Hannibal Barca
Hannibal Barca is a much discussed historical figure whose greatnessmay be equated with other great military generals like Napoleon orAlexander. This well known Carthaginian hero, who took on the mighty andformidable military power of the Romans and defeated many of their wellknown generals in war, was a nemesis for the Romans. The fact that theycould not neutralize his military prowess even in their own land in whichhe stayed for fifteen long years, proves his military forethought andshrewdness. Other than the military successes that his long career as a warlord can boast of, Hannibal is also known for his capacities as a wellknown political administrator and statesman who valued freedom more than Hannibal was instigated against the Romans from a very young age, byhis father Hamilcar Barca, who was a great military conqueror himself, andwho nursed the desire to beat the Romans at war and destroy their hegemonyover his country. Hamilcar Barca saw great potential in his sons who hethought would help him realize his dreams to destroy the Roman Empire. Heinitiated Hannibal into a life long initiative that would see him attacking
Moreover, hehad lost a large number of veterans in his long campaigns, which furthereroded his strike capability [Mommsen, 1958, pp 480-484]. He perfected the rudiments of the Guerilla warfare and basedhis strike strategies on surprise and ambushes. For example, his decision not to press furtherinto Rome after the victory at Cannae that devastated the Roman morale isconsidered as a bad military decision, which proved costly to him later[Kagan, 1966, pp. One of his most powerful assets inthe war was his elephants which wrecked a lot of damage to the Roman army. It must besaid that the second Punic war caught the Romans by surprise becauseHannibal crossed the river Rhone and went further into Roman territory,which was totally unexpected by them. The final analysis of the losses in thefifteen year war showed that the Romans had lost about four hundred townsand more than 30,000 troops. Even his enemies like Scipio Africanus, who finally defeated him, couldtaste success only after he mimicked Hannibal's military strategies in abig way. 140] Similarly, he planned to establish a new politicalorder, which would be the next step of his administrative plans after hedefeated the Romans. Historians still debate whether the military strategies of Hannibalwere justified. First Hannibal wasa young soldier, when he assumed charge of the Carthaginian army. Finally, the situation back atCarthage was also precarious with the country falling into the hands offoreign invaders.
Common topics in this essay:
Roman Empire,
Rhone Roman,
Carthage Glover,
Alexander Carthaginian,
Italy Glover,
Romans Historical,
Hamilcar Barca,
Scipio Africanus,
Hannibal Barca,
Romans Hannibal,
roman empire,
military strategies,
mommsen 1958 pp,
1958 pp 480-484,
war romans,
military leader,
roman army,
caught romans,
realize dreams,
punic war,
glover 1944 pp140,
kagan 1966 pp,
kagan 1966,
hannibal military,
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