The Hannibal Essay

The Hannibal

Hannibal was born in North Africa, 247 B.C... Many of Hannibal’s stories were noted into the Polybius (a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book “The Histories” covering details from years 220-168) In past stories of Hannibal’s life it is said that Hannibal’s father the great Carthaginian General Hamilcar Barca moved Hannibal to Spain at the time because this region had begun to conquer around 237B.C..At nine years of age Hannibal’s father made him dip his hands in blood and swear by oath that he would hate Rome. In later years Hamilcar died in 229 B.C. and Hasdrubal was passed on Hamilcar’s success. He made Hannibal and officer in the Carthaginian Army. When Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 the army chose Hannibal, at the time 26 years old, to command Carthage’s Empire in Spain. Hannibal quickly consolidated control in the region from the seaport base of the New Carthage.; Hannibal married a Spanish princess. In 219 B.C. Hannibal led a Carthaginian attack on the Saguntum, an independent city in the middle of the eastern Spanish coast that had shown aggression against other Carthaginian towns. According to the treaty which had ended the First Punic War, the Ebro River was the northernmost border of Carthage’s influence in Spain. Although Saguntum was south of Ebro, it was allied with Rome, which was a downfall because they saw Hannibal’s attack as an act of war. Hannibal demanded that Carthage was besieged Sangtum for eight months before the city fell. Rome demanded Hannibal’s surrender, he refused, instead making plans for the invasion of Italy, this would mark the beginning of Second Punic War.

Upon Hannibal leaving his brother, also named Hasdrubal, to look out for Carthage’s interest in Spain and North Africa, Hannibal assembled a huge army of 90, 00 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and about 40 elephants. The army marched nearly 1,000 miles to Italy, which will also be remembered as a famous campaigns in history, with his forces depleted by the harsh Alpine crossing Hannibal met the army of the Roman general Publics Cornelius Scipio on the plains west of the Ticino River. Scipio did not plan to fight Hannibal at Trebbia; he planned to fight them in Spain. Hannibal had other plans though to make a surprise attack, which he did fulfill. Hannibal’s Calvary prevailed causing Scipio to become severely wounded in the battle. Later in 218 B.C. , the Carthaginians again defeated the Romans at the Trebbia River, a victory that earned Hannibal the support of allies including the Gauls and Ligurians. By the spring of 217 B.C., he advanced to the Arno River, despite a victory at the Lake Trasimene he declined to take the lead or lead his exhausted forces against Rome. In the summer of 217 16 Roman legions (about 80,000 soldiers) said to be twice the size of Hannibal’s confronted the Carthangininians near the town of Cannae. While the Roman general Varro massed his infantry in the center with his Calvary on each wing. Hannibal maintained a relatively weak center but strong infantry and Calvary forces at the flanks. When Romans had advanced, the Carthaginians were able to hold the center, however they struggled at the sides, by closing in the enemy and cutting off the possibility of retreat by sending a cavalry charge across the rear. Hannibal was a mastermind in certain military tactics. In 184 B.C. between King Eumenes 2 of Pergamon ( 197 – 159 ) Hannibal was commanding a fleet for Bithynia. Hannibal used catapults

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