After the Battle of Cannae in which Hannibal’s army killed some 50,000 Roman and allied soldiers, Hannibal expected the Romans to sue for peace. He was not inclined to destroy the city. The Romans were having none of that. They would not allow Hannibal’s emissary into the city, and the Senate made it a crime […]
Would Carthage Have Destroyed Rome If They Had Been Victorious in the Punic Wars?
Why Did The Romans Consider Quintus Fabius Maximus’ Strategy Cowardly?
Quintus Fabius Maximus thought outside the box. The normal Roman response was to directly confront the enemy on the battlefield, and most Romans could not understand or tolerate Fabius’ thinking. Livy relates how Fabius attempted to dissuade the Consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus from confronting Hannibal at Cannae. Fabius: “I think you know why I have […]
How Did Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Rise to Power
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was born in 236 B.C., the scion of a family that had been influential in Roman politics for over two hundred years. In 218 B.C. his father was elected to Consul. His uncle Gneius had been Consul two years before. That year, Hannibal invaded Italy. The elder Scipio had gone to […]
Why Did the Romans Oppose the Fabian Strategy?
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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