After the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal collected over two hundred gold signet rings from the bodies of upper-class Romans who had fallen on the battlefield and put them in an urn. He sent his younger brother Mago back to Carthage to persuade the Senate to provide more men and materiel to Hannibal’s cause. Mago poured […]
Book Review: Kindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes
November 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment
This book brings us up to date on the latest scientific thinking about the Neanderthals. The book is for readers who are intensely interested in the subject. It contains a lot of archeological jargon and minutiae, but an interested reader will learn a lot from reading it. For me it raised more questions than it […]
Was There Opposition in Rome to the Destruction of Carthage?
November 14, 2021 By Leave a Comment
The destruction of Carthage was not without opposition in Rome. Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder ended every speech in the Senate or in the Forum with the words “Cetera censeo Cartagine esse delendum!”- And furthermore I think that Carthage must be destroyed.” Publius Cornelius Nasica Corculum, the Pontifex Maximus, on the other hand, said “Carthage […]
Why Did the Romans Oppose the Fabian Strategy?
October 28, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Quintus Fabius Maximus realized that Hannibal was a military genius and that the best thing to do was not to confront him in battle but to starve him out. He tried to prevent Hannibal’s men from foraging and he forbade farmers from sowing crops in the areas where Hannibal’s army traveled. It was sort of […]
What Happened to Hannibal After the Second Punic War?
October 12, 2021 By Leave a Comment
The decision allow Hannibal to return to Carthage was made by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. After the Battle of Zama, Hannibal escaped to Hadrumetum. Scipio then had the decision whether to besiege and destroy Carthage, or to allow the city to negotiate a treaty on Roman terms. Besieging the city would have taken months. The […]
The Relationship Between Rome and Greece.
October 9, 2021 By Leave a Comment
The Romans had a relationship with Greece long before they conquered them. The southern part of the Italian Peninsula was colonized by Greeks. The cities of Tarentum, Naples, Metapontum, Locri and others were all Greek speaking. Early in the third century B.C. Italy was invaded by Pyrrhus of Epirus. He won two battles but at […]
Guest Post by S. Leung: What Advice would Sun Tsu have had for Hannibal?
August 31, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Taking the long way via the Alps to attack Rome, whilst Hannibal’s foundations in newly conquered Spain was still infirm may have achieved early success via initial surprise but may have been, strategically, a longer term mistake. By the time he reached Italy he had already lost a lot of men and almost all his […]
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