The son of Hamilcar Barca.
He was raised by his father to hate the Romans, something which he never
abandoned throughout his life.
The son of Hamilcar Barca.
He was raised by his father to hate the Romans, something which he never
abandoned throughout his life.
Upon the death of his father in southern Spain, Hannibal led a force of around 50,000 men, as well as several elephants. He invaded Roman territory, which caused the beginning of the Second Punic War. While crossing the Alps, however, over half of his forces were lost, including all of his elephants.
Once in Italy, he defeated the Romans twice at the Battles of Cannae and Lake Trasimene, both of which turned into massacres for the Romans. But after crossing the Alps, he lacked the manpower to directly assault the city of Rome. Instead, he roamed the Italian countryside, hoping they would be anxious to overthrow their Romans rulers. He was wrong, however, and virtually none of the Italians revolted. So, the victorious Hannibal was a virtual prisoner in Roman Italy.
Under the leadership of Fabius Cunctator and Claudius Marcellus, the Romans no longer directly confronted Hannibal's forces. Instead they successfully used hit and run tactics against him, never allowing his army to rest. Eventually the Romans, led by Cornelius Scipio invaded Africa and forced Hannibal to retreat. At the battle of Zama in 202 BC, Scipio defeated Hannibal, using tactics similar to those that Hannibal had previously used against the Romans.
After the end of Second Punic War, Hannibal was exiled from Carthage. He later made his way east into the Seleucid kingdom of Syria. There, he convinced the king Antiochus III to attack Rome in 195 BC. The Romans, led by Cato the Elder, defeated this army and Hannibal had lost another home.
In 183, Hannibal, hounded by Roman bounty hunters, swallowed poison and ended his life to avoid being captured.