at war.
Carthage chose war.
The Second Punic War was going to be difficult for Carthage to win.
Strategically, Carthage was in a bad position. They had a weaker navy, making it nearly impossible for them to attack from the sea, and the Roman legions outnumbered their armies on land.
For many nations, this would result in taking a defensive position and letting the Roman army come to them. But Hannibal didn’t like this option. Instead, Hannibal wanted to attack Rome on their home ground.
In 218 BC, Hannibal took his army, consisting of 40,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 38 war elephants, and crossed the Ebro River into southern Gaul.
Learning that Hannibal made it to the Alps, Roman troops returned to Italy and readied their defenses for a campaign next Spring, which was still months away.
The Alps were notoriously dangerous, especially during the fall and winter seasons, so the Romans weren’t concerned that anyone would attempt to cross, as that would be crazy.
Unfortunately for the Romans, Hannibal was insane.
Hannibal had his army abandon its siege tools and parts of the supply train and began to cross. The conditions were brutal. As they were crossing a mountain range in the winter, they faced blizzards, avalanches, and freezing temperatures.
Additionally, the army would face surprise attacks from the tribes that lived in the mountains and had little food. The conditions were truly horrific, but against all odds, they crossed the Alps in just over two weeks.
Despite making it over the Alps, the army was in poor condition and had lost most of its war elephants. To replenish their supplies and men, Hannibal made alliances with local tribes that were hostile to Roman rule.
In November of 218 BC, the two armies met at the banks of the Ticinus River.
The Romans expected the Battle of Ticinus to end in victory, but they were in for a surprise, as both armies planned to rely heavily on their cavalry in battle, which would give Hannibal a distinct advantage.
Hannibal’s cavalry was eventually able to overrun the Roman infantry and severely injure Scipio, who was saved by his later to be famous young son.
This battle marked the first of many defeats Hannibal handed the Romans, and the next major conflict would prove even more disastrous.
The Battle of Trebia was considered to be the first major battle of the Second Punic War. Taking place on the Trebia River, Hannibal prepared to face off against the other Roman Consul, Tiberius Sempronius Longus.
Hannibal had spies who informed him about Sempronius’s desire for glory and his rash decision-making. Hannibal knew that he could bait Sempronius into a battle that would benefit him, so he did just that.
Hannibal took advantage of the Romans’ tradition alternating between Consuls leading the army every other day. On a day when he knew Sempronius would be in charge, he made his move.
Hannibal strategically used war elephants along with Balearic Slingers to crush the enemy. Many Romans died fleeing for their lives or drowning in the river. By the end of the battle, Hannibal’s force had roughly 5,000 casualties, but the Romans had 20 to 30 thousand.
This victory was crucial for Hannibal as it helped him gain the support of the Celts in Northern Italy.
In the spring of 217 BC, Hannibal managed to once again get one over on the Romans.
The Romans were blockading most of the supply routes to the North. They believed this was an effective strategy because it would prevent Hannibal from getting closer to Rome.
However, their blockade left one spot open. This was known as the Arno Valley, which was a marshland the Romans considered to be impassable.
Hannibal decided to prove that assumption wrong.
The trip across the marsh was brutal, lasting four straight days and nights. His men crawled through thick mud and deep water, and many men ended up dying from illness or infection.
Hannibal, himself, did not come out of the marsh unscathed. While crossing the Arno valley, he received a nasty eye infection, causing him to lose the eye.
Though he faced casualties and his army was weakened, Hannibal was able to get around the Roman forces and prepare for his next attack.
At the end of the marsh lay the Roman army at the shore of Lake Trasimene. Hannibal successfully ambushed the Romans, killing 15,000 men and taking another 15,000 prisoners. It was the largest and most successful ambush in military history.
For many nations, the amount of casualties Hannibal was inflicting would cause them to surrender, but Rome was not like other nations.
Rome was unwilling to surrender and took drastic measures.
The Senate made Quintus Fabius Maximus dictator. Making someone a dictator in Rome was done in times of emergency and granted whoever was chosen six months of absolute power. I covered Fabius and the Fabian strategy in a previous episode.
As dictator, Fabius gained the reputation of cunctator or “delayer.” His plan was simply to avoid fighting Hannibal by any means necessary. Instead, he opted to use the policy of scorched earth.
This strategy was effective as it prevented Hannibal from gaining important resources to sustain his army. However, it was unpopular with the Senate.
The Senators wanted a quick victory, and the strategy of delaying battle was frustrating, especially since Hannibal kept looting the Senators’ estates in Southern Italy for supplies.
This led to the Senate removing Fabius from the position in 216 BC. The republic then elected two new consuls, Terentius Varro and Aemillus Paulus.
The two consuls were given command of an army of 80,000 men and were given one goal: to stop Hannibal.
Unfortunately for the Romans, Hannibal had other plans.
He attacked the supply depot outside Cannae to provoke the Romans.
On August 2, 216 BC, the Battle of Cannae commenced.
Hannibal expected the consul of the day, Varro, to place his men close together to attack the Carthaginian infantry placed in the center. Hannibal was correct in this assumption and placed more experienced infantry at the flanks.
As the Romans attacked, Hannibal had his center retreat while his flanks bent around and encircled the Romans. The Romans were now packed too tightly to even swing a sword.
Hannibal then had his cavalry charge at the Romans’ cavalry, completely chasing them away. When the Roman cavalry was gone, the Carthaginian cavalry took up position in the Roman rear.
The Battle of Cannae saw 50,000 to 70,000 Romans die, including one of the consuls, Aemilius Paulus. It was the worst defeat in Roman history.
More Roman lives were lost in a single day than American lives that were lost in the entire Vietnam War.
After the battle, Hannibal tried to negotiate peace terms with Rome, but the stubborn Romans refused.
This decision could’ve been disastrous. Every day, Romans would talk about Hannibal ante portas, or Hannibal is at the gates. Yet, Hannibal never came.
Hannibal’s decision not to attack the city of Rome remains one of the most significant decisions in world history.
Hannibal’s troops were exhausted and needed rest. Additionally, the army didn’t have the proper siege equipment for Rome’s defenses. Finally, Carthage was reluctant to send reinforcements.
Rome eventually placed a new general in charge of the Roman Armies, Publius Scipio or as he is better known to history, Scipio Africanus. Scipio didn’t attack Hannibal directed. Instead he went to Spain and drove the Carthaginians out of the territory.
Additionally, the Romans finally accepted the Fabian strategy, meaning they avoided attacking the enemy, favoring to contain the problem instead.
The biggest problem occurred when Scipio Africanus landed in Northern Africa after his campaign in Spain. This action finally brought war to Carthage. Fearful for their survival, Hannibal was called back to defend the city.
The end of the Second Punic War occurred in 202 BC with a Roman victory at the Battle of Zama outside of Carthage.
Hannibal was placed in charge of the Carthaginian army, but faced an enemy who understood his tactics. Scipio Africanus devised a strategy to combat the war elephants by creating gaps in their ranks, allowing them to pass through easily.
At Zama, Rome had gotten the decisive victory it needed.
Carthage was in ruin. It needed to make war reparations, renounce all its overseas possessions, and obtain permission from Rome to take any military actions.
Hannibal remained involved in Carthaginian politics for a few years until Rome threatened war if he did not leave the city.
Gone from Carthage, Hannibal continued to take action against the Romans and their allies. He had a few victories during this time, but ultimately was backed into a corner by the Romans.
Not wanting to be captured, Hannibal committed suicide by poison at 66 years old.
Carthage would only exist for another 35 years, finally being defeated in the Third Punic War.
Hannibal’s legacy far outlived the man.
Whenever Rome faced struggles, the phrase “Hannibal is at the gates” would continue to be used.
Roman military reforms after the war, including greater flexibility in command and a new attentiveness to cavalry and scouting, reflect the lessons he forced upon them.
Hannibal has become one of the most respected military leaders in history. Generals from Frederick the Great to Napoleon and Schlieffen studied Cannae as a model for battlefield envelopment.
In the modern imagination, Hannibal stands alongside Alexander and Caesar among the few commanders whose name alone evokes entire campaigns. He did not destroy Rome, yet despite not doing so, he secured a place among history’s greatest generals.