Battle of Ilipa. | The Death of Carthage

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

I have recently received an award from International Impact Book Awards in two categories, Historical Fiction and Biography for my book You Won’t Even Have My Bones, The Story of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. This has given me the impetus to restart this blog. I have a lot of material that I have accumulated from […]

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

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 […]

Who Was the Better General, Hannibal or Scipio?

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 […]

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

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 […]

How Good a General Was Scipio Africanus?

How good of a general was Scipio Africanus? Was he truly one of the greats, or did he simply benefit from the fame of defeating Hannibal at Zama? Robin Levin Scipio Africanus was definitely one of the greatest generals in history. The Battle of Zama, where he defeated Hannibal wasn’t even his most brilliant accomplishment. […]

The Genius of Scipio Africanus: Simple but Deceptive, with an Emphasis on Deceptive

Elephants were known to wreak havoc in ancient warfare. In the case of Zama, it wasn’t a simple matter of stepping out of the way and clearing a path for the elephants. Scipio wanted Hannibal to think that his elephants would be effective in disrupting the Roman lines, so he disguised the paths he was […]