Introduction
If the second Punic war is to be discussed, I think it is very important to discuss the first Punic war and its motivations and outcomes, because there is a significant link between the two. Of course, as we know a second of anything is made possible by the first, and in the case of the Punic wars, the first war not only made way for the second, it also gave birth and motivation to one of the greatest and most influential participants of the second Punic war, Hannibal. As we explore the dusk of the first Punic war to the dawn of the second, we can see how Hannibal as a military commander was destined to wreak havoc on the Roman military.
First Punic War Summary
It all started in 264 B.C in the city of Messana located on the southeast
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corner of the Island of Sicily. Havoc was wreaked on the city by Campanian Soldiers, who claimed the city as their own and called themselves “Mamertines.”(Morey, 1901) The King of Syracuse-a city due south of Messana-, launched an attack on the Mamertines who called on the assistance of the Romans-who had more influence in the region. While the Romans contemplated aiding the Mamertines, the assistance of Carthage - the second but not the least influence of power on the island- was also called upon. Roman forces arrived to find Carthaginian presence in Messana and thus started the conflict between Rome and Carthage. The romans would succeed in battling the Carthaginians out of Messana. That was a won battle, but to win the war the Carthaginians were to be attacked on their forte- the sea. The Romans then made genuine efforts to match their navy to that of the Carthaginians and launched a successful sea attack, proving victorious in the first Punic war. Carthage now suffered submission to Rome in the form of yearly tributes, and Rome having defeated the second influence in Sicily, claimed the island as their Province. Destined for Greatness Carthage during all these encounters with Rome, was under the leadership of Hamiclair Barca. The city was now humbled by defeat but that didn’t stop Hamiclair Barca from launching a rebuilding and expansion agenda of Carthage’s reach. Rome at a certain point was even threatened by Carthage’s growth due north toward Italy and ordered them to cease, which they promptly obeyed and continued expansion due south instead. Hasdrubal continued this mission after Hamiclair’s death, and he was then succeeded by Hannibal- son of Hamiclair. Hannibal must have grew up in a very anti- Rome environment, more so reinforced by an aura of vengeance in Carthage, especially after the fall of his people in the Punic war. His whole childhood must have been spent in preparation for his ultimate destiny- the destruction of Rome. Thou shalt pay: Second Punic War Hannibal, now commander of the Carthaginian army wasted no time in provoking the Roman army to a battle. He attacked Rome’s allies in the hope of getting their attention- and so did he. That act was instrumental in starting the Second Punic war. Now we see the importance of Hannibal in this war- as the initiator-, and we will see more of him in the outcome of the war. Hannibal went on to invade Italy and was met by resistance from a Roman army on which he landed a massive blow on the battle at River Trebia.
There was yet another Hannibal led victory at Lake Trasumenus, where he made a series predictions and judgements to enable him to drop an ambush on a large Roman army resulting in a significant defeat of the Romans. Hannibal seemed to always be a step ahead of his Roman counterparts as he proceeded to capture Northern Italy. It was then that the Roman army commander, Fabius Maximus thought he had Hannibal and his troops entrapped by guarding the way out of Italy. Hannibal would prove superior yet again by outwitting him, using herds of cattle as decoy to escape entrapment. “He ordered his light-armed troops in the night to drive up the mountain side a herd of cattle, with lighted fagots tied to their horns.” (Morey, …show more content…
1901) Even when Fabius Maximus was replaced by a supposedly harsher leadership, Hannibal would lay siege upon the Roman army and cause them great loss at the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal now won the loyalty and alliance of many cities who looked upon him and his forces for protection from Rome. This gain of allies although made Hannibal even more powerful, I believe was contributing factor to the weakening of his forces and his eventual downfall. While Rome and its Latium constituents remained united and loyal, that of Hannibal- for Carthage- was spread thin among its new allies. After a failed attempt by Hannibal to rescue its ally city, Capua from Roman punishment- after the city supported Carthage instead of Rome- he went into Southern Italy where his victory run would come to an end.
The Romans would gain momentum on Hannibal by destroying some of its his ally towns and also his only hope for support: his brother Hasdrubal.
It ends here in Africa
In Africa at the battle of Zama, is where Hannibal would meet his match. The same way Hannibal started the second Punic war- by luring the roman army to its allies under attack- is the same way he was lured into Africa by a series of calculated attacks on the Carthaginians homeland, all orchestrated by Publius Scipio. Publius Scipio, like Hannibal was a young and brilliant military commander and at the battle of Zama finally proved superior by defeating Hannibal and his forces, bringing Carthage to its knees. “In this battle Hannibal was defeated, and the Carthaginian army was annihilated.”(Morey, 1901)
“Post
war-tem” The defeat of Carthage opened great possibilities for Rome as the conqueror of the Mediterranean Region. Fines and decrees were imposed on Carthage to ensure it was no longer a threat. I believe the importance of fines on a city was that there would be less funds available to build a military or start a revolt. In addition to the fines, there was a demand and reclamation of vast regions of lands by Rome including islands near Italy and Spain itself. The Punic wars that started as a contest for the island of Sicily would result in the solidification of Rome’s place as the superpower of the Mediterranean.
Soon the second Punic War began because Carthage was infuriated with their treatment and torments from the Empire of Rome. This war was even worse than the first, and it shook Rome to its core. The first World War began with an accumulation of many causes, but one of the more influential problems was land hunger or imperialism. When Germany lost, it had the same treatment from the world that Carthage got from Rome. In the same case, the Second World War began because of the humiliation given to Germany with the peace treaty.
Publius (Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian and senator who wrote several historical documents, including some discussing ancient Britain. In approximately 98 CE, Tacitus wrote a particular document called, “Galgacus: On Roman Imperialism,” which focused on a speech supposedly delivered by Galgacus, a Briton military leader. If Tacitus in fact did write this speech celebrating the Britons and calling them to fight for freedom, why would he use Galgacus’s name? Firstly, Tacitus was a Roman senator who witnessed imperialism’s negative impact so he imagined this speech to criticize the Roman Empire’s barbarism without incriminating himself. Secondly, this speech celebrates the Britons while demonizing the Romans, which again, would be dangerous to claim as one’s own. Finally, by being a historian, Tacitus was interested in recording the past, so through this speech, Tacitus preserves a history that would have been lost otherwise. Clearly, from the reasons behind using Galgacus’s name and the words he uses, Tacitus did write this speech, and an analysis of the work will show this. Analyzing the words Tacitus uses will also highlight his authorship, but they also provide readers with an insight into both societies.
Hannibal’s campaign against Saguntum, who was an ally of Rome at the time was became a prelude for the beginning of the Second Punic War. Although this conflict was believed to have been instigated by the Romans who instilled hostility towards Carthage in Saguntum’s government. Hannibal marched on the city, lay siege to it and later claimed it after its fall 8 months later. Outraged the Romans declared war on Carthage and thus the Second Punic War ensued. He then
One of Caesar’s greatest victories in battle was just after he had gained control over the lands of Bituriges, Vercingetorix. He started to lead his army to the Boii oppidum of Gorgobina, another city under his control. On the way, he stopped his troops at Vellaundunum, oppidum of the Senones, and set up siege. He did not want to leave any enemies behind him who might get in the way of the grain deliveries and supply. The Carnutes, one of Rome’s enemies, had just heard of the siege at Vellaundunum. They gathered troops to Garrison Cenabum, the Carnutes stronghold. Caesar’s army camped out right in front of the fort.
Hannibal spent 16 years of his life in Spain training in military camps. Learning different types of war tactics and learning to become a sharp minded commander so he could eventually run the Carthage military. In 221 BCE the son in law of Hamilcar Barca; Hasdrubal was assassinated. At the age of 26 Hannibal was now the new commander of the Carthage military. Just 5 years before Hannibal had become commander the Ebro Treaty with Rome said that they could not cross Spain’s Ebro River with idea to conquer. There was a city south of the treaty line known as Saguntum who were allies with Rome. In 219 Hannibal decided to conquer Saguntum because they had supposedly been attacking local allied tribes of Carthage. It took Hannibal 8 months to seize the city of Saguntum. This was the start of the second Punic war.
Since the beginning of time, man has waged war on his neighbors, his friends and his enemies. In many cases these wars were caused by power-hungry nations that were in the process of expanding their empire and ended up stepping on the toes of another superpower or ally of a superpower. In the case of the first Punic War between Rome and Carthage, Carthage was extending its empire and they stepped on Rome’s toes. During the course of this war the winner was unclear but at times victory seemed eminent for both sides until Rome finally won. The Romans had control in the first part of the war but this would not last. After the Romans first win they decided that they needed a victory over the city of Carthage but this would turn the tides in favor of the Carthaginians. For some 15 years after this defeat of Rome the tides went back and forth between the two but would eventually lead to the Romans victory. After the victory, Rome made some very harsh demands and Carthage filled those demands even though some of them were very extreme.
Hannibal's first battle took place when he was only nine. He went on an expedition with his father, Hamilcar Barca, to conquer Spain. From the beginning Carthage’s push into Spain, Hannibal vowed eternal hatred for Rome; Hannibal became Commander in Chief of Carthage’s army when he was 26 after his father was assassinated. His conquest of the Roman town of Sagunto in Spain led to a new declaration of war by Rome; which started the second Punic War and Hannibal’s promise to visit Roman injustice back on Rome a hundred fold. For Carthage to take the town of Sagunto was completely within the rights of the Carthage and the treaty but Rome at the time was getting too big and becoming very imperialistic. All Rome could see was that they had to have all of the Mediterranean and the only thing that stood in their way was a single General and his men. The way in which the Romans were unconsciously straying from "mos maiorum" to manipulate the course of events was disturbing. Though these actions were not entirely the "evil" work of Rome. Hannibal from his earliest memories could recall nothing but hatred for Rome. Hannibal’s Father had instilled a horrifically self-destructive desire within Hannibal to see the fall of Rome.
The warriors of Boudicca’s warriors successfully defeated the Roman and absolutely destroyed the Romans, in their own capital. They even went on to destroy London and St Albans. The army of Romans left these particular towns largely unprotected. The cost of Boudicca’s victory in these first three battles, this is in terms of human lives, was high. The battle of warfare was brutal for majority of the time and all the towns were totally destroyed. Thousands of people left the cities; and raffle 70,000 and 80,000 citizens were killed, with out of those were 2000 Roman soldiers. With two of the soldiers having no interest in the taking or selling prisoners, Tacitus and Britons, instead they used slaughter by Gilbert, fire or
Finally his sudden death was the result of various personal factors that insulted the senators and created hate between Caesar and them, believing his death was expected. His death then led to a domino effect, which ends in the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire. Caesar was assassinated by his own Senate. Julius Caesar had many men conspiring against him with a plot to assassinate him. Among the 60 men plotting to murder him, many were senators, which included Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Brutus Albinus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Brutus believed the death of Caesar would bring the return of the old Roman spirit unfortunately, the city was in shock, and people became increasingly more aggressive, because Caesar was popular with the people of Rome. Unfortunately, peace was impossible and the conspirators fled to
The Second Punic war, beginning in 218 BC, was the second major war between the Roman Empire and the Carthage. Around the same time, the Roman Empire deployed troops to the Northeastern peninsula of Spain to keep reinforcements, from the Carthaginian South, from getting to Hannibal’s armies in Italy to assist them. In A Histor...
10. "The Punic Wars (264-241, 218-202, 149-146 B.C.)." The Punic Wars (264-241, 218-202, 149-146 B.C.). http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/punicwars1.html (accessed March 9, 2014).
Hannibal Barca was born in 247 B.C. in the city of Carthage, which was located in modern Tunis, or the northern tip of Africa. His father, Hamilcar Barca, was a great Carthaginian general of the army who fought in the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage, which the latter lost. At a very young age, Hamilcar made Hannibal promise “eternal hatred towards Rome” (Lendering, 1). At around age nine, Hannibal accompanied his father on an expedition to gain a hold in Spain. During this time was when Hannibal probably gained most of his military knowledge that helped him greatly later in life. When Hannibal’s father and older brother died in 229 and 226, Hannibal was elected commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian army. About ten years later, Hannibal, acting on his promise to his father, attacked the city of Sagantum in Spain, which was controlled by the Romans. This attack led to the start of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome.
Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian military general who promised as a kid to always think of Rome as his enemy. He grew up and fought against Rome, but in the end he failed to win after fighting many battles. Even though Hannibal’s career was technically considered a failure, it is believed by some that his career was not entirely bad. In this essay we will talk about Hannibal’s rise to power, the Second Punic war, and his later career and death. When studying the career of Hannibal the subject of failure is important because although he was judged a failure by some at the time, history proved him to be a success in many ways.
Hannibal’s tactics in the field were brilliant, even Scipio attested to that. His quick marches up and down Italy astonished the Romans and made their strategy much more complex. Hannibal was at an obvious disadvantage in regards of reinforcements and provisions. In 204, the Italian general Scipio landed in Carthage. He was so successful Carthage begged for peace the following year. Terms were agreed upon, and Hannibal was called on. The sight of Hannibal caused the Carthaginians to resist, however, and hostilities were renewed. The two armies met and fought in 202 at Zama. This battle would decide the outcome of the war. This time Hannibal had finally met his match; a superior cavalry outnumbered him. Hannibal and his army, nearly destroyed, managed to escape. Peace was made the next year. Rome restricted the Carthaginian navy viciously and demanded a heavy se...
It has been many years trying to conquer one small town after another to get to Rome. I thought Hannibal was a good general because we were successful in conquering all of the small towns before we got to Rome. Many of the decisions Hannibal made did not