View source for Hannibal

{{short description|Carthaginian general and statesman (247–183/181 BC)}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Hannibal
| image         = Hannibal Barca bust from Capua photo.jpg
| image_upright = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = The [[Capuan bust of Hannibal|Capuan bust]], reputedly of Hannibal
| native_name   = {{script|Phnx|𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋}}
| native_name_lang = phn
| birth_date    = 247 BC
| birth_place   = [[Carthage]], [[Ancient Carthage]]
| death_date    = 183–181 BC (aged between 64–66)
| death_place   = [[Libyssa]], [[Bithynia]]
| placeofburial = 
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}-->
| allegiance    = {{ubl|Carthage (221–202 BC)|[[Seleucid Empire]] (198–188 BC)|[[Kingdom of Bithynia]] (188–181 BC)}}
| laterwork     = Politician
| rank          = General Commander-in-Chief of the Carthaginian army
| battles       = {{plainlist|
* [[Barcid conquest of Hispania]]
* [[Second Punic War]]
* [[Roman–Seleucid war]]
* [[Pergamene-Bithynian War]]
}}
----
(see [[#Battle record|Battle record]] for a full list of battles commanded)
| battles_label = Wars
| alma_mater    = 
| spouse        = [[Imilce]]
| children      = Possibly a son (Haspar)
| relations     = {{ubl|[[Hamilcar Barca]] (father)|[[Hasdrubal (Barcid)|Hasdrubal]] (brother)|[[Mago (Barcid)|Mago]] (brother)|[[Hasdrubal the Fair]] (brother-in-law)}}
| signature     = 
}}
'''Hannibal''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|æ|n|ᵻ|b|əl}}; {{langx|xpu|𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋|translit=Ḥanībaʿl}}; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a [[Punic people|Carthaginian]] general and statesman who commanded the forces of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] in their battle against the [[Roman Republic]] during the [[Second Punic War]]. Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the [[Mediterranean Basin]], triggered by the emergence of the Roman Republic as a great power with its defeat of Carthage in the [[First Punic War]]. [[Revanchism]] prevailed in Carthage, symbolized by the pledge that Hannibal made to his father to "never be a friend of Rome".

In 218 BC Hannibal attacked Saguntum (modern [[Sagunto]], Spain), an ally of Rome in [[Hispania]], sparking the Second Punic War. Hannibal invaded Italy by [[Hannibal's crossing of the Alps|crossing the Alps]] with North African [[war elephant]]s. In his first few years in Italy, as the leader of a Carthaginian and partially [[Celts|Celtic]] army, he won a succession of victories at the [[Battle of Ticinus]], [[Battle of the Trebia|Trebia]], [[Battle of Lake Trasimene|Lake Trasimene]], and [[Battle of Cannae|Cannae]], inflicting heavy losses on the Romans. Hannibal was distinguished for his ability to determine both his and his opponent's respective strengths and weaknesses, and to plan battles accordingly. His well-planned strategies allowed him to conquer and ally with several Italian cities that were previously allied to Rome. Hannibal occupied most of southern Italy for 15 years. The Romans, led by [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus|Fabius Maximus]], avoided directly engaging him, instead waging a war of [[Attrition warfare|attrition]] (the [[Fabian strategy]]). Carthaginian defeats in Hispania prevented Hannibal from being reinforced, and he was unable to win a decisive victory. A counter-invasion of North Africa, led by the Roman general [[Scipio Africanus]], forced him to return to Carthage. Hannibal was defeated at the [[Battle of Zama]], ending the war in a Roman victory.

After the war, Hannibal successfully ran for the office of [[shophet|sufet]]. He enacted political and financial reforms to enable the payment of the war indemnity imposed by Rome. Those reforms were unpopular with members of the Carthaginian aristocracy and in Rome, and he fled into voluntary exile. During this time, he lived at the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] court, where he acted as military advisor to [[Antiochus III the Great]] in his war against Rome. Antiochus met defeat at the [[Battle of Magnesia]] and was forced to accept Rome's terms, and Hannibal fled again, making a stop in the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]. His flight ended in the court of [[Bithynia]]. He was betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself.

Hannibal is considered one of the greatest military tacticians and generals of Western antiquity, alongside [[Alexander the Great]], [[Julius Caesar]], Scipio Africanus, and [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]]. According to [[Plutarch]], Scipio asked Hannibal "who the greatest general was", to which Hannibal replied "either Alexander or Pyrrhus, then myself".<ref name=":1">Plutarch, ''Life of Titus Flamininus'' 21.3–4. Plutarch adds that "when asked what his choices would be if he had beaten Scipio, he replied that he would be the best of them all". However, Plutarch gives another version in his ''Life of Pyrrhus'', 8.2: "Pyrrhus, Scipio, then myself".</ref>

==Name==
[[File:Hannibal as a child, accompanied by a Roman soldier.jpg|thumb|upright|Circa 1850 engraving of ''Young Hannibal'' (left) by [[Charles Turner (engraver)|Charles Turner]]]]
[[Hannibal (given name)|Hannibal]] was a common [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] Phoenician-Carthaginian personal name. It is recorded in Carthaginian sources as {{sc|ḥnbʿl}}{{sfnp|Huss|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC&pg=PA565 565]}} ({{langx|xpu|𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋}}). It is a combination of the common Phoenician masculine given name [[Hanno (given name)|Hanno]] with the [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]] [[Canaan]]ite deity [[Baal]] (lit, "lord") a major god of the Carthaginian's ancestral homeland of [[Phoenicia]] in Western Asia. Its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include ''Ḥannobaʿal'',<ref name=brown>Brown, John Pairman. 2000. Israel and Hellas: Sacred institutions with Roman counterparts. pp. 126–128</ref> ''Ḥannibaʿl'', or ''Ḥannibaʿal'',<ref name=benz/><ref name=baier/> meaning "Baʿal/The lord is gracious", "Baʿal Has Been Gracious",<ref name=baier>Baier, Thomas. 2004. Studien zu Plautus' Poenulus. p. 174</ref><ref>Friedrich, Johannes, Wolfgang Röllig, [[Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo|Maria Giulia Amadasi]], and Werner R. Mayer. 1999. Phönizisch-Punische Grammatik. p. 53.</ref> or "The Grace of Baʿal".<ref name=benz>Benz, Franz L. 1982. Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions. pp. 313–314</ref> It is equivalent to the fellow Semitic Hebrew name [[Haniel]]. [[Hellenic historiography|Greek historians]] rendered the name as ''Anníbas'' ({{lang|grc|Ἀννίβας }}).

The Phoenicians and Carthaginians, like many West Asian Semitic peoples, did not use hereditary surnames but were typically distinguished from others bearing the same name using [[patronymic]]s or [[epithet]]s. Although he is by far the most famous Hannibal, when further clarification is necessary he is usually referred to as "Hannibal, son of Hamilcar", or "Hannibal the Barcid", to his father, [[Hamilcar Barca]]. ''[[B-R-Q|Barca]]'' ({{langx|xpu|𐤁𐤓𐤒}}, {{sc|brq}}) is a Semitic [[cognomen]] meaning "lightning" or "thunderbolt",<ref>{{citation |last=Sullivan |first=Robert Joseph |title=A Dictionary of the English Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d24CAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA489 |page=489 |year=1877 }}</ref> a surname acquired by Hamilcar on account of the swiftness and ferocity of his attacks. Barca is cognate with similar names for lightning found among the [[Israelites]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Babylonians]], [[Arameans]], [[Arab people|Arabs]], [[Amorites]], [[Moabites]], [[Edomites]] and other fellow Asiatic Semitic peoples.<ref>S. Lancel, ''Hannibal'' p. 6.</ref> Although they did not inherit the surname from their father, Hamilcar's progeny are collectively known as the [[Barcids]].<ref>Ameling, Walter ''Karthago: Studien zu Militär, Staat und Gesellschaft'' pp. 81–82.</ref> Modern historians occasionally refer to Hannibal's brothers as [[Hasdrubal Barca]] and [[Mago Barca]] to distinguish them from the multitudes of other Carthaginians named Hasdrubal and Mago, but this practice is ahistorical and is rarely applied to Hannibal. 

==Background and early career==

[[File:Carthage, quarter shekel, 237-209 BC, SNG BM Spain 102.jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Carthaginian currency|quarter shekel]] of Carthage, perhaps minted in Spain. The obverse may depict Hannibal with the traits of a young [[Melqart]]. The reverse features one of his famous [[war elephants]].<ref>''Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain, Volume IX, British Museum, Part 2: Spain'', London, 2002, n° 102.</ref>]]

Hannibal was one of the sons of Carthaginian general and statesman Hamilcar Barca and an unknown mother. He was most likely born in [[Carthage]], one of many [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] regions colonised by the Canaanites from their homeland in Phoenicia. He had several sisters whose names are unknown and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago. His brothers-in-law were [[Hasdrubal the Fair]] and the [[Numidians|Numidian]] king [[Naravas]]. He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his father's struggles in the [[Mercenary War]] and the Punic conquest of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref>Lancel, S. ''Hannibal'' p. 6.</ref>

After Carthage's defeat in the [[First Punic War]], Hamilcar set out to improve his family's and Carthage's fortunes. With that in mind and supported by [[Cádiz|Gades]], Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula. Carthage was in such a poor state at the time that it lacked a navy able to transport his army; instead, Hamilcar had to march his forces across Numidia towards the [[Pillars of Hercules]] and then cross the [[Strait of Gibraltar]].<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 91.</ref>

According to [[Polybius]], Hannibal much later said that when he came upon his father and begged to go with him, Hamilcar agreed and demanded that Hannibal swear that he would never be a friend of Rome as long as he lived. There is even an account of him at a very young age (9 years old) begging his father to take him to an overseas war. In the story, Hamilcar brought him to a sacrificial chamber. Hamilcar held Hannibal over the fire roaring in the chamber and made him swear that he would never be a friend of Rome. Other sources report that Hannibal told his father, "I swear so soon as age will permit...I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome."<ref name="dodge">{{cite book|title=Hannibal: A History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans Down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 BC|first=Theodore Ayrault |last=Dodge|publisher=Da Capo Press |year=1995}}</ref><ref>[http://www.reversespins.com/patton.html Reverse Spins] ''Patton, the Second Coming of Hannibal''.</ref> According to the tradition, Hannibal's oath took place in [[Peniscola|Peñíscola]].<ref>Hilowitz, Beverley (1974). ''A Horizon guide: great historic places of Europe''. American Heritage Pub. Co., p. 119. {{ISBN|0-07-028915-8}}</ref>

Hamilcar went about with the conquest of [[Hispania]]. When Hamilcar drowned<ref>{{cite web|title=Hamilcar Barca|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/253349/Hamilcar-Barca|access-date=6 June 2011}}</ref> in battle, Hasdrubal succeeded to his command of the army with Hannibal (then 18 years old) serving as an officer under him. Hasdrubal pursued a policy of consolidation of Carthage's Iberian interests, even signing a treaty with Rome whereby Carthage would not expand north of the [[Ebro]] so long as Rome did not expand south of it.<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 94.</ref> Hasdrubal also endeavoured to consolidate Carthaginian power through diplomatic relationships with the [[Iberians]] and the [[Berbers]] of the North African coasts.<ref name="brainfly1">{{cite web|title=''The History of Rome: Vol III''|url=http://www.brainfly.net/html/books/brn0131c.htm}}, by Livy</ref>

Upon the assassination of Hasdrubal in 221&nbsp;BC, Hannibal at 26 years old was proclaimed commander-in-chief by the army and confirmed in his appointment by the Carthaginian government. Roman scholar [[Livy]] gives a depiction of the young Carthaginian: "No sooner had he arrived...the old soldiers fancied they saw Hamilcar in his youth given back to them; the same bright look; the same fire in his eye, the same trick of countenance and features. Never was one and the same spirit more skilful to meet opposition, to obey, or to command[.]"<ref name="brainfly1"/>

[[File:1868, Mugeres célebres de España y Portugal, Himilce, AB195 0021 (cropped).jpg|alt=|thumb|An 1868 illustration of [[Imilce]] and her son Haspar Barca by Juan de Dios de la Rada]]
Livy records that Hannibal married a woman from [[Castulo]], a powerful Spanish city closely allied with Carthage.<ref name="brainfly1"/> Roman poet [[Silius Italicus]] names her as [[Imilce]].<ref>Silius Italicus, ''Punica'', III, 97</ref> Silius suggests a Greek origin for Imilce, but historian [[Gilbert Charles-Picard]] argues for a Punic heritage based on an etymology from the Semitic root m-l-k ('chief, the 'king').<ref>[[Gilbert Charles-Picard|Picard, Gilbert Charles]](1967), ''Hannibal'' p. 119</ref> Silius also suggests the existence of a son,<ref>Silius Italicus, ''Punica'', III, 63–64</ref> who is otherwise not attested by Livy, Polybius, or [[Appian]]. The son may have been named Haspar or Aspar,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Antichthon |publisher=Sydney University Press |year=1967 |volume=1–6}}</ref> although this is disputed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Selections from the less known Latin poets |last=Pinder |first=North |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1869 |page=364}}</ref>

After he assumed command, Hannibal spent two years consolidating his holdings and completing the conquest of Hispania, south of the Ebro.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dodge|first=Theodore Ayrault|author-link=Theodore Ayrault Dodge|title=Hannibal: A History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans Down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C., with a Detailed Account of the Second Punic War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8nOkDyOwnUC&pg=PA143|year=2004|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81362-7| page =143}}</ref> In his first campaign, Hannibal stormed the [[Olcades]]' strongest centre, Alithia, which promptly led to their surrender, and brought Punic power close to the River [[Tagus]]. His following campaign in 220 BC was against the [[Vaccaei]] to the west, where he stormed the Vaccaen strongholds of Helmantice and Arbucala. On his return home, laden with many spoils, a coalition of Spanish tribes led by the [[Carpetani]] attacked, and Hannibal won his first major battlefield success and showed off his tactical skills at the battle of the River Tagus.<ref>Hoyos, D. ''Hannibal's Dynasty: Power and Politics in the Western Mediterranean, 247–183 BC'', pp. 89–91, 2003</ref> 

Fearing the growing strength of Hannibal in Iberia, Rome made an alliance with [[Sagunto|Saguntum]], which lay a considerable distance south of the River Ebro, and claimed the city as its [[protectorate]]. Hannibal perceived this as a breach of the treaty signed with Hasdrubal, and since he was already planning an attack on Rome, this was his way to start the war. So he [[Siege_of_Saguntum|laid siege to the city]], which fell after eight months.<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' pp. 112–113.</ref>

Hannibal sent the booty from Saguntum to Carthage, a shrewd move which gained him much support from the government; Livy records that only [[Hanno II the Great]] spoke against him.<ref name="brainfly1"/> In Rome, the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] reacted to this apparent violation of the treaty by dispatching a delegation to Carthage to demand whether Hannibal had destroyed Saguntum in accordance with orders from Carthage. The Carthaginian Senate responded with legal arguments observing the lack of ratification by either government for the treaty alleged to have been violated.<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 113.</ref> The delegation's leader, [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus]], demanded Carthage choose between war and peace, to which his audience replied that Rome could choose. Fabius chose war.<ref name="brainfly1"/>

==Second Punic War in Italy (218–204 BC)==
{{Main|Second Punic War}}

===Overland journey to Italy===
{{Main|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}
[[File:Hannibal's Travels during the Second Punic War.png|thumb|alt=a map of the western Mediterranean showing the route followed by the Carthaginians from Iberia to Italy|{{center|Hannibal's route from Iberia to Italy}}]]
A campaign to Italy was originally planned by Hasdrubal, who was stationed in the Iberian Peninsula for eight years until 221&nbsp;BC. Soon, the Romans became aware of an alliance between Carthage and the [[Celts]] of the [[Po Valley]] in northern Italy. When Hannibal arrived in the Po Valley, roughly 10,000 Celtic tribesmen joined his army.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Peter Berresford |title=A Brief History of the Celts |publisher=Robinson |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-84119-790-6 |edition=Revised Paperback |location=London |pages=208 |author-link=Peter Berresford Ellis}}</ref> The Celts were amassing forces to invade farther south in Italy, presumably with Carthaginian backing. Therefore, the Romans pre-emptively invaded the Po region in 225&nbsp;BC. By 220&nbsp;BC the Romans had annexed the area as [[Cisalpine Gaul]].<ref>Fagan, Garret G. "The History of Ancient Rome". Lecture 13: "The Second Punic War". Teaching Company, "Great Courses" series.</ref> Hasdrubal was assassinated around the same time (221&nbsp;BC), bringing Hannibal to the fore. It seems that the Romans lulled themselves into a false sense of security, having dealt with the threat of a Gallo-Carthaginian invasion, and perhaps knowing that the original Carthaginian commander had been killed.

Hannibal departed Cartagena, Spain (New Carthage) in late spring of 218&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lancel |first=Serge |author-link=Serge Lancel |title=Hannibal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uVh2FH-LF4C&pg=PA225 |year=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-631-21848-7 |page=225}}</ref> He fought his way through the northern tribes to the foothills of the [[Pyrenees]], subduing the tribes through clever mountain tactics and stubborn fighting. He left a detachment of 20,000 troops to garrison the conquered region. At the Pyrenees, he released 11,000 Iberian troops who showed reluctance to leave their homeland. Hannibal reportedly entered [[Gaul]] with 40,000 foot soldiers and 12,000 horsemen.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prevas|first=John|author-link=John Prevas|title=Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Punic Wars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgi7RMJSCxMC&pg=PA86|year= 2009|publisher=Perseus Books Group|isbn=978-0-7867-3121-3|page=86}}</ref>

Hannibal recognized that he still needed to cross the Pyrenees, the [[Alps]], and many large rivers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mahaney|first=W. C.|author-link=W. C. Mahaney|title=Hannibal's Odyssey: Environmental Background to the Alpine Invasion of Italia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vU9QPgAACAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Gorgias Press|isbn=978-1-59333-951-7|page= 221}}</ref> Additionally, he would have to contend with opposition from the Gauls, whose territory he passed through. Starting in the spring of 218&nbsp;BC, he crossed the Pyrenees, and by conciliating the Gaulish chiefs along his passage before the Romans could take any measures to bar his advance, he was able to reach the [[Rhône]] by September. Hannibal's army numbered 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 38 elephants, almost none of which would survive the harsh conditions of the Alps.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lancel|first=Serge|author-link=Serge Lancel|title=Hannibal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uVh2FH-LF4C&pg=PA225|year=1999|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-631-21848-7|page=60}}</ref>
[[File:Heinrich Leutemann - Hannibals Übergang über die Alpen (cropped).jpg|thumb|An 1866 illustration of Hannibal and his army crossing the [[Alps]], by [[Heinrich Leutemann]]]]
Hannibal outmanoeuvred the natives who had tried to prevent his crossing, then evaded a Roman force marching from the Mediterranean coast by turning inland up the valley of the Rhône. His exact route over the Alps has been the source of scholarly dispute ever since (Polybius, the surviving ancient account closest in time to Hannibal's campaign, reports that the route was already debated). The most influential modern theories favour either a march up the valley of the [[Drôme (river)|Drôme]] and a crossing of the main range to the south of the modern highway over the [[Col de Montgenèvre]] or a march farther north up the valleys of the [[Isère (river)|Isère]] and [[Arc (Savoie)|Arc]] crossing the main range near the present [[Mont Cenis|Col de Mont Cenis]] or the [[Little St Bernard Pass]].<ref>Montgenèvre: [[Peter Connolly (classical scholar)|Peter Connolly]], ''Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome'' (1978); ([https://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hannibal/alps.html extensive summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223092503/http://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hannibal/alps.html |date=23 February 2014 }}); [[Col de la Traversette]]: Gavin de Beer, ''Alps and Elephants'' and [[Napoleon III]]; Mahaney 2008, "Hannibal's Odyssey; Environmental Background to the Alpine Invasion of Italia"; Mont Cenis: Denis Proctor, ''Hannibal's March in History''. Other theories include the [[Col de Clapier]] (Serge Lancel, ''Hannibal'' (1995) and the Col du Petit Saint Bernard ([[Barthold Niebuhr]]).</ref> Recent [[Numismatics|numismatic]] evidence suggests that Hannibal's army passed within sight of the [[Matterhorn]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=McMenamin |first=M. | year=2012 | title=Depiction of the Alps on Punic coins from Campania, Italy | journal=Numismatics International Bulletin | volume=41 | issue=1–2 | pages=30–33 }}</ref> Stanford geoarchaeologist Patrick Hunt argues that Hannibal took the [[Col de Clapier]] mountain pass, claiming the Clapier most accurately meets ancient depictions of the route: wide view of Italy, pockets of year-round snow, and a large campground.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boser|first=Ulrich|date=2007|title=Hiking with Hannibal|journal=Archaeology|volume=60|issue=1|pages=36–41|jstor=41780200}}</ref> Other scholars have doubts, proposing that Hannibal took the easier route across Petit [[Mont Cenis|Mount Cenis]]. Hunt responds to this by proposing that Hannibal's Celtic guides purposefully misguided the Carthaginian general.

Most recently, W. C. Mahaney has argued [[Col de la Traversette]] closest fits the records of ancient authors.<ref>Mahaney, W.C., Allen, C.C.R., Pentlavalli, P., Dirszowsky, O., Tricart, P., Keiser, L., Somelar, P., Kelleher, B., Murphy, B., Costa, P.J.M., and Julig, P., 2014, "Polybius's 'previous landslide': proof that Hannibal's invasion route crossed the Col de la Traversette", ''Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry'', 14(2), 1–20.</ref> Biostratigraphic archaeological data has reinforced the case for Col de la Traversette; analysis of peat bogs near watercourses on both sides of the pass's summit showed that the ground was heavily disturbed "by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of animals and humans" and that the soil bore traces of unique levels of ''[[Clostridia]]'' bacteria associated with the digestive tracts of horses and mules.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Biostratigraphic Evidence Relating to the Age-Old Question of Hannibal's Invasion of Italy, I: History and Geological Reconstruction|first1=W. C.|last1=Mahaney|first2=C. C. R.|last2=Allen|first3=P.|last3=Pentlavalli|first4=A.|last4=Kulakova|first5=J. M.|last5=Young|first6=R. W.|last6=Dirszowsky|first7=A.|last7=West|first8=B.|last8=Kelleher|first9=S.|last9=Jordan|first10=C.|last10=Pulleyblank|first11=S.|last11=O'Reilly|first12=B. T.|last12=Murphy|first13=K.|last13=Lasberg|first14=P.|last14=Somelar|first15=M.|last15=Garneau|first16=S. A.|last16=Finkelstein|first17=M. K.|last17=Sobol|first18=V.|last18=Kalm|first19=P. J. M.|last19=Costa|first20=R. G. V.|last20=Hancock|first21=K. M.|last21=Hart|first22=P.|last22=Tricart|first23=R. W.|last23=Barendregt|first24=T. E.|last24=Bunch|first25=M. W.|last25=Milner|date=5 October 2017|journal=Archaeometry|volume=59|issue=1|pages=164–178|doi=10.1111/arcm.12231|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017Archa..59..164M |issn=0003-813X}}</ref> Radiocarbon dating secured dates of 2168 [[Before Present|BP]] or c. 218 BC, the year of Hannibal's march. Mahaney ''et al''. conclude that this and other evidence strongly supports the Col de la Traversette as being the "Hannibalic Route" as had been argued by [[Gavin de Beer]] in 1954. De Beer was one of only three interpreters—the others being John Lazenby and Jakob Seibert—to have visited all the Alpine high passes and presented a view on which was most plausible. Both De Beer and Seibert had selected the Col de la Traversette as the one most closely matching the ancient descriptions.<ref>de Beer, S. G., 1974, Hannibal: The struggle for power in the Mediterranean, Book Club Associates, London.</ref> Polybius writes that Hannibal had crossed the highest of the Alpine passes: Col de la Traversette, between the upper [[Guil]] valley and the upper Po river, is the highest pass. It is moreover the most southerly, as Roman general [[Gaius Terentius Varro|Varro]] in his ''De re rustica'' relates, agreeing that Hannibal's passage was the highest in the western Alps and the most southerly. Mahaney ''et al''. argue that factors used by De Beer to support Col de la Traversette including "gauging ancient place names against modern, close scrutiny of times of flood in major rivers and distant viewing of the Po plains" taken together with "massive radiocarbon and microbiological and parasitical evidence" from the alluvial sediments on either side of the pass furnish "supporting evidence, proof if you will" that Hannibal's invasion went that way.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/arcm.12405|title=Reconnaissance of the Hannibalic Route in the Upper Po Valley, Italy: Correlation with Biostratigraphic Historical Archaeological Evidence in the Upper Guil Valley, France|first1=W. C.|last1=Mahaney|first2=P.|last2=Somelar|first3=A.|last3=West|first4=R. W.|last4=Dirszowsky|first5=C. C. R.|last5=Allen|first6=T. K.|last6=Remmel|first7=P.|last7=Tricart|date=5 October 2019|journal=Archaeometry|volume=61|issue=1|pages=242–258|access-date=5 October 2020|via=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1111/arcm.12405|bibcode=2019Archa..61..242M |url-access=subscription}}</ref> If Hannibal had ascended the Col de la Traversette, the Po Valley would indeed have been visible from the pass's summit, vindicating Polybius's account.<ref>Polybius, ''History'' III:54</ref><ref>de Beer, S. G., 1969, ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's supremacy'', Viking, New York, pp. 163–180 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

By Livy's account, the crossing was accomplished in the face of huge difficulties.<ref>Livy ''History of Rome'' book 21, 36</ref> These Hannibal surmounted with ingenuity, such as when he used [[fire-setting|vinegar and fire]] to break through a rockfall.<ref>Livy History of Rome, Book 21 section 37</ref> According to Polybius, he arrived in Italy accompanied by 20,000 foot soldiers, 4,000 horsemen, and only a few elephants. The fired rockfall event is mentioned only by Livy; Polybius is mute on the subject and there is no evidence<ref>Mahaney, W.C., et al., 2009. "The Traversette rockfall: geomorphological reconstruction and importance in interpreting classical history." ''Archaeometry'', v. 52, no. 1, pp. 156–172.</ref> of carbonized rock at the only two-tier rockfall in the western Alps, located below the Col de la Traversette (Mahaney, 2008). If Polybius is correct in his figure for the number of troops that he commanded after the crossing of the Rhône, this would suggest that he had lost almost half of his force. Historians such as Serge Lancel have questioned the reliability of the figures for the number of troops that he had when he left Hispania.<ref>S. Lancel, ''Hannibal'' (1995; English translation 1999), p. 60.</ref> From the start, he seems to have calculated that he would have to operate without aid from Hispania. 

Hannibal's vision of military affairs was derived partly from the teaching of his Greek tutors and partly from experience gained alongside his father, and it stretched over most of the Hellenistic world of his time. The breadth of his vision gave rise to his grand strategy of conquering Rome by opening a northern front and subduing allied city-states on the peninsula, rather than by attacking Rome directly. Historical events that led to the defeat of Carthage during the First Punic War when his father commanded the Carthaginian Army also led Hannibal to plan the invasion of Italy by land across the Alps. The task involved the mobilization of between 60,000 and 100,000 troops and the training of a [[war elephant]] corps, all of which had to be provisioned along the way. The alpine invasion of Italy was a military operation that would shake the Mediterranean world of 218&nbsp;BC with repercussions for more than two decades.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

===Battle of Trebia===
{{Main|Battle of the Trebia}}
[[File:Battle Trebia-numbers.svg|thumb|300px|A diagram depicting the tactics used in the [[Battle of the Trebia]]]]
Hannibal's perilous march brought him into the Roman territory and frustrated the attempts of the enemy to fight out the main issue on foreign ground. His sudden appearance among the Gauls of the Po Valley enabled him to detach those tribes from their allegiance to the Romans before the Romans could take steps to check the rebellion. [[Roman consul|Consul]] [[Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC)|Publius Cornelius Scipio]], the father of [[Scipio Africanus]], assumed responsibility for dealing with Hannibal.<ref name="dodge_old"/>

Scipio had not expected Hannibal to make an attempt to cross the Alps and had already sent most of his forces abroad to fight the war in the Iberian Peninsula. With only a small detachment still positioned in Gaul, Scipio nevertheless attempted to confront Hannibal. He succeeded, through prompt decision and speedy movement, in transporting his army to Italy by sea in time to meet Hannibal. Hannibal's forces moved through the Po Valley and were engaged in the [[Battle of Ticinus]] in November 218 BC. Here, Hannibal forced the Romans to evacuate the plain of [[Lombardy]], by virtue of his superior cavalry.<ref name="dodge_old">[[Theodore Ayrault Dodge|Dodge, Theodore]]. ''Hannibal''. Cambridge Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 1891; {{ISBN|0-306-81362-9}}</ref> The victory was minor, but it encouraged the Gauls and [[Ligures|Ligurians]] to join the Carthaginian cause. Their troops bolstered his army back to around 40,000 men. Scipio was severely injured, his life only saved by the bravery of his son who rode back onto the field to rescue his fallen father. Scipio retreated across the [[Trebbia]] to camp at [[Piacenza|Placentia]] with his army mostly intact.<ref name="dodge_old" />

Even before news of the defeat at Ticinus had reached Rome, the Senate had ordered Consul [[Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)|Tiberius Sempronius Longus]] to bring his army back from Sicily to meet Scipio and face Hannibal. Hannibal, by skillful maneuvers, was in position to head him off, for he lay on the direct road between Placentia and Arminum, by which Sempronius would have to march to reinforce Scipio. Hannibal captured [[Clastidium]], from which he drew large amounts of supplies for his men. But this gain was not without loss, as Sempronius avoided Hannibal's watchfulness, slipped around his flank, and joined his colleague near the Trebbia near Placentia. There, Hannibal had an opportunity to show his masterful military skill at the Trebia in December, wearing down the superior Roman infantry before cutting it to pieces with a surprise attack and [[Flanking maneuver|ambush from the flanks]]. However, most or all of his war elephants had died of injuries or the cold that winter, and none took part in the succeeding battles.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

===Battle of Lake Trasimene===
{{Main|Battle of Lake Trasimene}}
[[File:Battle of lake trasimene.gif|300px|thumb|The [[Battle of Lake Trasimene]], 217&nbsp;BC.<br />From the Department of History, United States Military Academy]]
Hannibal quartered his troops for the winter with the Gauls, whose support for him had abated. Fearing the possibility that the tribesmen would seek to assassinate him and win back the Romans' favor, Hannibal resorted to altering his appearance by wearing differently dyed wigs in the hopes they would not recognize him.<ref name=":1" /> In the spring of 217&nbsp;BC Hannibal decided to find a more reliable base of operations farther south. [[Gnaeus Servilius Geminus|Gnaeus Servilius]] and [[Gaius Flaminius (consul 223 BC)|Gaius Flaminius]] (the new consuls of Rome) were expecting Hannibal to advance on Rome, and they took their armies to block the eastern and western routes that Hannibal could use.<ref>Polybius, ''Histories'', Book III, 77</ref>

The only alternative route to central Italy lay at the mouth of the [[Arno]]. This area was mostly marshland and happened to be overflowing more than usual that spring. Hannibal knew that this route was full of difficulties, but it remained the surest and quickest way to central Italy. Polybius claims that Hannibal's men marched for four days and three nights "through a land that was under water", suffering terribly from fatigue and enforced want of sleep. He crossed without opposition over both the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] (during which he lost his right eye<ref>{{cite book |author1=John Selby Watson |author2=Marcus Junianus |author3=Justinus, Cornelius |author4=Nepos, Eutropius | url = https://archive.org/details/justincornelius00watsgoog/page/n44|quote=hannibal greatest. | title = Justin, Cornelius Nepos, and Eutropius: Literally Translated, with Notes | year = 1853 | publisher = H. G. Bohn | page = 420 | access-date = 23 July 2008}}</ref> because of [[conjunctivitis]]) and the seemingly impassable Arno, but he lost a large part of his force in the marshy lowlands of the Arno.<ref>Polybius, ''Histories'', Book III, p. 74</ref> He arrived in [[Etruria]] in the spring of 217&nbsp;BC and decided to lure the main Roman army under Flaminius into a [[pitched battle]] by devastating the region that Flaminius had been sent to protect. As Polybius recounts, "he [Hannibal] calculated that, if he passed the camp and made a descent into the district beyond, Flaminius (partly for fear of popular reproach and partly of personal irritation) would be unable to endure watching passively the devastation of the country but would spontaneously follow him... and give him opportunities for attack."<ref>[[B. H. Liddell Hart|Liddell Hart, B.H.]], ''Strategy'', New York, Penguin Group, 1967.</ref> 

At the same time, Hannibal tried to break the allegiance of Rome's allies by proving that Flaminius was powerless to protect them. Despite this, Flaminius remained passively encamped at Arretium. Hannibal marched boldly around Flaminius' left flank, unable to draw him into battle by mere devastation, and effectively cut him off from Rome, executing the first recorded [[turning movement]] in military history. He then advanced through the uplands of Etruria, provoking Flaminius into a hasty pursuit and catching him in a [[defile (geography)|defile]] on the shore of [[Lake Trasimeno|Lake Trasimenus]]. There Hannibal destroyed Flaminius' army in the waters or on the adjoining slopes, killing Flaminius as well. This was the most costly ambush that the Romans ever sustained until the [[Battle of Carrhae]] in 53 BC. Hannibal had disposed of the only field force that could check his advance upon Rome. He realized that without [[siege engine]]s, he could not hope to take the capital. He opted to exploit his victory by entering into central and southern Italy and encouraging a general revolt against the sovereign power.<ref>[http://www.iwar.org.uk/military/resources/hannibal/Parker_J_P_01.pdf USAWC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031070310/http://www.iwar.org.uk/military/resources/hannibal/Parker_J_P_01.pdf|date=31 October 2015}} ''Comparing Strategies of the 2nd Punic War'' by James Parker.</ref>

The Romans appointed [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus]] as their dictator. Departing from Roman military traditions, Fabius adopted the [[Fabian strategy|strategy named after him]], avoiding open battle while placing several Roman armies in Hannibal's vicinity in order to watch and limit his movements. Hannibal ravaged [[Apulia]] but was unable to bring Fabius to battle, so he decided to march through [[Samnium]] to [[Campania]], one of the richest and most fertile provinces of Italy, hoping that the devastation would draw Fabius into battle. Fabius closely followed Hannibal's path of destruction yet still refused to let himself be drawn out of the defensive. This strategy was unpopular with many Romans, who believed that it was a form of cowardice.

Hannibal decided that it would be unwise to winter in the devastated lowlands of Campania, but Fabius had trapped him there by ensuring that all the exit passes were blocked. This situation led to the night [[Battle of Ager Falernus]]. Hannibal had his men tie burning torches to the horns of a herd of cattle and drive them up the heights nearby. Some of the Romans, seeing a moving column of lights, were tricked into believing it was the Carthaginian army marching to escape along the heights. As they moved off in pursuit of this decoy, Hannibal managed to move his army in silence through the dark lowlands and up to an unguarded pass. Fabius was within striking distance, but in this case his caution worked against him, as rightly sensing a trick he stayed put. Thus, Hannibal managed to stealthily escape with his entire army intact. What Hannibal achieved in extricating his army was, as historian [[Adrian Goldsworthy]] puts it, "a classic of ancient generalship, finding its way into nearly every historical narrative of the war and being used by later military manuals".<ref>Goldsworthy, Adrian K. ''The Roman Army at War 100 BC&nbsp;– AD 200'', New York</ref> This was a severe blow to Fabius' prestige, and when his dictatorial term ended soon after, it was not renewed. For the winter, Hannibal found comfortable quarters in the Apulian plain.

===Battle of Cannae===
{{Main|Battle of Cannae}}
[[File:Battle cannae destruction.svg|thumb|330px|The destruction of the Roman army (red) [[Battle of Cannae|at Cannae]], courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy]]
In the spring of 216&nbsp;BC Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at [[Cannae]] in the Apulian plain. By capturing Cannae, Hannibal had placed himself between the Romans and their crucial sources of supply.<ref name="polybius">{{cite web| url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/polybius-cannae.html | title = Internet Ancient History Sourcebook}}</ref> Once the Roman Senate resumed their consular elections in 216&nbsp;BC, they appointed [[Gaius Terentius Varro]] and [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]] as consuls. In the meantime, the Romans hoped to gain success through sheer strength and weight of numbers, and they raised an army of unprecedented size, estimated by some to be as large as 100,000 men but more likely around 50,000–80,000.<ref name="cottrell">Cottrell, Leonard, ''Enemy of Rome'', Evans Bros, 1965, {{ISBN|0-237-44320-1}}{{page?|date=May 2023}}</ref>

The Romans and allied legions resolved to confront Hannibal and marched southward to Apulia. They eventually found him on the left bank of the [[Ofanto|Aufidus River]] and encamped {{convert|6|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} away. On this occasion, the two armies were combined into one, the consuls having to alternate their command on a daily basis. According to Livy, Varro was a man of reckless and hubristic nature, and it was his turn to command on the day of battle. This account is possibly biased against Varro as its main source, Polybius, was a client of Paullus's aristocratic family whereas Varro was less distinguished. Some historians have suggested that the sheer size of the army required both generals to command a wing each. This theory is supported by the fact that after Varro survived the battle he was pardoned by the Senate, which would be peculiar if he were the sole commander at fault.<ref name="cottrell"/>

Hannibal capitalized on the eagerness of the Romans and drew them into a trap by using an [[Pincer movement|envelopment tactic]]. This eliminated the Roman numerical advantage by shrinking the combat area. Hannibal drew up his least reliable infantry in the centre in a semicircle curving towards the Romans. Placing them forward of the wings allowed them room to fall back, luring the Romans after them, while the cavalry on the flanks dealt with their Roman counterparts. Hannibal's wings were composed of the Gallic and Numidian cavalry.<ref name="cottrell" /> The Roman legions forced their way through Hannibal's weak centre, but the Libyan mercenaries on the wings—swung around by the movement—menaced their flanks.

The onslaught of Hannibal's cavalry was unstoppable. Hannibal's chief cavalry commander [[Maharbal]] led the mobile [[Numidian cavalry]] on the right which shattered the Roman cavalry opposing them. Hannibal's Iberian and Gallic [[heavy cavalry]] on the left, led by Hanno, defeated the Roman heavy cavalry after which both the Carthaginian heavy cavalry and the Numidians attacked the legions from behind. As a result, the Roman army was fully surrounded with no means of escape.

[[Image:Hannibal Slodtz Louvre MR2093.jpg|thumb|upright|Hannibal counting the rings of the [[Equites|Roman Knights]] killed during the Battle of Cannae, statue by [[Sébastien Slodtz]], 1704, [[Louvre]]]]
With these brilliant tactics Hannibal managed to surround and destroy all but a small remnant of his enemy, despite his inferior numbers. Depending upon the source, it is estimated that 50,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured.<ref name="dodge" /> Among the dead were Roman Consul [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]], two consuls for the preceding year, two [[quaestor]]s, 29 of the 48 [[Military tribune|military tribunes]], and an additional 80 senators. At a time when the Roman Senate was composed of no more than 300 men, this constituted 25–30% of the governing body. This makes the battle one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of [[ancient Rome]] and one of the bloodiest battles in all of human history, in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day.<ref name="cottrell" />

After Cannae, the Romans were very hesitant to confront Hannibal in pitched battle, preferring instead to weaken him by [[Attrition warfare|attrition]], relying on their advantages of interior lines, supply, and manpower. As a result, Hannibal fought no more major battles in Italy for the rest of the war. It is believed that his refusal to bring the war to Rome was a lack of commitment from Carthage of men, money, and material—principally siege equipment. Whatever the reason, the choice prompted Maharbal to say, "Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one."<ref>Prevas, John, ''Hannibal Crosses the Alps'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zgi7RMJSCxMC&dq=defect,+Cannae,+Hannibal&pg=PR15 xv]</ref>

As a result of this victory, many parts of Italy joined Hannibal's cause.<ref>Chaplin, Jane Dunbar, ''Livy's Exemplary History'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ssSnfznYZp8C&dq=defect,+Cannae,+Hannibal&pg=PA66 66]</ref> As Polybius notes, "How much more serious was the defeat of Cannae, than those that preceded it can be seen by the behaviour of Rome's allies; before that fateful day, their loyalty remained unshaken, now it began to waver for the simple reason that they despaired of Roman Power."<ref>Polybius, The Histories of Polybius, 2 Vols., trans. [[Evelyn S. Shuckburgh]] (London: Macmillan, 1889), I. 264–275.</ref> During 216 BC the Greek cities in Sicily were induced to revolt against Roman political control, while King [[Philip V of Macedon]] [[Macedonian–Carthaginian Treaty|pledged his support]] to Hannibal, initiating the [[First Macedonian War]] against Rome.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|year=2007|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> 

Hannibal also secured an alliance with newly appointed tyrant [[Hieronymus of Syracuse]]. It is often argued that if Hannibal had received proper material reinforcements from Carthage, he might have succeeded with a direct attack upon Rome. Instead, he had to content himself with subduing the fortresses that still held out against him, and the only other notable event of 216&nbsp;BC was the defection of certain Italian territories, including [[Capua]], the second largest city of Italy, which Hannibal made his base. However, only a few of the Italian city-states that he had expected to gain as allies defected to him.

===Stalemate===
The war in Italy settled into a strategic stalemate. The Romans used the attritional strategy that Fabius had taught them, which they finally realized was the only feasible means of defeating Hannibal.<ref>Prevas, John, ''Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Second Punic War'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zgi7RMJSCxMC&dq=the+way+to+defeat+hannibal,+fabius+believed&pg=PA200 200]</ref> Fabius received the name "Cunctator" ("the Delayer") because of his policy of not meeting Hannibal in open battle.<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiISDAAAQBAJ&q=Cunctator |title=The Elder Pliny on the Human Animal: Human History Book 7: Natural History |translator-first = Mary |translator-last =Beagon |author =Pliny the Elder |page= 361 |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198150657 }}</ref> The Romans deprived Hannibal of a large-scale battle and instead assaulted his weakening army with multiple smaller armies in an attempt to both weary him and create unrest in his troops.<ref name="dodge" /> For the next few years, Hannibal was forced to sustain a [[scorched earth]] policy and obtain local provisions for protracted and ineffectual operations throughout southern Italy. His immediate objectives were reduced to minor operations centred mainly around the cities of [[Campania]].

The forces detached to his lieutenants were generally unable to hold their own, and neither his home government nor Philip V helped to make up his losses. His position in southern Italy therefore became increasingly difficult, and his chance of ultimately conquering Rome grew ever more remote. Hannibal still won a number of notable victories: completely destroying two Roman armies in 212&nbsp;BC, and slaying two consuls including the famed [[Marcus Claudius Marcellus]] in a battle in 208&nbsp;BC. However, Hannibal slowly began losing ground—inadequately supported by his Italian allies, abandoned by his government (either because of jealousy or simply because Carthage was overstretched), and unable to match Rome's resources. He was not able to bring about another grand decisive victory that could produce a lasting strategic change.

Carthaginian political will was embodied in the ruling [[oligarchy]]. There was a Carthaginian Senate, but the real power was with the inner "Council of 30 Nobles" and the board of judges from ruling families known as the "[[Hundred and Four]]". Two political factions operated in Carthage: the war party, also known as the "Barcids" (Hannibal's family name), and the peace party led by [[Hanno II the Great]]. Hanno had been instrumental in denying Hannibal's requested reinforcements following the Battle of Cannae. He and his allies relied on trade with Rome to sustain their wealth and resented how Hannibal's unauthorized attack of Saguntum had forced them to choose between losing prestige or committing Carthage to war. Thus, they repeatedly acted to thwart Hannibal's plans; requests for supplies and equipment that would have made besieging Rome and its fortified cities possible were either delayed or ignored, and Carthaginian soldiers in northern Africa were not sent to reinforce Hannibal, forcing him to increasingly rely on local mercenaries who refused to be disciplined and whose loyalty lasted only until there was no plunder for them to earn.

===Retreat===
[[File:ScipioAfricanusSulla.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|A bust of doubtful provenance, possibly of [[Scipio Africanus]], and originally from the [[Tomb of the Scipios]]]]
{{noref|section|date=August 2025}}
In March 212&nbsp;BC Hannibal [[Battle of Tarentum (212 BC)|captured Tarentum]] in a surprise attack, but he failed to obtain control of its harbor. The tide was slowly turning against him and in favor of Rome. The Roman consuls mounted a [[Battle of Capua|siege of Capua]] in 212 BC. Hannibal attacked them, forcing their withdrawal from Campania. He moved to Lucania and destroyed a 16,000-man Roman army at the [[Battle of the Silarus]], with 15,000 Romans killed. Another opportunity presented itself soon after, a Roman army of 18,000 men being destroyed by Hannibal at the [[Battle of Herdonia (212 BC)|first battle of Herdonia]] with 16,000 Romans dead, freeing Apulia from the Romans for the year. 

The Roman consuls mounted another [[Siege of Capua (211 BC)|siege of Capua]] in 211&nbsp;BC, conquering the city. Hannibal's attempt to lift the siege with an assault on the Roman siege lines failed. He marched on Rome to force the recall of the Roman armies. He drew off 15,000 Roman soldiers, but the siege continued, and Capua fell. In 212 BC Marcellus [[Siege of Syracuse (213–212 BC)|conquered Syracuse]], and the Romans destroyed the Carthaginian army in Sicily in 211–210 BC. In 210 BC, the Romans entered into an alliance with the [[Aetolian League]] to counter Philip V. Philip, who attempted to exploit Rome's preoccupation in Italy to conquer [[Illyria]], found himself under attack from several sides at once and was quickly subdued by Rome and her Greek allies.

In 210&nbsp;BC Hannibal again proved his superiority in tactics by inflicting a severe defeat at the [[Battle of Herdonia (210 BC)|Battle of Herdonia]] in Apulia upon a [[proconsul]]ar army and, in 208&nbsp;BC he destroyed a Roman force engaged in the siege of [[Locri]] at the [[Battle of Petelia]]. But with the loss of Tarentum in 209&nbsp;BC and the gradual reconquest by the Romans of [[Samnium]] and [[Lucania]], his hold on south Italy was almost lost. In 207&nbsp;BC he succeeded in making his way again into Apulia, where he waited to concert measures for a combined march upon Rome with his brother Hasdrubal. On hearing of Hasdrubal's defeat and death at the [[Battle of the Metaurus]] he retired to [[Calabria]], where he maintained himself for the ensuing years. Hasdrubal's head had been cut off, carried across Italy, and tossed over the palisade of Hannibal's camp as a cold message of the iron-clad will of the Roman Republic. The combination of these events marked the end to Hannibal's success in Italy. With the failure of his brother Mago in [[Liguria]] (205–203&nbsp;BC) and of his own negotiations with Phillip, the last hope of recovering his ascendancy in Italy was lost.  

{{anchor|Conclusion of the Second Punic War}}

==Conclusion of the Second Punic War (203–201 BC)==
{{anchor|Return}}

===Return to Carthage===
[[File:Campagna africana di Scipione 202 aC.png|thumb|upright=2.0|The final act of the [[Second Punic War]], the [[battle of Zama]] (202 BC)]]

In 203&nbsp;BC, after nearly 15 years of fighting in Italy and with the military fortunes of Carthage rapidly declining, Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to direct the defense of his native country against a Roman invasion under Scipio Africanus. After leaving a record of his expedition engraved in [[Punic language|Punic]] and Greek upon bronze tablets in the [[Temple of Juno Lacinia (Crotone)|Temple of Juno Lacinia]] at [[Crotone|Crotona]], he sailed back to Africa.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12582/12582-h/12582-h.htm#b46 |title=28.46 |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=11 June 2004 |access-date=6 June 2013}}</ref> His arrival immediately restored the predominance of the war party, which placed him in command of a combined force of African [[conscription|levies]] and his mercenaries from Italy. In 202&nbsp;BC Hannibal met Scipio in a fruitless peace conference. 

Despite mutual admiration, negotiations floundered due to Roman allegations of "Punic Faith," referring to the breach of protocols that ended the First Punic War by the Carthaginian attack on Saguntum and an attack on a stranded Roman fleet. Scipio and Carthage had worked out a peace plan, which was approved by Rome. The terms of the treaty were quite modest, but the war had been long for the Romans. Carthage could keep its African territory but would lose its overseas empire. Numidia was to be independent. Also, Carthage was to reduce its fleet and pay a war indemnity. Carthage then made a terrible blunder. Its long-suffering citizens had captured a stranded Roman fleet in the [[Gulf of Tunis]] and stripped it of supplies, an action that aggravated the faltering negotiations. Fortified by both Hannibal and the supplies, the Carthaginians rebuffed the treaty and Roman protests.  

===Battle of Zama (202 BC)===
{{Main|Battle of Zama}}
Unlike most battles of the Second Punic War, at Zama the Romans were superior in cavalry and the Carthaginians had the edge in infantry. This Roman cavalry superiority was due to the betrayal of King [[Masinissa]] of Numidia, who had earlier assisted Carthage in Iberia but changed sides in 206&nbsp;BC with the promise of land, and due to his personal conflicts with [[Syphax]], a Carthaginian ally. Although the ageing Hannibal was suffering from mental exhaustion and deteriorating health after years of campaigning in Italy, the Carthaginians still had the advantage in numbers and were boosted by 80 war elephants.<!-- 80 elephants, cited to sources by main article -->

[[File:Slaget ved Zama - Cornelis Cort, 1567.jpg|right|thumb|Engraving of the [[Battle of Zama]] by [[Cornelis Cort]], 1567. Note that [[Asian elephant]]s are illustrated rather than the very small [[North African elephant]]s used by Carthage.|237x237px]]

The Roman cavalry won an early victory by swiftly routing the Carthaginian cavalry. The Romans were also successful in limiting the effectiveness of the war elephants with tactics such as playing trumpets to frighten the elephants and cause them to run into the Carthaginian lines. Some historians say that the elephants routed the Carthaginian cavalry and not the Romans, whilst others suggest that it was actually a tactical retreat planned by Hannibal.<ref>Scullard, H.H. ''Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician'', p. 150, 1970. Gabriel, Richard. ''Scipio Africanus: Rome's Greatest General'', p. 192, 2008</ref> Whatever the truth, the battle remained closely fought. At one point, it seemed that Hannibal was on the verge of victory, but Scipio was able to rally his men. Scipio's cavalry attacked Hannibal's rear. This two-pronged attack caused the Carthaginian formation to collapse.

With their foremost general defeated, the Carthaginians had no choice but to surrender. Carthage lost approximately 20,000 troops with an additional 15,000 wounded. The Romans suffered 2,500 casualties. The last major battle of the Second Punic War resulted in a loss of respect for Hannibal by his fellow Carthaginians. The conditions of defeat were such that Carthage could no longer battle for Mediterranean supremacy.

==Later career==
{{anchor|Peacetime Carthage}}

===Peacetime Carthage (200–196 BC)===
[[File:Buste Hannibal Barca.jpg|thumb|upright|A bust of Hannibal, Bardo National Museum, Tunisia]]
Hannibal was 46 at the conclusion of the Second Punic War in 201 BC and quickly showed that he could be a statesman as well as a soldier. Following the conclusion of a peace that left Carthage saddled with an indemnity of ten thousand [[Attic talent|talents]], he was elected [[shophet|suffete]] (chief magistrate) of the Carthaginian state.<ref name="autogenerated291">[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 291.</ref> After an audit confirmed Carthage had the resources to pay the indemnity without increasing taxation, Hannibal initiated a reorganization of state finances aimed at eliminating corruption and recovering embezzled funds.<ref name="brainfly2">{{cite web|title=''The History of Rome: Vol V''|url=http://www.brainfly.net/html/books/brn0131e.htm}}, by Livy</ref>

The principal beneficiaries of these financial peculations had been the oligarchs of the Hundred and Four.<ref name="brainfly2"/> In order to reduce their power, Hannibal passed a law stipulating the Hundred and Four be chosen by direct election rather than [[co-option]]. He also used citizen support to change the term of office in the Hundred and Four from life to one year, with none permitted to hold office for two consecutive years.<ref name="brainfly2"/><ref name="autogenerated291"/>

{{anchor|Exile}}

===Exile (after 195 BC)===
Seven years after the victory of Zama, the Romans, alarmed by Carthage's renewed prosperity and suspicious that Hannibal had been in contact with [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus III]] of the [[Seleucid Empire]], sent a delegation to Carthage alleging that Hannibal was helping an enemy of Rome.<ref name="autogenerated296">[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 296.</ref> Aware that he had many enemies, not the least of which were because of his financial reforms eliminating corruption, Hannibal fled into voluntary exile before the Romans could demand that Carthage surrender him into their custody.<ref name="autogenerated296" />

He journeyed first to [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], the mother city of Carthage, and then to [[Antioch]], before he finally reached [[Ephesus]] where he was honourably received by Antiochus. Livy states that Antiochus consulted Hannibal on the strategic concerns of making war on Rome.<ref name="brainfly2" /> According to [[Cicero]], while at the court of Antiochus, Hannibal attended a lecture by Phormio, a philosopher, that ranged through many topics. When Phormio finished a discourse on the duties of a general, Hannibal was asked his opinion. He replied, "I have seen during my life many old fools; but this one beats them all." Another story, according to [[Aulus Gellius]], is that after Antiochus showed Hannibal the gigantic and elaborately equipped army he had created to invade Greece, he asked him if they would be enough for the Roman Republic, to which Hannibal replied, "I think all this will be enough, yes, quite enough, for the Romans, even though they are most avaricious."<ref>[[Aulus Gellius]]. ''Noctes Atticae'', book V. v. 5. "Satis, plane satis esse credo Romanis haec omnia, etiamsi avarissimi sunt."</ref>

In the summer of 193 BC, tensions flared up between the Seleucids and Rome. Antiochus gave tacit support to Hannibal's plans of launching an anti-Roman coup d'état in Carthage, yet it was not carried out.<ref>{{Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους|volume=5|last=Sarikakis|first=Theodoros|chapter=Το Βασίλειο των Σελευκιδών και η Ρώμη|trans-chapter=The Seleucid Kingdom and Rome|pages=60–62}}</ref> Hannibal advised equipping a fleet and landing a body of troops in the south of Italy, offering to take command himself.<ref name="brainfly2" /> In 190 BC, after having suffered a series of defeats in the [[Roman–Seleucid war]],<ref>Sarikakis "History of the Greek Nation: Hellenistic Period" pp. 68–70</ref> Antiochus gave Hannibal his first significant military command after spending five years in the Seleucid court.<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Michael|title=Antiochus The Great|publisher=Pen and Sword Military|location=Barnsley|isbn=978-1-84884-463-6|date=2013|page=141}}</ref> Hannibal was tasked with building a fleet in [[Cilicia]] from scratch. Although Phoenician territories like Tyre and [[Sidon]] possessed the necessary combination of raw materials, technical expertise, and experienced personnel, it took much longer than expected for it to be completed, most likely due to wartime shortages.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graigner|first=John|title=The Roman War of Antiochus the Great|publisher=Brill|location=Boston|isbn=978-9004128408|date=2002|pages=296–297}}</ref>

[[image:Artaxias and Hannibal Barca.png|200px|thumb|right|Hannibal with [[Artaxias I]] of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Greater Armenia]] in [[Ayrarat]].]]
In July 190 BC Hannibal ordered his fleet to set sail from [[Seleucia Pieria]] in order to reinforce the rest of the Seleucid navy at Ephesus.<ref>Taylor "Antiochus The Great" p. 142</ref> The following month Hannibal's fleet clashed with the [[Rhodes|Rhodian]] navy in the [[Battle of the Eurymedon (190 BC)|Battle of Side]]. The faster Rhodian ships managed to heavily damage half of Hannibal's warships through the {{lang|el|[[diekplous]]}} manoeuvre, forcing him to retreat.<ref>Graigner "The Roman War of Antiochus the Great" pp. 297–300</ref> Hannibal had preserved most of his fleet; however, he was in no position to unite with [[Polyxenidas]]' fleet at Ephesus since his ships required extensive repairs.<ref>Sarikakis "History of the Greek Nation: Hellenistic Period" p. 70</ref> 

The ensuing [[Battle of Myonessus]] resulted in a Roman-Rhodian victory, which cemented Roman control over the [[Aegean Sea]], enabling them to launch an invasion of Seleucid [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]]. The two armies faced off in the [[Battle of Magnesia]], resulting in a decisive Roman-Pergamene victory.<ref>Sarikakis "History of the Greek Nation: Hellenistic Period" pp. 78–82</ref> The truce was signed at [[Sardis|Sardes]] in January 189 BC, whereupon Antiochus agreed to abandon his claims on all lands west of the [[Taurus Mountains]], paid a heavy war indemnity, and promised to hand over Hannibal and other notable enemies of Rome from among his allies.<ref>Sarikakis "History of the Greek Nation: Hellenistic Period" pp. 83–84</ref>

According to [[Strabo]] and [[Plutarch]], Hannibal received hospitality at the Armenian royal court of [[Artaxias I]]. The authors add an apocryphal story of how Hannibal planned and supervised the building of the new royal capital [[Artaxata]].<ref>[[George Bournoutian|Bournoutian, George A]]. (2006). ''A Concise History of the Armenian People: From Ancient Times to the Present''. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda, p. 29. {{ISBN|1-56859-141-1}}.</ref> Suspicious that Antiochus was prepared to surrender him to the Romans, Hannibal fled to [[Crete]], but he soon went back to Anatolia and sought refuge with [[Prusias I of Bithynia]], who was engaged in warfare with Rome's ally, King [[Eumenes II]] of Pergamon.<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 299.</ref> Hannibal went on to serve Prusias in this war. In 190 BC he gained a naval victory over Eumenes by throwing clay pots filled with venomous snakes onto Eumenes' ships.<ref>Cornelius Nepos, ''Hannibal'' 10 and 11.</ref> In 184 BC Hannibal defeated Eumenes two more times in battles on land.<ref name="Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 12">Cornelius Nepos, ''Hannibal'' 12.</ref>

{{anchor|Death}}

===Death (183–181 BC)===
At this stage, the Romans intervened and threatened [[Bithynia]] into giving up Hannibal.<ref name="Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 12"/> [[Prusias I of Bithynia|Prusias]] agreed, but Hannibal was determined not to fall into his enemy's hands. The precise year and cause of Hannibal's death are unknown. Pausanias writes that Hannibal's death occurred after his finger was wounded by his drawn sword while mounting his horse, resulting in a fever and then his death three days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160:book=8:chapter=11&highlight=hannibal|title=Description of Greece, 8.11.11|author=Pausanias|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref> [[Cornelius Nepos]]<ref>Cornelius Nepos, ''Hannibal'' 12.5.</ref> and Livy<ref>Livy, 39.51.</ref> tell a different story, namely that the ex-consul [[Titus Quinctius Flamininus]], on discovering that Hannibal was in Bithynia, went there in an embassy to demand his surrender from Prusias. Hannibal, discovering that the castle where he was living was surrounded by Roman soldiers and he could not escape, took poison. [[Appian]] writes that it was Prusias who poisoned Hannibal.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-the-syrian-wars/appian-the-syrian-wars-3/|title=Appian, The Syrian Wars 3 – Livius|website=www.livius.org|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref>

[[Pliny the Elder]]<ref>N.H. 5.43.</ref> and [[Plutarch]], in his ''Life of Flamininus'',<ref>Plutarch, ''Flam.'' 20.</ref> record that Hannibal's tomb was at [[Libyssa]] on the coast of the [[Sea of Marmara]]. According to some, Libyssa was sited at [[Gebze]], between Bursa and Üskudar. W. M. Leake,<ref>W. M. Leake, ''Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor'' (1824), p. 9.</ref> identifying Gebze with ancient [[Dacibyza|Dakibyza]], places it further west. Before dying, Hannibal is said to have left behind a letter declaring, "Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death".<ref>{{cite book |last=Mellor |first=Ronald |year=1999 |title=The Roman historians |publisher=Routledge |page=70 |isbn=978-0-415-11773-9}}</ref>

Appian writes of a prophecy about Hannibal's death, which states that "Libyssan earth shall cover Hannibal's remains." This, he writes, made Hannibal believe that he would die in Libya, but instead it was at the Bithynian Libyssa that he would die.<ref name="auto"/> In his ''Annales'', [[Titus Pomponius Atticus]] reports that Hannibal's death occurred in 183&nbsp;BC,<ref name="Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 13.1">Cornelius Nepos, ''Hannibal'' 13.1</ref> and Livy implies the same. Polybius, who wrote nearest the event, gives 182&nbsp;BC. Sulpicius Blitho<ref>An otherwise unknown author; see {{cite book|title=The Fragments of the Roman Historians: Introduction. Vol. 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U38fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA429|year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-199-27705-6| page= 429}}</ref> records the death under 181&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 13.1" />

==Legacy==
[[File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Oath of Hannibal - RCIN 405417 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|''[[The Oath of Hannibal]]'' by [[Benjamin West]], 1770]]
===Ancient world===
Hannibal caused great distress to many in Roman society. He became such a figure of terror that whenever disaster threatened, Romans would exclaim "''[[List of Latin phrases: H#Hannibal ad portas|Hannibal ad portas]]''" ("Hannibal is at the gates!") to emphasize the gravity of the emergency, a phrase still used in modern languages.<ref>
Alan Emrich, [http://www.alanemrich.com/Class/Class_Practical_Latin.htm Practical Latin] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025715/http://www.alanemrich.com/Class/Class_Practical_Latin.htm |date= 4 March 2016 }}</ref>

His legacy was recorded by his Greek tutor, [[Sosylus of Lacedaemon]].<ref name=":0" /> The works of Roman writers such as Livy (64 or 59 BC – AD 12 or 17), [[Frontinus]] ({{circa}} AD 40–103), and [[Juvenal]] (1st–2nd century AD) show a grudging admiration for Hannibal. The Romans even built statues of him in the streets of Rome to advertise their defeat of such a worthy adversary.<ref>Holland, ''Rome and her Enemies'' 8</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cornelius Nepos |title=Selected Lives |date=1895 |publisher=Ginn & Company |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dkAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA181 |access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref> It is plausible to suggest that Hannibal engendered the greatest fear Rome had towards an enemy. Nevertheless, the Romans grimly refused to admit the possibility of defeat and rejected all overtures for peace; they even refused to accept the ransom of prisoners after the Battle of Cannae.<ref>Livy, ''The War With Hannibal'' 22.61</ref>

During the war there are no reports of revolutions among the Roman citizens, no factions within the Senate desiring peace, no pro-Carthaginian Roman turncoats, and no coups.<ref>Lazenby, ''Hannibal's War'' 237–238
</ref><ref>
Goldsworthy, The Fall of Carthage 315</ref> Indeed, throughout the war Roman aristocrats ferociously competed with each other for positions of command to fight against Rome's most dangerous enemy. Hannibal's military genius was not enough to really disturb the Roman political process and the collective political and military capacity of the Roman people. As Lazenby states,

<blockquote>
It says volumes, too, for their political maturity and respect for constitutional forms that the complicated machinery of government continued to function even amidst disaster—there are few states in the ancient world in which a general who had lost a battle like Cannae would have dared to remain, let alone would have continued to be treated respectfully as head of state.<ref>
J. F. Lazenby, ''The Hannibalic War'', 254</ref>
</blockquote>

According to Livy, the Romans feared Hannibal's military genius, and during Hannibal's march against Rome in 211&nbsp;BC:<blockquote>
a messenger who had travelled from Fregellae for a day and a night without stopping created great alarm in Rome, and the excitement was increased by people running about the City with wildly exaggerated accounts of the news he had brought. The wailing cry of the [[Women in ancient Rome|matrons]] was heard everywhere, not only in private houses but even in the temples. Here they knelt and swept the temple-floors with their dishevelled hair and lifted up their hands to heaven in piteous entreaty to the gods that they would deliver the City of Rome out of the hands of the enemy and preserve its mothers and children from injury and outrage.<ref name="livy26_8"/></blockquote> In the Senate the news was "received with varying feelings as men's temperaments differed,"<ref name="livy26_8"/> so it was decided to keep Capua under siege but to send 15,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry as reinforcements to Rome.<ref name="livy26_8">{{cite web |url= http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy26.html |title= Livy's History of Rome |publisher= Mcadams.posc.mu.edu |access-date= 6 June 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160529171914/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy26.html |archive-date= 29 May 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

According to Livy, the land occupied by Hannibal's army outside Rome in 211&nbsp;BC was sold by a Roman while it was occupied.<ref>Livy, The War with Hannibal, 26.11</ref> This may not be true, but as Lazenby states, "could well be, exemplifying as it does not only the supreme confidence felt by the Romans in ultimate victory, but also the way in which something like normal life continued."<ref>J.F. Lazenby, ''The Hannibalic War'', p. 254</ref> After Cannae, the Romans showed considerable steadfastness. As an example of Rome's confidence, after the Cannae disaster she was left virtually defenseless; however, the Senate still chose not to withdraw a single garrison from an overseas province to strengthen the city. In fact, they were reinforced and the campaigns there maintained until victory was secured; beginning first in Sicily under the direction of Claudius Marcellus, and later in Hispania under Scipio Africanus.<ref>Bagnall, The Punic Wars 203
</ref><ref>Lazenby, Hannibal's War 235</ref> Although the long-term consequences of Hannibal's war are debatable, this war was undeniably Rome's "finest hour".<ref>Lazenby Hannibal's War 254
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Goldsworthy
| first1 = Adrian
| author-link1 = Adrian Goldsworthy
| title = The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265–146BC
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jM1sFXcAPvAC
| publisher = Hachette UK
| publication-date = 2012
| pages = 366–367
| isbn = 978-1780223063
| access-date = 15 May 2018
| date =  2012
}}
</ref>

Most of the sources available to historians about Hannibal are from Romans. They considered him the greatest enemy Rome had ever faced. Livy indicates that Hannibal was extremely cruel. Even [[Cicero]], when he talked of Rome and its two great enemies, spoke of the "honourable" Pyrrhus and the "cruel" Hannibal. Yet a different picture sometimes emerges. When Hannibal's successes had brought about the death of two Roman consuls, he vainly searched for the body of Gaius Flaminius on the shores of [[Lake Trasimeno|Lake Trasimene]], held ceremonial rituals in recognition of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and sent Marcellus' ashes back to his family in Rome. Any bias attributed to Polybius, however, is more troublesome. Historian [[Ronald J. Mellor|Ronald Mellor]] considers the Greek scholar a loyal partisan of [[Scipio Aemilianus]],<ref>[[Ronald J. Mellor|Mellor, Ronald J.]] ''The Historians of Ancient Rome''</ref> while H. Ormerod does not view him as an "altogether unprejudiced witness" when it came to his pet peeves, the Aetolians, the Carthaginians, and the Cretans.<ref>Omerod, H. ''Piracy in the Ancient World'', p. 141</ref> Nonetheless, Polybius did recognize that the reputation for cruelty the Romans attached to Hannibal might in reality have been by mistaking him for one of his officers, Hannibal Monomachus.<ref>[[Gavin de Beer|De Beer, Sir Gavin]] (1969). ''Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy'' p. 111.</ref>

In the [[Severan dynasty|Severan period]], Hannibal was portrayed as a successful military leader from history who could serve as an exemplary figure for a Roman audience.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lentzsch |first=Simon |title=The Eastern Roman Empire under the Severans: Old Connections, new Beginnings? |publisher=[[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] |year=2024 |isbn=978-3-647-30251-5 |editor-last=Hoffmann-Salz |editor-first=Julia |pages=226–227, 234–236 |chapter=In the footsteps of the past – the Severans and the Tomb of Hannibal |editor-last2=Heil |editor-first2=Matthäus |editor-last3=Wienholz |editor-first3=Holger}}</ref> In the 13th century, Byzantine scholar [[John Tzetzes]] writes that Severus (likely [[Septimius Severus]]), being of Libyan birth, constructed a tomb of white marble for Hannibal in Libyssa. Scholars debate whether this act was intended to promote a unified North African identity, stimulate local economic interests, or link Severus with past military heroes to strengthen his legacy, reflecting a broader Severan policy of honoring local traditions and historical figures.<ref name=":2" />

===Military history===
[[File:Joseph Mallord William Turner 081.jpg|thumb|right|The material of legend: in ''[[Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps]]'' (1812)  [[J. M. W. Turner]] envelops Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in [[Romanticism|Romantic]] atmosphere.]]

Hannibal is generally regarded as one of the best military strategists and tacticians of all time, the double envelopment at Cannae an enduring legacy of tactical brilliance. Military academies all over the world continue to study Hannibal's exploits, especially his victory at Cannae.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Messer |first1=Rick Jay |title=The influence of Hannibal of Carthage on the art of war and how his legacy has been interpreted |date=2009 |hdl=2097/1503 |hdl-access=free |citeseerx=10.1.1.582.1385}}</ref> According to [[Appian]], several years after the Second Punic War, Hannibal served as a political advisor in the Seleucid Kingdom and Scipio arrived there on a diplomatic mission from Rome.
{{blockquote|It is said that at one of their meetings in the gymnasium Scipio and Hannibal had a conversation on the subject of generalship, in the presence of a number of bystanders, and that Scipio asked Hannibal whom he considered the greatest general, to which the latter replied "[[Alexander the Great|Alexander of Macedonia]]".

To this Scipio assented since he also yielded the first place to Alexander. Then he asked Hannibal whom he placed next, and he replied "[[Pyrrhus of Epirus]]", because he considered boldness the first qualification of a general; "for it would not be possible", he said, "to find two kings more enterprising than these".

Scipio was rather nettled by this, but nevertheless he asked Hannibal to whom he would give the third place, expecting that at least the third would be assigned to him; but Hannibal replied, "to myself; for when I was a young man I conquered Hispania and crossed the Alps with an army, the first after [[Hercules]]."

As Scipio saw that he was likely to prolong his self-laudation he said, laughing, "where would you place yourself, Hannibal, if you had not been defeated by me?" Hannibal, now perceiving his jealousy, replied, "in that case I should have put myself before Alexander". Thus Hannibal continued his self-laudation, but flattered Scipio in an indirect manner by suggesting that he had conquered one who was the superior of Alexander.

At the end of this conversation Hannibal invited Scipio to be his guest, and Scipio replied that he would be so gladly if Hannibal were not living with [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus]], who was held in suspicion by the Romans. Thus did they, in a manner worthy of great commanders, cast aside their enmity at the end of their wars.<ref name="appian">Appian, ''History of the Syrian Wars'', §10 and §11 at [https://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_syriaca_02.html Livius.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227081451/http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_syriaca_02.html |date=27 December 2015 }}</ref>}}

[[File:Hannibal in Italy by Jacopo Ripanda - Sala di Annibale - Palazzo dei Conservatori - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016 (2).jpg|thumb|right| Hannibal's celebrated feat in crossing the Alps with [[war elephant]]s passed into European legend: detail of a fresco by [[Jacopo Ripanda]], {{circa | 1510}}, [[Capitoline Museums]], Rome.]]

Maximilian Otto Bismarck Caspari in his article in the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]] (1910–1911), praises Hannibal in these words:
{{quotation|As to the transcendent military genius of Hannibal there cannot be two opinions. The man who for fifteen years could hold his ground in a hostile country against several powerful armies and a succession of able generals must have been a commander and a tactician of supreme capacity. In the use of strategies and ambuscades he certainly surpassed all other generals of antiquity. Wonderful as his achievements were, we must marvel the more when we take into account the grudging support he received from Carthage. As his veterans melted away, he had to organize fresh levies on the spot. We never hear of a mutiny in his army, composed though it was of North Africans, Iberians and [[Gauls]]. Again, all we know of him comes for the most part from hostile sources. The Romans feared and hated him so much that they could not do him justice. Livy speaks of his great qualities, but he adds that his vices were equally great, among which he singles out his more than [[wikt:fides Punica|Punic perfidy]] and an inhuman cruelty. For the first there would seem to be no further justification than that he was consummately skillful in the use of ambuscades. For the latter there is, we believe, no more ground than that at certain crises he acted in the general spirit of ancient warfare. Sometimes he contrasts most favorably with his enemy. No such brutality stains his name as that perpetrated by [[Gaius Claudius Nero]] on the vanquished [[Hasdrubal Barca|Hasdrubal]]. Polybius merely says that he was accused of cruelty by the Romans and of avarice by the Carthaginians. He had indeed bitter enemies, and his life was one continuous struggle against destiny. For steadfastness of purpose, for organizing capacity and a mastery of military science he has perhaps never had an equal.<ref name="1911britannica">{{Cite EB1911 |last= Caspari |first= M.O.B. |wstitle= Hannibal (general)}}</ref>}}

Even the Roman chroniclers acknowledged Hannibal's supreme military leadership, writing that "he never required others to do what he could not and would not do himself".<ref>[http://www.carpenoctem.tv/military/hannibal.html Hannibal] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111017053457/http://www.carpenoctem.tv/military/hannibal.html |date= 17 October 2011 }} at ''CarpeNoctem.tv''</ref> According to Polybius 23, 13, p.&nbsp;423:
{{blockquote |It is a remarkable and very cogent proof of Hannibal's having been by nature a real leader and far superior to anyone else in statesmanship, that though he spent seventeen years in the field, passed through so many barbarous countries, and employed to aid him in desperate and extraordinary enterprises numbers of men of different nations and languages, no one ever dreamt of conspiring against him, nor was he ever deserted by those who had once joined him or submitted to him.}}
[[File:Museum of Antiquities Hannibal.JPG| thumb |upright|A bust of Hannibal, 17th century, [[Museum of Antiquities (Saskatoon)]]]]

Prior to World War I, Count [[Alfred von Schlieffen]] developed his "[[Schlieffen Plan]]" from his military studies, including the envelopment technique that Hannibal employed in the Battle of Cannae.<ref>{{cite book|last= Daly|first= Gregory|author-link= Gregory Daly|title= Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qayiX4SFonkC&pg=PR10|year= 2003|publisher= Psychology Press|isbn= 978-0-415-32743-5|page=x}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cottrell |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Cottrell |url= |title=Hannibal: Enemy of Rome |publisher=Perseus Books Group |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-306-80498-4 |page=134}}</ref> [[George S. Patton]] believed himself a reincarnation of Hannibal—as well as of many other people, including a Roman [[legionary]] and a [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic]] soldier.<ref>"Any man who thinks he is the reincarnation of Hannibal or some such isn't quite possessed of all his buttons", quoted by {{cite book|last= D'Este|first= Carlo|author-link= Carlo D'Este|title= Patton: A Genius for War |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cz-hBWYOTnEC&pg=RA7-PA815|year= 1996|publisher= HarperCollins|isbn= 978-0-06-092762-2}}, p. 815</ref><ref>Hirshson, Stanley, ''General Patton: A Soldier's Life'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xOLMGBKbjGUC&dq=Patton,+reincarnated&pg=RA1-PA163 163]</ref> [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.]], the commander of the [[Coalition of the Gulf War]] of 1990–1991, claimed, "The technology of war may change, the sophistication of weapons certainly changes. But those same principles of war that applied to the days of Hannibal apply today."<ref>Carlton, James, ''The Military Quotation Book'', New York, Thomas Dunne Books, 2002. {{ISBN?}}{{Page?|date=May 2023}}</ref>

According to the military historian [[Theodore Ayrault Dodge]],
{{blockquote|Hannibal excelled as a tactician. No battle in history is a finer sample of tactics than Cannae. But he was yet greater in logistics and strategy. No captain ever marched to and fro among so many armies of troops superior to his own numbers and material as fearlessly and skilfully as he. No man ever held his own so long or so ably against such odds. Constantly overmatched by better soldiers, led by generals always respectable, often of great ability, he yet defied all their efforts to drive him from Italy, for half a generation. Excepting in the case of Alexander, and some few isolated instances, all wars up to the Second Punic War, had been decided largely, if not entirely, by battle-tactics. Strategic ability had been comprehended only on a minor scale. Armies had marched towards each other, had fought in parallel order, and the conqueror had imposed terms on his opponent. Any variation from this rule consisted in ambuscades or other stratagems. That war could be waged by avoiding in lieu of seeking battle; that the results of a victory could be earned by attacks upon the enemy's communications, by flank-manoeuvres, by seizing positions from which safely to threaten him in case he moved, and by other devices of strategy, was not understood... [However,] for the first time in the history of war, we see two contending generals avoiding each other, occupying impregnable camps on heights, marching about each other's flanks to seize cities or supplies in their rear, harassing each other with [[guerrilla|small-war]], and rarely venturing on a battle which might prove a fatal disaster—all with a well-conceived purpose of placing his opponent at a strategic disadvantage... That it did so was due to the teaching of Hannibal.<ref name="dodge" />}}

===In modern Tunisia===
Due to his origin and connection with the territory belonging to modern-day Tunisia, he is widely revered as a national hero in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://carthagemagazine.com/hannibal-barca/ |title=Hannibal: The Last Hero of The Free World of Antiquity |work=Carthage Magazine |date=25 August 2020 |access-date=21 January 2022 }}</ref> Hannibal's profile appears on the [[Tunisian dinar|Tunisian five-dinar bill]] issued on 8 November 1993, as well as on a bill put into circulation on 20 March 2013. His name appears in the name of a private television channel, [[Hannibal TV]]. A street in [[Carthage (municipality)|Carthage]], located near the Punic ports, bears his name; as does as a station on the [[Tunis-Goulette-Marsa|TGM]] railway line: "Carthage Hannibal". Plans envisage a mausoleum and a {{convert|17|m|adj=on}} high colossus of Hannibal on the [[Byrsa]], the highest point of Carthage overlooking [[Tunis]].<ref>
{{Cite web|url= https://www.espacemanager.com/le-prototype-dune-statue-de-hannibal-presente-au-president-de-la-republique.html |title=Le prototype d'une statue de Hannibal présenté au président de la République|website=Espace Manager |access-date=5 October 2020}}
</ref>

===Other===
[[File:HANİBALIN MEZARI-GEBZE (2).jpg|thumb|Hannibal's monumental tomb in [[Kocaeli Province|Kocaeli]], Turkey]]

The teenaged [[Sigmund Freud]] regarded Hannibal as a "hero"; the founder of [[psychoanalysis]] portrays an idealized image of Hannibal in his analysis of his "dreams of Rome" in ''[[The Interpretation of Dreams]]''. Freud associates this phenomenon with the adage "All roads lead to Rome". He writes: "Hannibal and Rome symbolized for the adolescent that I was the opposition between the tenacity of Judaism and the organizing spirit of the Catholic Church".<ref>Sigmund Freud, ''L'interprétation du rêve'' (''Die Traumdeutung'', 1900), ''Œuvres complètes de Freud / Psychanalyse'' (OCF.P) IV, Paris: PUF/Quadrige, 2010, {{p.|234}}.</ref>

[[Kocaeli Province|Kocaeli]] in Turkey has a [[cenotaph]] built in Hannibal's memory. Even though the location of Hannibal's tomb could not be determined precisely in the studies carried out through President [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk's]] great interest, a monumental cenotaph was built in 1981 in the south of present-day [[Gebze]] as an expression of Atatürk's respect for Hannibal.

==Timeline==
{{Hannibal timeline}}

== Battle record ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Allegiance
!War
!Year
!Action
|-
| rowspan="32" |[[Carthaginian Empire]]
| rowspan="5" |[[Barcid conquest of Hispania]]
|221 BC
|[[Siege of Alithia]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |220 BC
|[[Siege of Helmantice]]
|-
|[[Siege of Arbucala]]
|-
|[[Battle of the Tagus (220 BC)|Battle of the Tagus]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |219 BC
| rowspan="2" |[[Siege of Saguntum]]
|-
| rowspan="27" |[[Second Punic War]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |218 BC
|[[Battle of Rhone Crossing]]
|-
|[[Battle of Ticinus]] 
|-
|[[Battle of the Trebia]]
|-
| rowspan="4" |217 BC
|[[Battle of Victumulae]]
|-
|[[Battle of Lake Trasimene]] 
|-
|[[Battle of Ager Falernus]]
|-
|[[Battle of Geronium]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |216 BC
|[[Battle of Cannae]]
|-
|[[Battle of Nola (216 BC)|Battle of Nola]]
|-
|[[Siege of Casilinum]]
|-
|215 BC
|[[Battle of Nola (215 BC)|Battle of Nola]]
|-
|214 BC
|[[Battle of Nola (214 BC)|Battle of Nola]]
|-
| rowspan="4" |212 BC
|[[Battle of Tarentum (212 BC)|Battle of Tarentum]]
|-
|[[Battle of Capua]]
|-
|[[Battle of the Silarus]]
|-
|[[Battle of Herdonia (212 BC)|Battle of Herdonia]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |211 BC
|[[Siege of Capua (211 BC)|Siege of Capua]]
|-
|[[Hannibal's raid to Rome|Raid on Rome]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |210 BC
|[[Battle of Herdonia (210 BC)|Battle of Herdonia]]
|-
|[[Battle of Numistro]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |209 BC
|[[Battle of Canusium]]
|-
|[[Battle of Caulonia]]
|-
|208 BC
|[[Battle of Petelia]]
|-
|207 BC
|[[Battle of Grumentum]]
|-
|204 BC
|[[Battle of Crotona]]
|-
|202 BC
|[[Battle of Zama]]
|-
|[[Seleucid Empire]]
|[[Roman–Seleucid war|Roman–Seleucid War]]
|190 BC
|[[Battle of the Eurymedon (190 BC)|Battle of the Eurymedon]]
|-
|[[Bithynia]]
|[[Pergamene-Bithynian War]]
|184 BC
|[[Battle of the Sea of Marmara]]
|}

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Military of Carthage]]
* [[Alaric I]]
* [[Arminius]]
* [[Attila]]
* [[Bato the Daesitiate]]
* [[Boiorix]]
* [[Brennus (leader of the Senones)]]
* [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]]
* [[Odoacer]]
* [[Gaiseric]]
* [[Septimius Severus]], who refurbished Hannibal's tomb
* [[Spartacus]]
* [[Theodoric the Great]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last = Huss |first = Werner |title = Geschichte der Karthager |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC |publisher = C.H. Beck |location = Munich |year = 1985 |isbn = 978-3406306549 |language = de }}
<!-- Dead note "Caven": Caven, Brian M., in Hornblower, Simon, & Spawforth, Antony (eds.), ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-19-866172-X -->
<!-- Dead note "Cottrell": Cottrell, Leonard, ''Hannibal: Enemy of Rome'', [[Da Capo Press]], 1992, ISBN 0-306-80498-0 -->
<!-- Dead note "Goldsworthy": Goldsworthy, A, ''The Punic Wars'', London, Cassell and Company, 2000 -->
<!-- Dead note "Healy": Healy, Mark, ''Cannae: Hannibal Smashes Rome's Army'', Steerling Heights, Missouri, Osprey Publishing, 1994 -->
<!-- Dead note "Talbert": [[Richard J.A. Talbert|Talbert, Richard J.A.]], ed., ''Atlas of Classical History'', London/New York, Routledge, 1985, ISBN 0-415-03463-9 -->
<!-- Dead note "Cowley": Cowley, Robert (ed.), Parker, Geoffrey (ed.), ''The Reader's Companion to Military History'', Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996, ISBN 0-395-66969-3 -->
* {{EB1911 |wstitle = Hannibal (general) }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|author-link=George Philip Baker|last=Baker|first=George P.|title=Hannibal|year=1929|publisher=Dodd, Mead|location=New York}}
* {{cite journal|last=Bickerman|first=Elias J.|title=Hannibal's Covenant|journal=American Journal of Philology|year=1952|volume=73|issue=1|pages=1–23|doi=10.2307/292232|jstor=292232}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Ernle Bradford|last1=Bradford|first1=Ernle|last2=Scullard|first2=H.H.|title=Hannibal|year=1981|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|isbn=978-0-07-007064-6|url=https://archive.org/details/hannibal00ernl_cdu}}; UK edition: London, Macmillan, 1981.
* {{cite book|last=Caven|first=Brian|title=The Punic Wars|year=1980|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-65580-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Cottrell|first=Leonard|title=Hannibal : enemy of Rome|year=1992|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-306-80498-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Daly|first=Gregory|title=Cannae : the experience of battle in the second Punic War|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-32743-5}}
* {{cite book|last=De Beer|first=Gavin|title=Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy|year=1969|publisher=Viking Press|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|last=De Beer|first=Gavin|title=Hannibal: The Struggle for Power in the Mediterranean|year=1974|publisher=Book Club Associates/Thames and Hudson Ltd|location=London}}
* {{cite book|last=Garland|first=Robert|title=Hannibal|year=2010|publisher=Bristol Classical Press|location=London|isbn=978-1-85399-725-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Delbrück|first=Hans|author-link=Hans Delbrück|title=Warfare in antiquity|year=1990|publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=978-0-8032-9199-7|others=Walter J. Renfroe, trans}}
* {{cite book|last=Dodge|first=Theodore Ayrault|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.161250|title=Hannibal|year=1891|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|location=Boston}}
* {{cite book|last=Goldsworthy|first=Adrian|title=Cannae: Hannibal's Greatest Victory|year=2001|publisher=Phoenix|location=London|isbn=978-0-7538-2259-3}}.
* {{cite book|last=Hornblower|first=Simon|title=Hannibal and Scipio: Parallel Lives|year=2024|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn= 978-1-009-45335-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Hoyos|first=Dexter|title=Hannibal's dynasty power and politics in the western Mediterranean, 247–183 BC|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-203-41782-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Hoyos|first=Dexter|title=Hannibal : Rome's greatest enemy|year=2008|publisher=Bristol Phoenix Press|location=Exeter|isbn=978-1-904675-46-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Kluth|first=Andreas|title=Hannibal and Me: What History's Greatest Military Strategist Can Teach Us About Success and Failure|year=2011|publisher=Riverhead Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-594-48812-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Lamb|first=Harold|author-link=harold Lamb|title=Hannibal: one man against Rome|url=https://archive.org/details/hannibalonemanag00lamb|url-access=registration|year=1958|publisher=Doubleday|location=Garden City, NY}}
* {{cite book|last=Lancel|first=Serge Lancel|title=Hannibal|year=1999|publisher=Blackwell|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-631-21848-7|others=Antonia Nevill, trans}}
* {{cite book|last=Livy|author-link=Livy|editor-last=Radice|editor-first=Betty|url=https://archive.org/details/warwithhannibalh00titu|title=The war with Hannibal : books XXI–XXX of the History of Rome from its foundation|year=1972|publisher=Penguin|location=Harmondsworth|isbn=978-0-14-044145-1|others=Aubrey De Sélincourt, trans}}
* {{cite book|last=Livy|title=Hannibal's war : books twenty-one to thirty|year=2006|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-283159-0|others=J. C. Yardley, trans}}
* {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Eve |author-link=Eve MacDonald |title=Hannibal: A Hellenistic Life |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2015}} [http://www.miwsr.com/2016-002.aspx online review]
* {{cite book|last=Mahaney|first=William|title=Hannibal's odyssey: environmental background to the alpine invasion of Italia|year=2008|publisher=Gorgias Press|location=Piscataway, NJ|isbn=978-1-59333-951-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Prevas|first=John|title=Hannibal crosses the Alps : the invasion of Italy and the Punic Wars|year=2001|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=978-0-306-81070-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Toynbee|first=Arnold|title=Hannibal's Legacy|year=1965|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London}}
* {{cite web|last=Mark|first=Joshua|title=The Price of Greed: Hannibal's Betrayal by Carthage|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/290/|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=20 December 2011}}
* {{cite book|last=N. Hunt|first=Patrick|title=Hannibal|year=2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4391-0217-6}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Hannibal
 |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* [http://attalus.org/translate/nepos23.html Life of Hannibal by Cornelius Nepos] – translated by J.C. Rolfe
* [https://www.studenthandouts.com/historical-figures/h/hannibal/hannibal-biography-workbook.htm Hannibal Biography Workbook for High School]
* [https://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hannibal/hannibal.html The Biography of Hannibal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110091108/https://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hannibal/hannibal.html |date=10 November 2013 }}
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27551 ''Hannibal''] by [[Jacob Abbott]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140713080825/http://www.gottwein.de/Lat/nepos/hann01.php Hannibal's life by Cornelius Nepos, Latin transcription and translation to German]
* [http://www.history.com/topics/hannibal The History of Hannibal]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130827014715/http://factbehindfiction.com/index_files/hannibal.htm Hannibal at ''FactBehindFiction.com'']

{{Famous Carthaginians}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hannibal| ]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Punic people]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Punic people]]
[[Category:247 BC births]]
[[Category:180s BC deaths]]
[[Category:Ancient suicides]]
[[Category:Carthaginian commanders of the Second Punic War]]
[[Category:Carthaginian generals]]
[[Category:Military marching]]
[[Category:Military personnel who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Politicians who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides by poison]]
[[Category:Suicides in Turkey]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]