Hannibal fully expected Rome to surrender after the Battle of Cannae. He sent the nobleman Carthalo to the city to present them with terms. The Romans wouldn’t let him into the city. Besides that, they allowed a delegation of ten prisoners captured in the battle to present their case for ransom, then passed a resolution […]
What Happened to the Roman Aristocracy?
April 9, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Cornelius, Aemilius, Fabius, Claudius, Julius, Junius, Sempronius, and Livius were all prominent Romen gens until the first century B.C. What happened to them and why did they fade from prominence in Rome? Beginning with the conflict between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome experienced intermittent civil wars throughout the first seventy years of the […]
Did Hannibal and Scipio Meet?
April 5, 2022 By Leave a Comment
According to Livy, Scipio and Hannibal met to negotiate just before the battle of Zama. Hannibal had sent spies to the Roman camp, and they were caught snooping around. Much to the shock of his underlings, Scipio told his tribune to release them and show them around the camp and answer any questions to their […]
Was The Third Punic War and the Destruction of Carthage Justified?
March 30, 2022 By Leave a Comment
I don’t feel that the genocide of Carthage was justified at the time. After the Battle of Zama at which Publius Cornelius Scipio defeated Hannibal, he imposed a treaty on Carthage which imposed a huge indemnity to be paid over a fifty-year period, and limited Carthage’s military activities to Africa and allowed them to make […]
In the Roman Republic, Could a Tribune’s Veto be Countermanded?
January 15, 2022 By Leave a Comment
In the Roman Republic a veto by a Tribune of the Plebes could not be countermanded. There was, however, an instance in which the Tribune who vetoed the reading of a proposed law faced a “recall election” and was voted out of office and the reading of the law alhttps://thedeathofcarthage.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1885&action=editlowed to proceed. In 134 B.C., […]
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 […]
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