Hannibal Barca

Hannibal Barca

Hannibal Barca (247–c. 183 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who led Carthage against Rome in the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). The son of the commander Hamilcar Barca, he is said by ancient historians to have vowed as a boy never to be a friend of Rome. In 218 BC he marched from Spain across the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy with an army that included war elephants, a crossing still regarded as a classic achievement of ancient military history. At Cannae in 216 BC he won a victory whose tactics are still studied in military academies. After some 15 years in Italy he was recalled to defend Carthage and was defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama in 202 BC. He then served as a chief magistrate of Carthage, reforming its finances, and spent his last years in exile in the eastern Mediterranean.

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Napoleon's Great Captains of History

Napoleon Bonaparte urged soldiers to read and reread the campaigns of history's great captains, naming among them Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus and Frederick the Great. Spanning more than two thousand years, these commanders were admired for their strategy, leadership and organization of armies, and their campaigns remain classic subjects in the study of military history.

  1. Alexander the Great

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  2. Julius Caesar

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  3. Gustavus Adolphus

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  4. Frederick the Great

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  5. Napoleon Bonaparte

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