About me

Hannibal was born in Carthage at 247 BC to Hamilcar Barca, a very famous Carthaginian General in the first punic war.  His brothers were Hasdrubal and Mago, both Carthaginian generals in the Second Punic War. Hannibal lived when the Roman Republic “established” supremacy over Carthage due to the victory of the Romans in the First Punic war. 

After Hasdrubal the Fair was assassinated, in 221 BC, Carthaginian Soldiers elected Hannibal  as their commander. He elected Hasdrubal (his brother) to command Iberia. When Hannibal and his brother wanted to finish the conquest at Iberia, the Romans declared the Second Punic War. 

Hometown

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Hannibal wanted to win the war against Rome. One of the reasons of this was because his dad, Hamilcar, made him promise that he will cause eternal hatred against the Romans (According to Livy). 

After the war, Hannibal was elected Suffete (acted much like a consul) and drew up reforms in order to pay the Romans back for the war. These reforms, however, were unpopular, thus he fled to  Seleucid and become an advisor to Antiochus. Hannibal fled again when Antiochus lost to the Romans. This time he went to Bythnia. There he was betrayed to the Romans. Instead of falling into enemy hands, Hannibal poisoned himself around 182 BC. 

Significance

Hannibal was one of the greatest threats to Rome. Though he invaded Italy over and over again, caused so much damage, and killed so many people in the Rome, he could not defeat Rome. He should that even though he defeated Rome at different locations, if the Romans endured, they would eventually win. 

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More.

Hannibal also caused significant changes in the the way the Romans fought. They duplicated the Carthaginians boats but changed the structure of some parts such as the Corvus and this helped Sea battles change into land battles.  Guerilla tactics were also implemented by Fabius Maximus (Fabian Tactics), this kept Allies from switching sides. The significance of Hannibal was also present in the Third Punic War as the Roman Army had different tactics in order to prevent someone like Hannibal from rising again. 

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Hannibal's conquests also had a significant impact on the Italian Countryside. Because of him, the countryside had been destroyed and allowed rich aristocrats to buy the land for cheap. This caused urbanization in rome as peasants moved more to the city because they had sold their land. There was also an increase of Slaves from Hannibals hometown Carthage, thus causing diversity and implementation of new cultures. There was also a change in the Roman Senate as because of the Second Punic Wars and hannibal, military leaders had gained more control.

Journal

219 BC

Saguntum

Hannibal broke the treaty set in the First Punic War. He led an attack of Saguntum, a Roman ally located in Iberia. This is widely marked as the start of the Second Punic War. Because of this war, Hannibal gained approval from the Carthaginian Senate. 

218 BC

Battle of Trebia

This was the first major battle of the Second Punic War. In this battle, Hannibal and the Carthaginian army defeated the Roman Army at Trebia.  Hannibal arrived at Trebia by assembling a massive army (90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and nearly 40 elephants, and trekking across the Alps. He defeated Tiberius Sempronius Longus. This victory also gained the support of allies including the Gauls and Ligurians

216 BC

Battle of Cannae

This was the second major battle of the Second Punic War. In this battle, Hannibal defeated a massive Roman army that was almost double the size of his army. He used the double envelopment to defeat the Romans. This victory is regarded one of the worst defeats in Roman History and  made the Romans turn over some city - states such as Capua to Carthage.  Hannibal defeated Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. 

202 BC

Battle of Zama

This marked the end of the Second Punic War. In this battle, Hannibal was defeated by the Romans at Zama (near Carthage). He was defeated by Scipio who extensively studied Hannibal's tactics and devised plans to counter them. The aftermath of the war was extensive. Because of the war, Carthage became bankrupt and could never again become as powerful as it was with Hannibal. This allowed Carthage to be defeated 50 years later to the Romans.