Hannibal and the Carthaginian Empire Essay

Hannibal was gravid and nonable Carthaginian general. He is remembered for his great strategic skills on the skirmish field and as a great military machine chief. Born in late 247 BC, was the oldest son of Hamilcar Barca. In 237 BC, Hamilcar took his nine year old son, Hannibal, to the altar of a treacherous god and made him pledge eternal hatred to the Romans. Then Hannibal and his catch left for Spain. The headquarters of perfidious power in Spain was the city of cutting Carthage. Hannibal saw in a flash his fathers techniques for contend .When Hamilcar perished in the passage of arms of 230 BC, his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, became the military leader plus the political leader and continued Carthages pressure in Spain. In 226 BC Hasdrubal signed an concord with the Romans. The agree custodyt stated that neither force could cross the Ebro River in the northern Spain . When Hasdrubal was off in 221 BC, the Carthaginians collectively elected twenty-six-year-old Hanniba l to be the leader in Carthaginian governwork forcet and commandant of the army in Spain. After Hamilcars dying Hannibal became an excellent military leader.Under Hannibals control the Carthaginians made large territorial reserve advances (I-cias). He learned quickly how to be a leader and with the make of his brothers he was able to succeed through his battles. Hannibal was crossing the Alps and was able to receive rations for a couple days. On the third day he captured a Gallic town and provided the army from its stores with rations for two or ternion days (Alps). He wanted the best for his army, but had little house from Carthage. Despite the number of men falling from the army imputable to graphic disasters he managed to recruit others.Even if many brute(a) from his army during this inch because of snowstorms, landslides, and round downs from hostile local tribes, he managed to recruit new personnel on the route. His strategy was to respond quickly to these natural di sasters and it helped him. Hannibal earned his success by finisuring hardships with his recruits and reinforcements. Hannibal experienced many challenges including battle delays little amount of military equipment and a small number of reinforcements from home. Other military leaders knew he would not be able to handle a delay due to the lack of preparation he took for each battle.He Fabius, Roman soldiery Leader believed that Hannibal lacked the equipment for a prolonged siege and that a delay in the battle would seriously reduce the Carthaginian food supply. capital of Italy believed that delays would displace in the conquering of Hannibal because of the lack of necessities thither was little he could do. Hannibal began to stand out during his career due to the lack of food. Zama was the only defeat. Hannibal suffered in his military career . After his defeat his enemies began to discover his weakness.Hannibal was running out of everything during the participation of Cannae a nd his help refused to aid him. Hannibal needed reinforcements, which the Carthaginian government refused to furnish, and he likewise lacked siege weapons . Hannibals restrictions could have given him success, had he been willing to talk terms with another force greater then his own. Hannibal was the instrument of his own undoing. Hannibal was chastise on being the conqueror and watch on some unmatchable elses defeat, which lead him to his own. His enemy, Rome, was the center of his downfall.He would never settle and there was no satisfaction between them. In 218, he clashed with the Roman army. The Romans claimed that this was a break of an existing treaty between Rome and Carthage and demanded Hannibal surrendered to themthe due south Punic War started (I-cias). If Hannibal conquered Romans he would never be able to rule over. jibe to legend, Hamilcar had made the young Hannibal swear on a sacred altar that he would remain an enemy of Rome for life . Hannibal had made a pro mise to his father, therefore intending to go on with nothing.The loss of the second city of Italy cost Hannibal the allegiance of many of his Italian allies and put an end to his hopes of further replenishing his army from their ranks . Hannibal had lost it all. His hope had been limited at this point. Hannibal both succeeded and failed. He never won the hearts of the people therefore he was never able to truly be victorious. Hannibal married a Spanish princess and conquered the surrounding land and took hostages from the adjacent tribes to assure their loyalty to him without crossing the Ebro River, draw for the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome.When Saguntum began trouble between Carthage and Rome in 219 BC, Hannibal invaded the city. This began the Second Punic War . After hearing the declaration of war Hannibal immediately starts off towards Rome. The problem was he had to go by land since Rome controlled the seas. Hannibal began a long and hazardous expedition crossways the Pyrenees and the Alps in August of 218, with battle elephants walking at the front of his army . In the initiation of 218 BC, Hannibal handed over command of the Spanish armies to his brother Hasdrubal.He then led his force north toward the Pyrenees Mountains and began one of the most famous journeys in history . Hannibals army included Libyans and Numidians from North Africa, Iberians and Celtiberians from Spain, and Gauls from Spain, France, and Italy. in that location were thirty-five molarity foot soldiers, twelve molar concentration horsemen, and fifty war elephants. Hannibal used the elephants to break infantry lines and to create fear and disorder. The elephants also panicky horses, so they were able to disrupt the enemys cavalry . In the Pyrenees, Hannibal encountered resistance from local tribes.He lost a lot of his men to fighting, and some of the mercenaries went home because they were scared of the long journey. With all this, Hannibal continued to incline as quic kly as possible, but bad luck fell into Hannibals lap as early snows and landslides kill many of his men and almost all of his war elephants . He enters Italy with only twenty-six thousand men and five or six war elephants in phratry 218. Hannibal and his troops spent the winter in Po Valley. In the spring of 217 BC When news of Hannibals army reached Rome, the Gauls of northern Italy revolted.They joined Hannibal in fighting the Romans. Now Hannibal had a sufficient army of infantry and cavalry. The Romans had plans to attack Carthage and New Carthage, but they had to be delayed because of the rebelling tribes in Italy and the approach of Hannibal. So the Romans sent troops under the command of Publius Cornelius Scipio, to stop Hannibal at Massilia . Massilia is on the French coast where the Rhone River runs into the Mediterranean Sea. The Rhone is a wide river with a spry current, so it was a great obstacle to Hannibal.Scipios troops set up camp by the sea, thinking that Hanniba l would reach Massilia in the well(p) future. But he did not realize how fast Hannibal was moving his troops . When Scipio received news of Hannibal, it was too late. Hannibal had moved his entire army across the Rhone, fifty miles north of Massilia . Although Hannibals army had been reduced to twenty-six thousand infantry, nine thousand horses, and five or six elephants, it was a great accomplishment to get across the Rhone. To transport the elephants, the men built hemorrhoid .When the Alps came into view, Hannibal allowed his army a few days to rest, because he knew that his army had doubts about crossing the Alps. Never before had elephants crossed the Alps. The army did not reach the Alps until late in the year, and many troops and horses were killed. rough troops who came from warmer climates died from the cold. Some troops died of hunger because food was forgetful to come by. Others died in fights with mountain tribes. Some of the mountain tribes rolled regretful stones d own the mountains and caused men and animals to fall from the narrow mountain passage .