Hannibal: Rome’s Greatest Enemy

This video is brought to you by Dollar Shave Club. Go to DollarShaveClub.com forward slash biographics to get your starter set for just $5. The power of Ancient Rome seems absolute today. But that wasn't always the case. Over 150 years before the great drama of Julius Caesar, the Roman Republic faced its greatest existential threat. Carthage, the great North African merchant empire, battled Rome for supremacy of the Mediterranean, and at the vanguard of Carthage's forces was one of the most brilliant tacticians the world has ever seen, Hannibal. For nearly 20 years, Hannibal fought against the Romans, waging a war that would ultimately decide the fate of the known world. He invaded Italy and brought terror to the doorstep of Rome itself. Every army sent against him was destroyed, the brilliance of the general allowing him to repeatedly surprise, baffle, outmaneuver, and outfight his enemy. For a time, it seemed Rome itself would be conquered. But in the end, Hannibal was undone, not by Roman armies, but by the apathy and greed of his own leaders. He ended his days in exile, watching as Roman power grew unchecked over his homeland and, eventually, most of the known world. This, today, is the story of Hannibal. To understand Hannibal, you have to understand where he came from. Carthage, located near the modern-day capital of Tunis on the coast of North Africa, began as a small trade colony and quickly bloomed into the center of a vast trading empire. At one point, it controlled all, or large parts, of all the islands of the Western Mediterranean, including Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. This brought them into conflict with the Roman Republic, which was consolidating its hold on the Italian peninsula and expanding outwards in search of power and wealth. In 264 BC, the two powers went to war with each other. A conflict that lasted for over 20 years and was financially and militarily a disaster for the Carthaginians. They were forced to surrender control of much of their island territory, which was a huge blow. They were also forced, by treaty, to pay an indemnity to Rome, which further sapped Carthage's resources. In the midst of this, Hannibal was born in 247 BC, the son of Hamilcar Barca, one of the leading Carthaginian generals during the war with Rome. Hamilcar was engaged in a bitter political struggle with other Carthaginian aristocrats for control of the country. He decided that the best way to advance Carthage's interests, as well as his own, was to conquer the Iberian Peninsula, the modern-day countries of Spain and Portugal. There was enough territory and resources there, especially silver mines, to both pay the war debt to Rome and to rebuild and pay for Carthage's armies. Hamilcar left for this mission in 237 BC, accompanied by his nine-year-old son, Hannibal. Legend says that, before they left, Hamilcar took his son to a temple and had him make a vow of eternal hatred towards Rome. It would be many years before Hannibal would see the city of Carthage again. Over the course of the next nine years, Hamilcar campaigned ceaselessly in Iberia, gaining vast tracts of territory for Carthage and vast amounts of wealth flowing back to the capital, mainly gold and silver, from mines in the conquered territories. During this time, Hannibal grew up surrounded by soldiers, learning the science of war from his father and officers. It was clear that the boy had a talent for battle. By the age of 18, he was already commanding troops. Hamilcar Barca was killed in battle in 228 BC, and command of the Carthaginian forces in Iberia fell to Hannibal's brother-in-law, Hasdrubal the Fair. Over the following years, Hannibal gained more experience and influence. Hasdrubal consolidated Carthage's holdings and signed a treaty with the Romans, designating the Ebro River as the border between Carthaginian-controlled territory and that under the influence of Rome. But Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 BC, and at only 26 years old, Hannibal was appointed commander-in-chief of the army in Iberia. Hannibal continued the Iberian conquest of his father and brother-in-law for the next two years, drawing right up against the Ebro River border Hasdrubal had agreed upon with Rome. The Romans watched Carthage's expansion in Iberia with growing concern. In an attempt to check Hannibal's power in the region, they allied themselves with the city of Saguntum. Saguntum was far south of the Ebro River, and Hannibal felt the Romans had violated the treaty setting the river as a demarcation line. He laid siege to the city and captured it after eight months in 219 BC. Rome sent a delegation to Carthage, demanding that they turn over Hannibal to them to face Roman justice. But the Carthaginian government, appreciative of the treasure Hannibal's conquests were bringing in, backed their general. The Second War between Carthage and Rome had begun. The Battle of Iberia Hannibal decided on a bold strategy to defeat the Romans. He would march overland from Iberia, across southern Gaul, modern-day France, and invade Italy itself. The Romans anticipated this and sent armies to intercept him, but he evaded them and made his way across Gaul at the head of an army of 40,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 38 war elephants. His troops came from all over the place. Many were mercenaries, fighting not for country, but for treasure. Many more were local tribesmen who Hannibal recruited along the way, who hated Rome and would fight with anyone who opposed her. Always one for the audacious, Hannibal crossed the Alps in 218 BC. The journey was hard-going. It's believed that half his army perished in the mountains, including most of his elephants. But he took the Romans completely by surprise when he emerged in the Po Valley in northern Italy, recruiting allies among the local population to bolster his ranks. Opposing him were two Roman armies, commanded by the two consuls elected that year. Publius Scipio was the older of the two and a seasoned commander. But he'd been wounded in an earlier skirmish with Hannibal's forces and hadn't yet recovered. Tiberius Sempronius was brash and headstrong. He was itching to engage Hannibal, despite Scipio cautioning him to wait. The two armies faced each other across the River Trebia. The year was almost over, new consuls would soon be elected for 217, and Sempronius knew that he was about to lose his chance at glory. Military victories were the surest way of political advancement in the Roman Republic. Hannibal knew this, and sought to take advantage of it. On December 21, 218, Hannibal put his plan into motion. He sent a force of Numidian cavalry across the river to harass the Roman camp. In response, Sempronius deployed his entire army to drive them off. The Romans pursued the Numidians back across the River Trebia, forcing the infantry to wade through chest-high water that was freezing cold in the snowy conditions. By the time the army made it across, they were exhausted and probably suffering from hypothermia. Hannibal's army, on the other hand, was well-rested, and he quickly moved to engage the disorganized Romans. Suddenly, a small force under the command of Hannibal's younger brother, Mago, emerged from its hiding place and attacked the Romans from behind, causing the entire formation to break and run. It was a massacre. Many Romans were killed, fleeing for their lives, and more drowned in the river, too exhausted to make it across. It's believed the Roman army suffered 28,000 to 30,000 casualties that day, compared to only 5,000 for Hannibal. The Battle of the River Trebia was a resounding success for Hannibal. It was the first demonstration of his tactical genius, and the first time he had truly terrified Rome. But it wouldn't be the last. And one thing you don't have to be terrified of is shaving with bad razors, which I'd know something about. I used to use the cheap ones. They cut up my head fairly bad, obviously I don't shave my beard, but I do shave up here. Dollar Shave Club covers all of your grooming needs, as well. Shower, oral care, deodorants, and, of course, shaving. Dollar Shave Club sent me their Ultimate Shave Starter Set, which I have right here. It has all these essential ingredients you need. And, of course, you have this razor, it's got six blades, this is the executive handle, which I mean, treat yourself well, get started with that, and, of course, with that, you get something called a prep scrub, which you put on beforehand, you have the shave butter, which of course you use during, and then there's my favorite thing right here. My favorite thing is the post-shave dew. Now, my head gets a little dry sometimes when I shave it, so I just pop a little bit of that stuff on top, and it's perfect. So, you can get started with Dollar Shave Club today for just $5 for their Ultimate Shave Starter Set. Just go to dollarshaveclub.com forward slash biographics, so you can get started with their Ultimate Shave Starter Set, it's only $5, and also round out your grooming routine by adding any one of their other products. Just go to dollarshaveclub.com forward slash biographics, you get that $5 Ultimate Shave Starter Set, and after that, the restock box ships at the regular price, and let's get In the spring of 217, Hannibal decided he needed to march south. The Gaelic allies he'd won over after the Battle of Tredia would not remain his friends for long if his army sat still and ate all the food in the region, instead of fighting the hated Romans. Meanwhile, on the Roman side, the two newly elected consuls were sent north with armies in order to stop Hannibal. There were only two roads that Hannibal could use to advance south, and the Roman plan was for each consul to position his army on one of these routes, forcing Hannibal to fight his way through them, and giving the other army time to reinforce. Gnaeus Sevilleus was in command of the Eastern army on the Adriatic coast, while Gaius Flaminus commanded the Western army at Aritaeum. This is south of the Apennine Mountains in central Italy. Hannibal was faced with two bad options, but again, showing the audacity for which he was quickly becoming a legend, he chose the third route. The Arno river valley, to the west of Flaminus' position, was known for flooding at that time of year, and was considered to be impassable to an army, so it wasn't guarded. Hannibal's army boldly crossed it in just four days. Though the march was not without loss, many men drowned in the marshes or died of infection, and Hannibal himself was blinded in one eye by such an infection, Hannibal once again had surprised the Romans by appearing where he wasn't supposed to be. Flaminius sent word to Sevilleus to come to his support. Hannibal knew that he couldn't allow both Roman armies to combine, so he resolved to destroy Flaminius before Sevilleus could arrive. He attempted to goad Flaminius into battle by laying waste to the countryside around Aritaeum, and when that didn't work, he boldly marched completely around Flaminius and cut him off from Rome. Then he continued south, as if marching on the city. Flaminius was another Roman commander who was prone to impestuousness and rash action, and this insult by Hannibal could not go unchallenged. He rallied his troops and started quickly after Hannibal, while Sevilleus was still too far away to help him. On June 21, 217, Flaminius was pursuing the Carthaginian army down a narrow road hemmed in on the side by tall hills and on the right by the shores of Lake Trasimene. A thick mist hung over the area, reducing visibility. The Romans were strung out in marching formation, still believing that Hannibal was ahead of them on the move. Suddenly, trumpets sounded from their left. Unknown to the Romans, Hannibal had doubled back during the night, positioning his army in the hills above the road. He was in a perfect position to ambush Flaminius. The Romans were caught completely by surprise. The Carthaginian forces rushed down the hills and attacked the unprepared Romans. More units cut the road on both sides, pinning the enemy between their swords and the waters of the lake. Many legionaries attempted to flee from the Carthaginians by swimming, most of whom drowned in their heavy armor. Flaminius was dead, hacked to pieces by Hannibal's Gaelic allies, and the rest of the army didn't fare much better. At least 15,000 men were killed, and another 15,000 were taken prisoner. The Battle of Lake Trasimene remained, to this day, the largest and most successful ambush in military history. With Flaminius' army destroyed and Sevilleus' army unexpectedly pinned in place by attacking Gauls along the Adriatic coast, there was now no one to oppose Hannibal. Rome panicked at the thought of the Carthaginian general at the gates to their city, and appointed a dictator, Fabius Maximus, to save the Republic. Hannibal, meanwhile, decided not to attack Rome at this time. He didn't think he needed to in order to bring them to heel. He figured by turning Rome's Italian allies against them, and hampering their ability to make war by destroying and looting their food supplies, he could force them to the negotiating table. The aim of the war was not to conquer the Roman Republic, but to regain the lost territories of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, and to humble Rome, as Rome had done to Carthage at the end of the First War. But Hannibal had misjudged his enemy. The Romans were what modern military tacticians would call a total war nation. The fate of the entire nation rode on its military success. They did not surrender. They would rather Rome be burned to the ground than negotiate with a victorious enemy. Many people consider Hannibal's bypassing Rome instead of besieging it in 217 as his greatest mistake. Regardless, Hannibal was now loose south of Rome, burning and pillaging as he went, pursued by Fabius at the head of a new army. Fabius adopted a new strategy. Instead of seeking open battle with Hannibal, he sought to contain him, to shadow his movements, and force him into making a mistake. But this strategy wasn't popular with the Roman Senate. Especially not the aristocrats, whose estates were being looted in Campania. They urged him to pursue a more aggressive strategy, but Fabius refused. He'd already seen two Roman armies destroyed by Hannibal, and he wasn't about to be the third. But Fabius' prestige was damaged when Hannibal escaped a planned encirclement through a clever ruse at Aegia Falernus, and the Roman public was beginning to deride him as a coward. He was removed from his post as a dictator, and the Republic elected two new consuls for 216. Terentius Varro and Aemilius Paulus. Both were placed in co-command of a massive new army of 86,000 men, the largest Rome had ever fielded, in order to stop Hannibal. Hannibal had spent the time since his escape from Fabius encouraging defections from Rome's Italian allies in the south, and attacking Roman settlements. He heard about the deployment of the massive Roman force against him, and moved quickly to strike first, capturing the important supply depot at Cannae on the Adriatic coast. Once again, he was forcing the Romans into a battle on the ground of his choosing. On August 2nd, 216, the two armies met outside of Cannae. Varro in command of the army that day, Roman law required the two consuls to alternate command each day, tightly packed his legionaries together in order to smash the Carthaginians in the center of their battle line. As a result, though he had vastly more troops than Hannibal did, their battle lines were roughly the same size. Hannibal, anticipating this, planned to use Varro's deep formation against him. He placed light infantry in the center of his line, and his strongest infantry on his two flanks. When the battle was joined, the center of Hannibal's line was forced back, while the flanks held firm. Hannibal's line took on a crescent shape, drawing more and more legionaries to the center of the attack. What they didn't realize, however, was that they were being drawn into a trap. Pushing back Hannibal's line in the center, and not in the flanks, they had surrounded themselves on three sides with enemy troops, and their already tight formation became even tighter to the point of many Romans being unable to swing their weapons. At this crucial moment, the Carthaginian cavalry, who had chased off the Roman horsemen earlier in the battle, returned and attacked the Romans from the rear. The Roman army was now completely surrounded, and Hannibal ordered all forces to attack. It was a complete slaughter. The Romans had nowhere to go, and were killed by the tens of thousands. By the time darkness fell, there was nothing left of the Roman army. It had been utterly annihilated. The few survivors, led by Varro, escaped back to Rome to reveal the horror to the Roman people. The totality of the defeat was astounding. In one day, the Romans had suffered 68,000 casualties. The dead included the other consular commander, Aemilius, and over 100 other Romans who held high leadership positions in the Republic, including 80 senators. Hannibal's brother, Mago, demonstrated the scale of the victory by overturning a large urn filled with gold signet rings in the Carthaginian Senate, each ring taken from the hand of a slain Roman nobleman. The Battle of Cannae would be the worst defeat suffered by Rome in her 1,000 year history as a Republic, and later as an Empire. Things got even worse for the Romans after Cannae, the entire south of Italy, defected to Hannibal's side, including two of the largest cities on the peninsula, Capua and Tarentum. In addition, the kingdoms of Macedon and Syracuse allied with Carthage against Rome. In less than two years, Rome had lost 20% of her military age males to Hannibal's campaigns. The entire Italian peninsula was devastated. And yet, when Hannibal offered to negotiate peace terms, the Roman Senate refused. They would not give up. And so the war continued. The Battle of Cannae Hannibal did not march on Rome after Cannae, though many in his army called for him to do so. His reasoning for doing so was the same as when he didn't attack the city the year before. That wasn't the goal of this war. He continued to consolidate his position in southern Italy, rallying more Italian allies to his cause, while the Romans returned to the Fabian strategy of containment over open battle. And this is the point where things started to go against Hannibal. While Carthage celebrated Hannibal's victories, they seemed to treat the Italian invasion as a sideshow of the war. Hannibal was never seriously reinforced or resupplied from Carthage. All of Carthage's available troops were being sent to places like Iberia, where a Roman army had been sent to block Hannibal's reinforcement and to efforts to retake Sicily. The central failing of Carthage was coming to light. They were too greedy, trying to take too much territory, fight on too many fronts at once. This was caused by Carthage not being a martial culture the way Rome was. Sons of wealthy Carthaginian aristocrats were not expected to serve in the army the way Romans were. They relied heavily on mercenaries, which required vast sums of money to maintain. That in turn required territory and treasure from her existing armies and trade fleets. The bottom line was that, for essentially the entire time he was in Italy, Hannibal was on his own, fighting a personal battle with Rome and being supported very little by his home country. He remained, essentially, a stalemate in Southern Italy for years, fighting back and forth in a battle with an increasingly strong Roman force. Meanwhile, the Romans repulsed the Carthaginians in Sicily and, in Iberia, the Romans were using the same tactic Hannibal was, recruiting local allies to fight on their behalf. The turning point came in 204 BC. Scipio Africanus, Rome's best general, who'd commanded armies to great success in Iberia, invaded Africa. Carthage seemed unable to stop him and, in desperation, recalled Hannibal from Italy to defend the Carthaginian homeland. And so, 15 years after crossing the Alps, Hannibal left Italy behind and returned to Africa for the first time since he was a small boy. In command of a large army, including veterans of his Italian campaign, he faced Scipio Adzama in 202. But this time, he faced an enemy who had studied Hannibal's tactics and the best ways to counter him. Hannibal's army was defeated, in large part due to the superiority of the Roman cavalry, which had been a critical weakness of their armies in Italy. The war was over. Carthage was forced to agree to peace terms even harsher than that at the end of the First War, essentially ending any hope of ever challenging Rome again. Hannibal started a political career in Carthage after the war, hoping to rebuild the country's shattered economy. But he was driven into exile by his enemies, who wanted to surrender him to the Romans. He found refuge in the court of the Seleucid King Antiochus III in Anatolia, modern-day Turkey. He served as a chief military advisor there. But Antiochus was defeated by the Romans in 188 BC, and Hannibal left again for the kingdom of Bithynia, which was on the shores of the Black Sea. But the Romans eventually tracked him down, and threatened the Bithynians with handing him over. Hannibal heard they were coming, and refused to be taken by his lifelong enemy. He committed suicide by drinking poison as the Romans crossed to his home in 181 at the age of 66. Carthage itself only outlived its greatest son by 35 years. The Romans went to war with Carthage a third time in 146 BC, capturing the city and burning it to the ground. It's difficult to overstate the impact Hannibal had on world history. His campaign was the last serious threat posed to the Roman Republic by an external invader It would go on to become one of the greatest empires in world history. The lessons learned against Hannibal were surely influential in that, as their militia army that had been beaten by Hannibal was transformed into a professional force that defeated every opponent they faced. And they weren't fighting each other. Hannibal became a bogeyman for every Roman. When calamity would strike a Roman citizen, a common term or phrase was, Hannibal is at the gates. Hannibal's tactics were revolutionary for the time period he lived in. Over the course of the next 2,200 years, every great commander studied Hannibal, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and Robert E. Lee. His tactics are still taught in military academies today. His victory at Cannae, in particular, is cited as a true masterpiece of military strategy, being the perfect battle. How much would things have been different had Hannibal's invasion gone differently? There's no way to know for sure, but there is no doubt that he stands as one of the most talented, audacious, and truly great military leaders of not just the ancient world, but of all world history.