Top 10 Facts Of The Greatest Enemy Of Rome: Hannibal Of Carthage

Could someone possibly have that much hatred for a country? His enemies say that he is mean, nasty and he doesn`t play well with others. Mess with Hannibal, and yes there will be blood!

1. Early life of Hannibal Barca

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Hannibal Barca was born in Carthage (Present day Tunisia, North Africa) in approximately 247 B.C. He was the son of a great Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca. The name Barca means "thunderbolt". Thus, the name itself describes a being of power and a destructive agent. Hamilcar brought his son to Spain, (a region he started to conquer around 237 B.C) at a young age. When Hamilcar died in 229 B.C, his son-in-law Hasdrubal took over and made the young Hannibal an officer in the Carthaginian army. However, Hasdrubal`s reign did not stand long as he was assassinated in 221 B.C. The army soon made a unanimous decision to appoint a then 26-year-old Hannibal, to command the entire Carthage empire in Spain. He swiftly gained control of Iberia and even married an Iberian princess, and allied with numerous Iberian tribes. He certainly knew how to gain his alliances with his enemies.

2. His Greatest Influence

Henri Motte 1878 / Via upload.wikimedia.org

His father Hamilcar Barca was a significant teacher and a role model that caused Hannibal to immerse himself completely in brutal combat. He taught him everything there was to know about military, power, war. Hannibal grew up to be a merciless fighter and followed the footsteps of his father. He learned how to command men and even how to punish his own. Abandoning the army was taught to be the utmost line of betrayal and punishment should be extremely severe to people as such. Check out this short video that sums up how he was as a child.

3. Hannibal`s Discipline Code

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Hannibal`s discipline code was simple and brutal. Hannibal was terribly cruel to any signs of people disowning and betraying him. If any of his troops choose to desert halfway through a battle, their wives and children would have to bear the brunt of Hannibal`s punishment. He would seize them and have them tortured and then burned alive. Hannibal doesn`t care for their innocence. To him, this is blood vengeance and with betrayal comes punishment. Moreover, failure is never by his books. If a Carthaginian officer fails in battle, he is crucified in the public square.

4. His Brutal Tactics

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Hannibal was a master of manipulation and at the same time, he knew how to enforce loyalty among his troops and power over his enemies. As always, Hannibal knew about the strengths and weaknesses of his enemy and thus was easy for him to get them on his side. With all his battles comes gruesome blood and sacrifices. Of the 50,000 Roman soldiers who took the field to fight the battle, only 10,000 managed to escape and 44,000 were killed. This includes 6000 of Hannibal`s men killed as well.

5. He Used War Elephants

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Hannibal had more than 37 war elephants at his disposal to intimidate his enemies on the battlefield, but they also caused a logistic nightmare for him. There were expenses needed to feed and keep these elephants well and good and fit for battle. His troops reported to him that they did not have the resources to feed these elephants. However, Hannibal had one goal in mind and that was to male his father`s vision come true. He used mostly Indian and African elephants. The African elephants were much more bigger and ill-tempered compared to the Indian elephants. Hannibal believed that the elephants were still a super weapon for him. At 45 years of age, he was faced with Rome`s attack once again. He needed his elephants fired up and ready for battle quickly. He does this by giving them alcohol and antagonizing them by stabbing them at their ankles. This not only got them drunk but also got them infuriated and ready to attack anyone at its path.

6. His Hatred for Rome

Via posner.library.cmu.edu

Certainly, Hannibal’s hostility towards Rome and the Romans did not stem out immediately from his birth. Hannibal’s father Hamilcar Barca was known as a great Carthaginian leader who ruled over the Carthaginian land forces from 247-241 BC. In his desire to prepare his son Hannibal for the future battles of Carthage, Hamilcar made nine-year-old Hannibal take an oath of hatred against the Romans. This was the beginning for Hannibal’s animosity towards the Romans, which further increased by the age of twenty-six, where Hannibal had reigned as the new leader of Carthage and defeated the Romans in several battles.

7. His War Alliances

Via kb.nl

To be precise, Hannibal had fought a total of eight battles during his time as a Carthaginian lead. During the Second Punic war, also known as The Hannibalic War which occurred in 218 B.C, the Romans were badly defeated by Hannibal and his force, leading up to a loss of 10,000 roman soldiers. However, the battle of Cannae which occurred as a continuation of the Second Punic War during 216 B.C was known as the most famous and brutal battle by Hannibal in which 50,000-70,000 Romans were destroyed. This battle which consisted of clever tactics displayed by Hannibal exemplified his excellent skills as the leader of Carthage.

8. Hannibal in the Alps

Via posner.library.cmu.edu

What distinguished Hannibal from other leaders at that point of time was the fact that Hannibal did not only possess strength and bravery, but also displayed cleverness in the tactics that he used to get away from his enemy. When Hannibal was passing through the Alps during one of his battles against Rome, he was greeted by a gigantic stone which was obstructing his path. Hannibal then used wine and firewood to melt the snow at the bottom of the rock in order to clear up his path. He managed to successfully do so and proceed with his battle, shocking the Romans who were confident that his attempts to entire their territory would be unsuccessful.

9. The Economy of Carthage

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The battles that were occurring in Carthage had caused major economic destruction in 196 B.C. It was during that period that Hannibal had been appointed as the “Suffete”, also known as the chief magistrate in Carthage. During that point, Hannibal had commenced his preparations for reconstructing Carthage’s economy through restructuring the economic policies as well as by joining alliances with the Seleucid Empire which consisted of Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Iraq as well as Iran. However, his plans were informed to the Romans which suspected him of invading their territory again. Hannibal’s plans were therefore unsuccessful as he then fled off to seek shelter elsewhere when he received a “commission of inquiry” by the Romans.

10. His Death Over Defeat

Via archive.org

Hannibal’s continuous victory against the Romans did not last as he was compelled to give up his position as a leader in 195 B.C and become a military adviser. However in 190 B.C,Hannibal engaged in yet another war with the Romans but was defeated. Hannibal’s pride was so great that he chose to opt for death instead of surrendering himself to them. Hannibal then breathed his last after consuming poison which he had kept in the form of a ring with him.