How Good a General Was Scipio Africanus?

January 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment

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. […]

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

December 27, 2020 By Leave a Comment

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 […]

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Quora Question: What Was the Greatest Military Comeback in History

September 28, 2019 By 4 Comments

I’d have to give that to the Romans in the Second Punic War. The Carthaginian general Hannibal brought an army over the Alps in 218 B.C. During the next two years he won four battles: Ticinus, 2300 Roman casualties, Roman Consul wounded. Trebia 28,000 Roman Casualties. Trasimene, 15,000 Romans killed, 15,000 captured, Roman Consul killed. […]

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Why is Scipio Africanus Considered a Military Genius for Clearing a Path for Hannibal’s Elephants? Isn’t that the Obvious Thing to Do?

September 11, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Elephants were known to wreak havoc in ancient warfare. In the case of Zama, it wasn’t a simple matter of stepping out of 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 planning […]

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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 […]

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Quora Question: Who in Your Opinion Was the Greatest General in World History

March 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment

    There are many candidates for the greatest soldier/warrior in world history, but I would choose Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the Second Punic War (218 B.C. to 202 B.C.) Scipio never lost a battle. At the start of his military career, at age 17 […]

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My New Novel, In the Wake of Hannibal, is Now Available on Amazon and Kindle

July 18, 2016 By Leave a Comment

My new novel, in the Wake of Hannibal is now available on Amazon and Kindle. The Death of Carthage told the story of the Second Punic War, between Rome and Carthage, from the point of view of the Romans. In the Wake of Hannibal tells the same story from the point of view of the […]

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