a military commander. Hamilcar’s brother-in-law, Has-
drubal, became the Carthage forces’ commander, but
he was murdered in 222 b.c., and Hannibal, now 25,
became commander in chief of the Carthaginian armies
fighting in Spain.
Hannibal’s military strategy was not unlike his fa-
ther’s: He showed little or no mercy for his enemies. At-
tacking the Romans in Spain, he captured Salamanca in
220 and in 219 attacked and defeated Saguntum when
Rome, busily fighting the Second Illyrian War, could
not come to the city’s assistance. Hasdrubal had prom-
ised Rome he would never attack Saguntum, and angry
Romans demanded Hannibal’s arrest and extradition.
Ignoring them, Hannibal named his brother, also called
Hasdrubal, as commander of the Carthaginian armies
in Spain, and in 218 b.c. he crossed the River Ebro and
advanced into Gaul (today’s France). Rome, still angered
over the attack on Saguntum, declared all-out war on
Carthage, initiating the Second Punic War.
Instead of reinforcing his armies in Spain, Han-
nibal decided to preempt the Roman assault and move
into Italy on his own. With an army of some 40,000
men and, for the first time, 37 elephants used as batter-
ing rams and attack mechanisms—almost like modern
tanks—he crossed the River Rhône and passed through
the Alps and across the River Po near what is now the
city of Turin, Italy. Although under the control of Rome,
the Po Valley was inhabited by Gauls who had been en-
slaved by the Romans and welcomed the Carthaginian
army. Rome, seeing the danger in Hannibal enlisting the
Italian Gauls to his side, sent an army to fight him. At
Ticinus in 218 b.c., 26,000 Carthaginians under Hanni-
bal and 25,000 Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio
(better known as sciPio africanus [the Elder]) fought
at a river near Turin. The Romans were defeated with
heavy casualties, and Scipio was wounded. With this
victory, some 14,000 Gauls joined Hannibal’s forces.
The Romans again tried to stop Hannibal at Treb-
bia, near Placentia (what is now Piacenza, Italy). Scipio
had retreated south and was joined by two legions
commanded by the Roman consul Tiberius Sempro-
nius Gracchus. Adopting the suggestion of his younger
brother Mago, Hannibal sent out a small force to make
the Romans believe the Carthaginian troops were small
in numbers. This diversion force caused Sempronius to
move his men across a frozen river, where Mago was hid-
ing with over 2,000 men, split between infantry and cav-
alry. The Romans were attacked first by Mago’s troops,
then by thousands of Carthaginian, Spanish, and Gallic
light infantry backed by elephants. As the Romans fled,
thousands were attacked on the frozen river, into which
they fell and drowned in untold numbers. Sempronius
retreated with some 10,000 men to Placentia. Roman
losses are estimated to be approximately 15,000–20,000,
although exact numbers are impossible to calculate. Car-
thaginian losses were light.
Hannibal marched toward the Apennine Moun-
tains in northern Italy, attacking and ravaging the
countryside; during a minor battle, he lost an eye. The
Romans again attacked, at Lake Trasimeno (now Trasi-
mene, 217 b.c.). The Romans, 25,000 soldiers under
the Roman consul Gaius Flaminius, attacked without
support from a larger Roman army under his fellow con-
sul Gnaeus Servilius Geminus. Hannibal set a trap for
Flaminius similar to the one he had set for Sempronius:
His men lit fires far from his actual camp to make the
Romans believe his army was further away than it actu-
ally was. Flaminius then marched his men toward Lake
Trasimeno, thus sending them into the Carthaginian
trap. As they were blocked in on one road, Hannibal’s
forces swept down on them, forcing the Romans to fight
an enemy they could not see. The rear of the Roman
army broke quickly, and these men fled into the lake,
where they drowned as they were attacked. The center,
led by Flaminius, tried to fight, but they were cut down
by Gallic cavalry. Only a few Romans escaped through
the fog of the early morning; left behind were Flaminius
and 15,000 dead Romans.
After this victory, Hannibal expected Rome to sur-
render, but instead, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verruco-
sus was named as the new Roman commander, with full
dictatorial powers to defeat the Carthaginians. However,
Fabius was slow to raise an army, and he was mocked
as “cunctator” (“the Delayer”). Consequently, he was
removed from power and replaced by Marcus Claudis
Marcellus, and a new Roman army was sent to defeat
Hannibal. On 2 August 216 b.c. at Cannae on the Aufi-
dus (now the Ofanto) River, Hannibal was confronted
by a superior Roman force of some 85,000 under Teren-
tius Varro and Aemilius Paullus, significantly outnum-
bering his 50,000-man army. Nevertheless, surrounding
the Romans with his cavalry, Hannibal’s forces cut them
down by the thousands, and his infantry finished the
job. Some 50,000 Romans lay dead after the battle;
Hannibal lost approximately 5,700. This battle, the
worst in Roman history, is cited by historians as a clas-hAnnibAl