It is true that the Carthaginian Senate was divided during the Second Punic War. The “Merchant Party” supported Hannibal while the “Land Party” did not. The “Land Party” was led by Hanno the Great who was a staunch political enemy of Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal. Livy quotes him as saying this at the […]
Why Did Carthage Give So Little Support to Hannibal During the Second Punic War?
September 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Why Did Rome Spare the City of Carthage after the Second Punic War and then Destroy it Fifty Years Later?
September 14, 2019 By Leave a Comment
It was Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus who finally defeated Hannibal at the end of the Second Punic war. He imposed Roman terms on the city. They were generous terms in that they allowed Carthage autonomy with their own laws and government. The treaty forced Carthage to destroy all but five of their battleships, stop training […]
Why did Hannibal Hate the Romans?
September 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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 241 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 […]
How Did Rome Acquire Iberia as a Province?
September 9, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Rome maintained a sphere of influence in Iberia even before the beginning of the Second Punic War. They had an alliance with the city of Saguntum, and they made an agreement with the Carthaginian leader Hasdrubal the Fair (brother in law of Hannibal) that the Carthaginian sphere of influence would extend up to the Iberus […]
How Does the Political System in Ancient Rome Differ from That of Modern Day America
September 1, 2019 By Leave a Comment
How was Roman democracy different from American democracy? Robin Levin, The Roman Republic was not a democracy. It was a plutocratic oligarchy. And the U.S. Republic is also not a true democracy, it is also a plutocratic oligarchy. The Greek historian Polybius, lived in the second century B.C. and spent seventeen years as a hostage […]
What Role Did the Berbers (Numidians) Play in the Destruction of Carthage?
August 26, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Romans called the native peoples of North Africa Numidians, which meant nomads. They were distinct from the Carthaginians who were descended from Phoenician colonists. The Numidians provided the Carthaginians with mercenaries, and at the start of the Second Punic War in 218 B.C. both major tribes, the Masaesyli under King Syphax and the Massylii […]
Why did Hannibal not Besiege and Conquer Rome after his Victory at Cannae.
May 4, 2019 By Leave a Comment
After the battle of Cannae one would have thought that Hannibal had Rome on the ropes. It is believed that one in five Roman or allied men of military age died at Cannae, Trasimene or Trebia. The story goes that Hannibal’s cavalry chief, Maharbal offered to take his cavalry to Rome and besiege the city, […]
Why Did Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Refuse to be Buried in Rome?
April 16, 2019 By Leave a 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 […]
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