HANNIBAL (the gift of Baca) was a common name among the Carthaginians, the list of those famed in history 'extending to fourtecon But the greatest of all the Hannibals was the famous son of Hamilcar Barca. He was h. in 247 n.c. When he was nine years old, he accompanied his father on his Spanish expedition; and before starting, swore that oath of eternal hatred to the Roman name, which he kept so faith fully throughout his whole life. After the death of Hamilcar, he was employed by Hasdrubal, his brother-in-law, in most of the military operations which he undertook. Such was the esteem in which he was held by the soldiers, and such a reputation for bravery and strategic skill had be gained, that when Hasdrubal was assassinated, the army with one voice elected 'him commander-in-chief, an appointment which the authorities at Carthage at once ratified. Hannibal, at this time in his 29th year, under took the command with ready zeal, for he longed to realize the legacy left him by his father, and to strike a death-blow at his country's rival by attacking her on her own soil. But before he entered on a task of such magnitude, be deemed it prudent to complete the subjugation of Spain, and accordingly spent two years in contests with sore tribes hitherto independent of Carthage. Saguntum, a city in alliance with Rome, was attacked by him on the ground that its inhabitants were making aggressions on the Torboletes, subjects of Carthage. After a siege of eight months, the city was taken; and the Romans, after an embassy had unsuccessfully demanded the surrender of the general who had thus wantonly violated the treaty, declared war in 218 n.c. Having taken measures for the defense of Africa and Spain during his absence, he -started from New Carthage in 218 B.C., with 90,000 foot, and 12,000 horse.' This force was very much thinned by his contests with the tribes between the Iberus and the Pyrenees, by the necessity of leaving Hamm with 11,000 men to keep them in subjection, by deser tion in the passage of the Pyrenees, and by his sending home a portion of his Spanish troops. His object in this last act was to inspire the soldiers with thorough confidence in themselves and their general. From the Pyrenees he marched to the Rhone with• out opposition, since Scipio was at Massilia (Marseille), four days' march from the point where Hannibal crossed the river in the face of the Celtic hordes who sided with this Romans. His next great difficulty was the passage of the Alps, which he effected in fifteen days, in spite of the attacks of the mountain tribes, the snows, storms, and other difficulties. Much discussion has taken place among learned men whether Hannibal crossed the Cottian Alps by the pass of Mont Genes-re (or Cents), or the Graian Alps by the 'pass of Little St. Bernard. For the former route, Michelet, Thierry, and most French writers argue; and for the latter, with better reasons, Niebnhr, Arnold, Momm sen, etc. After allowing his army (now about 20,000 strong) sonic time to recruit in the rich villages of the friendly- Insubrians, be first subdued the Taurini, a tribe hos tile to the Insubrians. and took their chief city after a siege of three days; and thus forced into alliance with him all the Ligurian and Celtic tribes on the upper course of the Po. Scipio, having returned from Massilia, took the command of the army in the north of Italy, and first met Hannibal on the plain near the river Ticinus. The Romans werd entirely routed; and Scipio, who was severely wounded, retreated across the Po. The armies again met at the Trehia, with a like result, though the Romans, who had received reinforcements, were much more numerous. These battles were fought in 218 B.C. Having wintered in the neighborhood of the Po. and levied addi tional troops among the Gauls, most of whom were now his friends, Hannibal started southward so soon as spring permitted, marching through Liguria and the swamps of the Arno. In this difficult route, immense numbers of his beasts of burden and horses perished, and lie himself lost the sight of one eye. He next inflicted a severe defeat, near lake Thrasyrnene. on the consul Flaminius: thousands perished by the sword, including the consul, and thousands in the lake. while 15,000 were taken captive, Han nibal losing only 1500. After this victory, lie crossed the Apennines to Picenum and Apulia, and thence re-crossed to the fertile Campania, which he ravaged. Thither
Fabius was sent with an army to oppose him, but no general engagement took place, the consul endeavoring* to lead Hannibal into snares, which he succeeded in doing; hut the wily African extricated his army by a stratagem. Mid returned to Apulia. lie wintered at Canna?, and in June, or according to others, in Aug. (2-d) of 216 n.c., almost annihilated a Roman army of 90,000 men under Terentius Varro and yEmilius Paulus, in the battle, which was fought a little below the town. About 50,000 are said to have fallen, including .2Emilius Paulus, and a host of Roman knights, senators, and other distinguished persons. Here Hannibal committed, perhaps, the greatest military error of his life, in not marching direct tó Rome; but it is supposed that he refrained, in order to allow the tribes of Italy to declare in his favor. Many in the south of Italy did attach themselves to his interests, but not in such numbers as he had anticipated. After some delay be marched on Neapolis (Naples), which he did not succeed in taking, but the gates of Capon were opened to him, and here he wintered. The enervating effect which the luxury of Capua is said to have had on his army has been greatly over drawn, but his residence there forms, in one point of view, the turning-point in the war, which from this time became more of a desultory kind. Hannibal's great pur pose was to arm the Italian nations against Rome, and so to crush her power by means of her own subjects; the Romans, on the contrary, henceforth avoided coining to a pitched battle with the Carthaginians, but sought rather to keep the tribes in awe, and harass Hannibal and his lieutenants by small armies in different parts of the coun try. Hannibal traversed Italy in all directions, surprised the. Roman generals, defeated their armies, captured their towns, such as Casilinum, Arpi, Tarentmn, Metapontum, Thurh, Locri, and many others; he defeated Centenius near Capua; Cu. Fulvius at Herdonea; Fulvius Fifteens on the Attie; Crispinus and Marcellus in Lucania; and the besieging army before Locri: in all these cases the armies were.ahnost annihilated. The defeat of Hasdrubal, his brOther, at the river Metanrus, and the loss of his army, com pelled Hannibal to confine himself to the mountainous peninsula of Brutium, where 16r four years he resisted all the efforts of the Romans to dislodge hint. At length, after having maintained himself in Italy for upwards of fifteen years, he was recalled to Africa, to defend his country against Scipio; but notwithstanding his utmost exertions, and the bravery of his veteran troops, he was defeated by Scipio, near Zama, with a loss of 20,000 men. Peace was concluded in the following year (201 B.c.).
Hannibal's darling scheme had in the meantime been baffled, but his hatred to Rome was not diminished, and accordingly he set himself with all his zeal to make prepara tions for a still more deadly struggle at some future day. Ile turned his attention, in the first place, to political reforms, and some constitutional changes which were loudly called for, by which he placed the finances on a better footing. But his enemies accused him to the Romans of stirring up Antiochus III. of Syria to make war on them; and when ambasssaclors came to Carthage, Hannibal fled to the court of Antio chus at Ephesus. In the war which followed, he took no conspicuous part, but the king bitterly regretted afterwards that he did not take the advice of Hannibal to carry war into Italy. When peace was concluded, the surrender of Hannibal was one of the conditions; but foreseeing such a result, lie tied to Prusias, king of Bithynia, for whom he gained a naval victory over Eumenes, king of Pergamus. He was at length demanded by the Romans; and seeing no hope of escape, he took poison, which he always carried with him for such an emergency.
Among ancient authorities, the reader may consult, with great profit, Polybius, Dion Cassius, Plutarch, and Appian ; and of the moderns, Arnold, Niebuhr, Nomm sen, Ihne, and the other historians, of Rome. For military operations specially, see Vandoucourt, Histoire des CanTagnes d'Annibal en Palk. Hannibal's life has been recently made the subject Of a tragedy by prof. Nichol of Glasgow.