Ian's Hannibal
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I swear that so soon as age will permit...I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome!......Hannibal age nine (com.pg.1)
EARLY YEARS
The Romans and Carthaginians had been fighting for many years in wars called the Punic Wars. Before the start of the second Punic War, Hamilcar Barca, a great Carthaginian general, was expanding the Carthaginian lands into Spain. The Romans saw this as a threat and attacked. The Carthaginian Hamilcar was a great general and used military hide and seek techniques to defeat Roman armies. However Hamilcarís techniques could not last forever and he and his army were finally defeated. He signed a treaty which took a lot of Carthaginian land, enabled Romans to have control of the whole Mediterranean Sea, which was their main goal, and the Carthaginians also had to pay money.
When Hamilcar died he left his step son Hasdrubal in charge. Hasdrubal was weak in confidence and let Hannibal, his step brother, do most of the work. Hannibal automatically wanted to get revenge on the Romans and defeat them. But he was smart and knew he had to wait. When Hasdrubal didnít like the Army life he handed over the job to Hannibal.
At age 26 Hannibal had control over 100,000 soldiers. He was the leader of Carthage and the whole Carthaginian army. Hannibal was as powerful as Alexander the Great.
2ND PUNIC WAR
To gain this much power, Hannibal won a lot of battles. He won one battle that would enable him to start a war with the Romans. This battle was called the Battle of Saguntun. It was a long and hard fought battle. It started when the Saguntians went to Carthage and told Hannibal not to cross the river Ebro, because it was in an agreement pact. When the Saguntians left Carthage they killed and slaughtered a small tribe of Taressian settlers who were allies of the Carthaginians. Because of this, Hannibal declared war on the Saguntians. Hannibal defeated the Saguntians on their land and ordered his men to take the treasures they found back to Carthage. The Saguntians were Roman allies. When the Roman Serate heard of the destruction they were mad and couldnít believe the Carthaginians would break the treaty. This started the Second Punic War.
CROSSING THE ALPS
Once Hannibal had Saguntum, he let his soldiers rest for a winter. He also prepared troops to march on Rome. Hannibal knew he couldnít go by the sea so he decided to go through the Alps into northern Italy. His troops were scared of the plan but they listened. Hannibal took 50,000 foot soldiers, 9,000 horse riding calvary, a baggage train which carried supplies and 37 armored and trained war elephants.
Hannibal and his army began moving towards Rome in 218 BC. The Army marched for 5 months in Spain and France. During the first day in the Alps the army was ambushed by mountain tribesmen. The tribesmen threw boulders at the army from the cliffs. Many soldiers died. At night the tribesmen left and Hannibal led some soldiers onto the cliffs to stop the tribesmenís assaults. When the tribesmen came the next day they were attacked by Hannibalís troops. This enabled Hannibal and his troops to march again.
For the next few days no tribesmen came to fight. When one day a group of tribesmen offered to lead Hannibal to Italy more swiftly he agreed but told his men to be ready for an ambush. When the army turned a corner a bunch of tribesmen blocked the path. Hannibal put his elephants in the front of his army and they slaughtered all the tribesmen in the way. Although many tribesmen were killed, many soldiers fell off the surrounding cliffs. And even worse, the guides led him further from Italy. Instead of going back down the path to relocate himself in the direction of Italy, he decided to make his own path. Hannibal used the stars and the Pyrenees to help him find his way. As far as the eye could see was covered in snow and ice so Hannibal and his soldiers were cold and wandering. But Hannibal never gave up hope and never gave in!
Once, after most of the snow had melted Hannibal and his army could see beautiful green fields of Italy. Now the last hazard had to be accomplished. The problem was the steep slopes at the bottom of the Alps. The elephants couldnít go down the steep declines. So the army cut a trail through the trees and made a winding path down the mountains. On this 15th day since Hannibal and his army entered the Alps, they reached Italy.
INVADING ITALY
When Hannibal and his army entered Italy, the Romans were shocked. They did not expect the army to actually be in Italy. Never the less, Roman armies marched north to challenge Hannibal, but they were all killed. Finally, Rome, after two years of Hannibalís invasions sent Quintus Fabius Maximus Vernucosus Cuntor to stop Hannibal. He stopped Hannibal so that Hannibal couldn't get to Rome. But Fabius knew he couldnít hold Hannibal for long, so finally the two forces met at the River Poe in Cannae. At this battle Hannibal and his army destroyed the Roman army. They killed more than 50,000 Roman soldiers. This was one of the greatest losses Rome had ever had. The Carthaginians only lost 6,700.
At the end of the battle, Hannibal asked for reinforcements from Carthage. The government sent him none. Hannibal used the forces he had to try and take Neopolis, but he couldnít take the city. After a winter in Capua, a town Hannibal conquered during battle of Cannae, Hannibal tried to march on Rome with his small army. He failed to take Rome and in the process the Romans retook Capua. The loss of the town made many Italian allies leave the army. Hannibal now had a small army and he needed reinforcements. His brother Hasdrubal tried bringing forces to him but his army was attacked by Romans and he was assassinated.
THE FINAL YEARS
After 15 years in Italy, Hannibal had to return to Carthage to defend against Roman invasion. The Roman general Scipio was attacking Carthage and Hannibal and his few troops went to meet Scipioís army. When the battle began many Carthaginian troops ran and fled the army. Then the Romans killed many of soldiers who didnít flee.
Hannibal returned to Carthage, which had been taken by Rome, to make plans for another war. This angered the Romans and they declared Hannibal surrender himself to their custody. Hannibal fled to Syria and Prussia, but the Romans still followed. When Hannibal made it to Asia Minor he committed suicide by taking poison at the age of 65.
Let us now put an end to the worries of the Romans, who cannot stand to wait for the death of a hated old man... . . Hannibalís last words.
Hannibal was a very important person in our history. He was a person who believed in his dreams. He wanted to accomplish his dreams to such a great extent that he would go across the Alps, the highest mountains in Europe, on elephant and horse just to fulfill his dreams of destroying the Roman army. When the snow and ice built up so high it was hard to walk in he kept on going. He was the first to every mountain peak. He never gave in and that is a trait that should be respected by everyone.
By Ian O, '02, Germantown Academey
