Carthage | The Death of Carthage

Why Didn’t Carthage Support Hannibal in the Second Punic War?

August 13, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Cannae, Battle of Ilipa., Battles of the Upper Baetis, Hannibal, Hanno the Great, Hasdrubal Son of Gisco, Mago Barca, publius cornelius scipio africanus

What Civilizations attempted to Colonize and Rule Spain?

August 3, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

Around 800 B.C. Phoenicians began colonizing Spain, establishing the city of Gades (Cadiz) in the southwest corner of Spain. Greeks also established settlements like Emporion on the east coast of Spain. Carthage, a Phoenician speaking city on the north coast of Africa attempted to colonize and rule Spain during the third century B.C. Hamilcar Barca, […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Dertosa, Battles of the Upper Baetis, Gneius Cornelius Scipio, Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal, Hasdrubal the Fair, Lusitania, Numantia, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, Saguntum

Who Was the Better General, Hannibal or Scipio?

August 3, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

Hannibal was a genius when it came to battlefield tactics, but not as adept at strategy or logistics. Scipio Africanus was a genius at all three. Scipio’s Spanish campaign shows his proficiency at battlefield tactics, strategy and logistics. The first thing he did was to conquer New Carthage where the Carthaginians stored their wealth and […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: B.F. Liddle-Hart, Battle of Ilipa., Battle of Zama, Hannibal, New Carthage, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Second Punic War

What Factors Led to the Defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War?

August 2, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

Factors in Carthage’s defeat in the Second Punic War. Roman refusal to come to terms after their overwhelming defeat at the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal sent a Carthaginian nobleman, Carthalo to Rome with peace terms. The Romans wouldn’t let him into the city. The Roman Senate declared it a crime to even mention the word […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Cannae, Battle of Zama, Battles of the Upper Baetis, Hannibal, Hasdrubal Barca, Mago, Mago Barca, Publius Cornelius Africanus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator

Were Roman Generals More Closely Involved in the Fighting than Generals are Today?

August 1, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

They were far more involved than generals are today. In the Second Punic War the following generals lost their lives in battle or in an ambush: Gaius Flaminius, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Gaius Servilius Geminus, Marcus Manucius Rufus, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Gneius Fulvius, Gneius Cornelius Scipio, Pubius Cornelius Scipio (the elder), Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Appius Claudius […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: publius cornelius scipio africanus, Quinctus Fulvius Flaccus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator. Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Second Punic War, Siege of Illiturgis, Siege of New Carthage, Titus Quinctius Crispinus

How Did the Romans Recover From Their Devastating Defeat at the Battle of Cannae?

July 23, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

It is believed that between the battles of Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae, twenty percent of Italian men of military age perished. At the Battle of Cannae alone, some 55,000 Romans and allies were killed In addition to losing all of those soldiers, after Cannae a lot of cities, towns and tribes that had been allied […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Ancient Rome, Battle of Cannae, Battle of Zama, Capua, Carthage, Claudius Marcellus, Hannibal, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Cuncator, Tarentum, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus

How Was the Roman Republic Different from American Democracy?

July 6, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

The Roman Republic was not a democracy. It was an 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 in Rome and was closely allied with a prominent Roman […]

Filed Under: Carthage

Did Roman Soldier Ever Surrender to Hannibal?

July 4, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

There are no known instances of Roman legionaries surrendering to Hannibal before or during a battle. Roman survivors of the battle sometimes surrendered to Hannibal when the battle was over. In the case of the Battle of Trasimene, some 6000 Roman and allied cavalrymen broke out of Hannibal’s ambush and took refuge in an Etruscan […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Cannae, Hannibal, Maharal, Manlius Torquatus, Maximus Warts and All, Second Punic War, Titus Quinctius Flamininus

Did Hannibal and Scipio Ever Meet?

May 28, 2024 By Robin Levin 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 […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Alexander the Great, Antiochus III, Battle of Zama, Hannibal, Publius Corneius Scipio Africanus, Pyrrhus of Epirus

How Did Hannibal Lose the Second Punic War When He Was a Military Genius.

May 25, 2024 By Robin Levin Leave a Comment

When the Second Punic War began, the Romans did not have any generals who were remotely Hannibal’s equal in battlefield tactics. Hannibal demolished the Roman army at the Battles of Ticinus, Trebia, and Trasimene. Then the Romans elected Quintus Fabius Maximus dictator and he promoted a novel idea: Let’s not fight Hannibal on his terms […]