Hannibal Barca, son of Carthaginian general Hamilcare Barca, was born in 247 BC. He became a successful officer in Spain, and after his brother-in-law Hasdrubal was assassinated, he became the leader of the Carthaginian army. In the Second Punic War, Hannibal crossed the Pyrenees and Alps with elephants to attack Rome from the north. He won several battles and even encamped outside Rome, but was ultimately defeated by Publius Cornelius Scipio. Hannibal died in 183 BC after fleeing to Bithynia and taking poison.
Hannibal Barca, son of the Carthaginian general Hamilcare Barca, was born in 247 BC, during his father’s struggle with Rome in the First Punic War for control of the western Mediterranean Sea. His father instilled in Hannibal a hatred of Rome when he was very young. Entering the army, he became an officer and first achieved considerable success in Spain under the leadership of his brother-in-law Hasdrubal, who succeeded Hamilcar as general.
Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 BC, and the army proclaimed Hannibal, then 26, as their leader. The Senate of Carthage agreed, and established New Carthage as his headquarters, and set about completing his father’s work of consolidating Carthaginian power in Spain.
The Second Punic War began only a few years later in 218 BC, when Rome again attempted to crush Carthaginian power, partly in response to Hannibal’s attack on Saguntum in 219 BC. Knowing he was no match for Rome’s navy in the Mediterranean, Hannibal decided to surprise the Romans with an attack from the north. He began by taking about 40,000 soldiers, with supplies and beasts of burden across the Pyrenees into Gaul.
The army crossed the Rhone River, where the Roman consul Publius Cornelius Scipio heard of these movements and began to foment his plans, but did not really understand what Hannibal was up to. Hannibal’s plan was to cross the Alps to breach the Po valley. The idea of crossing the Alps was so impossible that the Carthaginian commander knew that his invasion would be unexpected. The choice of animals to carry supplies was also unexpected, as he used elephants.
And so Hannibal and his army and his elephants crossed the Alps, braving snow, landslides and enemy ambushes. He lost about half his men and a good number of his 38 elephants, but meeting Scipio’s army, won an indisputable victory at the Ticino River. Another army from Rome joined them soon after, but Hannibal defeated both armies, killing as many Roman soldiers as he had men.
Hannibal’s campaign continued to gain ground, as he attracted more recruits and used effective strategies to deliver Rome a series of defeats. Finally, in 211 BC, he encamped outside Rome awaiting the arrival of his brother with reinforcements. But his brother’s army was destroyed and his brother killed.
The Carthaginian commander continued to fight in Italy until he was recalled to Carthage to defend the city against the army of Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, but was ultimately defeated. Scipio used Hannibal’s tactics against him, and only a few men, including Hannibal, managed to escape. At the urging of the commander, a peace was concluded in 201 BC
Hannibal was elected to the office of magistrate in 197 BC and worked for reform. Faced with allegations of conspiracy with King Antiochus III of Syria, he fled first to the court of Antiochus and then, after Antiochus’ defeat, to Bithynia. Helping his host defeat an ally of Rome brought a senatorial commission to Bithynia to demand his surrender. Instead of being taken into custody, Hannibal took poison. He died in 183 BC
While there are two other Carthage military leaders who share his name, Hannibal Barca is the most famous of the three. His journey across the Alps with elephants was a bold and picturesque move that is remembered more than his defeat.
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