Hannibal’s father was Hamilcar Barca, the most effective general Carthage produced during the 23 year long First Punic War, 264 B.C. to 241 B.C. In 264 B.C. Carthage suffered a massive defeat at the naval battle of the Aegates Islands and sued for peace. Hamilcar Barca had been having some success against the Romans in […]
Why Did Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Refuse to be Buried in Rome?
April 16, 2019 By 1 Comment
“Ingrata Patria, ne osse quidem habebis”- Ungrateful fatherland, you won’t even have my bones. Scipio Africanus was by far the most effective Roman military figure of the Second Punic War. After his father and uncle were killed in the Battles of the Upper Baetis in 211 B.C., he somehow got himself elected to take their […]
Quora Question: When and Why did the Romans Begin to Conquer Other Peoples
April 4, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Romans were always warlike. Their only prolonged period of peace was under their second king, Numa. The doors to the Temple of Janus were closed only during time of peace, and they were only closed once during the period between the reign of King Numa and the Principate of Augustus, a period of perhaps […]
Quora Question: What did Hannibal Think of the Romans
March 18, 2019 By 2 Comments
Hannibal was indoctrinated by his father, Hamilcar Barca, to hate the Romans. There is a story that, before taking Hannibal with him to Spain, Hamilcar took him to the Temple of Elissa at Carthage and made him swear an oath: “When I come to age, I shall pursue the Romans with fire and sword and […]
Quora Question: Is the Roman Republic Similar to the Modern American Republic
February 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment
No. It is a very dicey proposition to compare any modern republic to the pre-industrial society of Rome. The founding fathers of the U.S. had some admiration for Roman political forms and took some of the ideas of the Greek historian Polybius in account in establishing the political institutions of the new republic. Polybius pointed […]
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