Hannibal

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. His conquest of the Roman town of Sagunto in Spain led to a new declaration of war by Rome; which started the second Punic War and Hannibal’s promise to visit Roman injustice back on Rome a hundred fold. For Carthage to take the town of Sagunto was completely within the rights of the Carthage and the treaty but Rome at the time was getting too big and becoming very imperialistic. All Rome could see was that they had to have all of the Mediterranean and the only thing that stood in their way was a single General and his men. The way in which

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Although Hannibal never again actually threatened Rome, his memory did constantly. And it was this that Rome never wanted to see again; so to be a good Roman, one had to be taught what it was to be a “Hannibal” and how not to be a “Hannibal. The victor would have control over the entire Mediterranean Sea and all of the trade routes bringing land, pride, wealth, and dominance over the victors enemies. Hannibal took a 1,000 mile trek from New Carthage, Spain, through the Alps, Northern Italy, and finally to Carthage.

Bibliography

· Livy, The War with Hannibal. Hannibal’s name became synonymous with the stereotype that Rome had of the Carthaginian perfidy. It is very interesting to see that all the evil qualities Livy talks about that are in direct contradiction with “mos maiorum” were said to be traits of Hannibal, but for the most part were actually how the Romans themselves had acted. Their “Gorilla” type war fair or wars of “delaying” almost saw the defeat of Rome but Rome finally assimilated these new tactics and used them against Hannibal, the man who had taught them to Rome.

The name Hannibal conjures up similar images of death and destruction for the Romans that Adolf Hitler would to our Civilization. It was an age when “all Romans were virtuous and everything worked. Hannibal spent fourteen years there, mostly in southern Italy. He became a monster, a brutal and cunning invader who was stopped only by the “epic courage and perseverance” of Rome.

This desire manifested itself during The Second Punic War, which was the ultimate fight for supremacy in the Ancient World. The men that he had with him at the time were renowned for their loyalty to Hannibal and unconventional fighting tactics. As is common one only hears of the victor’s side of the story.

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Approximate Word count = 1059
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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