It is said that the historian tells you what happened, and the historical novelist tells you what it felt like. Kevin Hardy, in his book The Scipios in Spain seeks to do both! Several times he asks the reader to imagine what it was like to be a velite or a hastatus in the […]
Book Review: The Scipios in Spain by Kevin Hardy
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Book Review, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Baecula, Battle of Cissa, Battle of Dertosa, Battle of Ilipa., Battles of the Upper Baetis, Gneius Cornelius Scipio Calvus, Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca, Hasdrubal Son of Gisco, Indibilis, Mago Barca, Mandonius, Masinissa, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, Siege of New Carthage, Syphax
What Factors Led to the Defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War?
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
Hasdrubal Barca’s Role in the Second Punic War
Hannibal left his brother Hasdrubal in Spain to deal with the Romans whom he suspected were planning to invade. Southern Spain was the site of vast rich gold and silver mines that the Carthaginians used to finance the war, and they needed to be protected. Upon learning that Hannibal and his army were heading toward […]
A Brief History of the Punic Wars
I wrote a historical novel about the Second and Third Punic Wars. Someone asked me what the book was about, and I said, “The Punic Wars.” He gave me a blank look and I said, “The wars between Rome and Carthage, Scipio versus Hannibal.” His eyes lit up and he said “Hannibal! I’ve heard of […]
Was Bribing Hannibal’s Allies a Tactic Scipio Africanus Used to Win the War?
In terms of the Iberian tribes, it probably was. Livy mentioned that in conquering New Carthage, Scipio acquired all of Carthage’s hostages, which he promptly returned to their respective tribes, and he also acquired a lot of gold and silver. He sent most of it to Rome for their treasury, and also paid bounties to […]
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Baecula, Celtiberians, Gneius Cornelius Scipio Calvus, Hasdrubal Barca, Hasdrubal Son of Gisco, Mago Barca, Masinissa, New Carthage, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Syphax
Were Roman Generals Better Than Carthaginian Generals During the Punic Wars?
Carthage had one good general in the First Punic War, plus one good mercenary general. The good Carthaginian General was Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal Barca. He fought in Sicily and never lost a battle. After the defeat of Carthage in 241 B.C at the naval Battle of the Aegates Islands, Carthage sued for […]
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Claudius Marcellus, Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca, Hasdrubal Son of Gisco, Mago Barca, Marcus Claudius Nero, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Cuncator, Xanthippus of Sparta
Why Didn’t the Carthaginian Senate Support Hannibal?
After the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal collected over two hundred gold signet rings from the bodies of upper-class Romans who had fallen on the battlefield and put them in an urn. He sent his younger brother Mago back to Carthage to persuade the Senate to provide more men and materiel to Hannibal’s cause. Mago poured […]
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Cannae, Battle of Dertosa, Battle of the Metaurus River, Hannibal, Hanno the Great, Hasdrubal Barca, Mago Barca
What Were the Main Reasons for the Roman Victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War?
There were several reasons. Rome relied on citizen and allied soldiery while Carthage relied largely on mercenaries. Mercenaries have to be paid and are not as reliable as citizen soldiers and can be bought off. Carthage during the Second Punic War did not support its military to the same degree that Rome supported theirs. Carthage’s […]
Was Hannibal’s Defeat Inevitable?
It probably was given the way he chose to conduct the war. Hannibal was spectacularly successful during the first two years of the Second Punic War, then he became ineffective. Why? Because the Romans having been burned several times finally got smart, and, under the leadership of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucossus Cunctator, they largely stopped […]
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Hannibal, Hasdrubal Barca, Mago Barca, publius cornelius scipio africanus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cuncator
Quora Question: Did Carthaginian Senators Fell that Hannibal Invited the Wrath of Rome on its People. Were It Not For Hannibal Would Carthage Have Survived?
Carthaginian Senators were very much divided as to whether they should support Hannibal in the war against Rome. Initially the Barca faction was very strong and their adversary, Hanno the Great was very much in the minority. Hanno strongly opposed the war. When a delegation of Romans descended on Carthage to protest the siege of […]
Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: Battle of Cannae, Battle of Dertosa, Carthage, Hannibal, Hanno the Great, Hasdrubal Barca, Hasdrubal Son of Gisco, Mago, Treaty of Lutatius
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