Hannibal and the Second Punic War

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 of hate towards the Roman Empire because of Carthages lost to the Romans in the First Punic War (261-241 BC). After Hamilcar's death in 228 BC, Hannibal's brother in law, Hasdrubal, assumed command of the Carthaginian Army. Seven years, in 221BC, Hasdrubal was assassinated.

Hannibal a fierce determine warrior, general and leader who demonstrated bold, aggressive military leader during the Second Punic War 218 BCE through 201 BCE against the most power rising adversary the Roman Empire. Hannibal was born in Carthage to a family of great wealth. He was reared by a military father, whose ambition was to defeat and conquer the Roman Empire. Although, his father plans never became a reality of defeating the enemy, His investment was in his son Hannibal to bring the powerful Roman Empire to a devastating end. During the First Punic War Rome, Rome successfully defeated the Carthage.

It did this by being one of the first ever civil wars, the first war where both generals took careful care that each respective one was ready for a lengthy war, and set the stage for the Roman Empire to begin. Without this key battle, Caesar never would have been dictator of Rome, Roman generals would still rush head on into wars without the proper supplies, and Rome may have stayed a Republic plagued by civil wars to come. Evidently, Pharsalus was a major victory for Caesar and put him in control of Rome. So the next time you use some Caesar dressing, remember who made the name famous at the battle of Pharsalus.

Hannibal, a Carthaginian general and one of the greatest generals that ever lived was renown for his strategies and courageousness, such as crossing the Alps and using the "bottleneck strategy" at Lake Trasemene. He used strategies that a lot of generals at this time, especially Roman generals, would never think of and in doing this he almost destroyed the Roman republic. Hannibal's first battle took place when he was only nine. He went on an expedition with his father, Hamilcar Barca, to conquer Spain. From the beginning Carthage’s push into Spain, Hannibal vowed eternal hatred for Rome; Hannibal became Commander in Chief of Carthage’s army when he was 26 after his father was assassinated.

Hannibal (b. 247 BC, North Africa--d. c. 183-181, Libyssa, Bithynia), Phoenician Carthaginian general, one of the great military leaders of antiquity, who commanded the Carthaginian forces against Rome in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). Early life Hannibal was the son of the great Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca. According to Polybius and Livy, the main Latin sources for his life, Hannibal was taken to Spain by his father and at an early age was made to swear eternal hostility to Rome. From the death of his father in 229/228 until his own death c. 183, Hannibal's life was one of constant struggle against the Roman republic.

and 146 B.C. Many people were scared of Hannibal but that didn’t stop the Romans as they won all three wars. Although Hannibal was a great general and he made a big impact on Carthage as a nation, he was no match for Rome in the Punic Wars. By the time the first war broke out, Rome had established themselves as the dominant power over the Italian peninsula. Carthage was a very powerful city-state in northern Africa and had made a name for themselves as the leading maritime leader in the world.

Luck favored the Romans time and time again. In light of this, Hannibal was still able to prove his worth as a general. Hannibal was feared beyond reason, unrelenting even without assistance, renowned as a politician, and a genius in the art of inventing ways to defeat his opponents. Without a doubt, Hannibal is one of the greatest general of all time and will be remembered by historians thousands of years from now.

All were won by Rome, which consequently arose as the supreme military power in the Mediterranean Sea. The hostility of Carthage provoked Rome to build a big army and to create a powerful naval fleet. The most important generals for Carthage were Hamilcar Barca and his sons Hasdrubal and Hannibal. Rome's generals were Scipio Africanus and his grandson who was adopted, Scipio Aemilianus. First Punic War (264-241 B.C.)

Lilybaeum was c... ... middle of paper ... ... misjudged Adherbal's determination, and also approached too close to the shoreline. Another key factor that led to his downfall was General Adherbal’s quick and organized movement of his fleet out of the harbor, trapping the Romans (De Santis). Back in Rome, Pulcher was blamed for the defeat at Drepana. He was tried, found guilty, and fined heavily by the Roman Senate, and barely escaped execution. General Adherbal on the other hand was celebrated as a hero in Carthage.

For the Romans it brought symbolic importance and lessons learned as well as the need for military strategic adaptation. Hannibal a great general by the age of 26 was sworn in his youth to look on the Romans with utter contempt and to destroy them in their highest ranks. The Romans on the other hand mocked Hannibal time and time again by sending out their lesser soldiers. By the time the battle of Cannae came around Hannibal knew he was facing his long awaited encounter with the very top legions of the Roman army. Hannibal’s success in the battle of Cannae can only be attributed to his strategic war tactics.