HA'NNIBAL, the son of Hamilcar Barcas, was born B.C. 247. At the age of nine he accompanied his father to Spain, who, previous to his departure, took his son to the altar, and placing his hand on the victim, made him swear that he would never be a friend to the Romans. It does not appear how long Hannibal remained in Spain, but he was at a very early age associated with Hasdrubal, who suc ceeded his father in the command of the Carthaginian army in that country. On the death of Hasdrubal, B.C. 221, he obtained the undivided command of the army, and quickly conquered the Olcades, Vaccmans, Carpeeians, and the other Spanish tribes that had not been subdued by Hasdrubal. The inhabitants of Saguntum, alarmed at his success, sent messengers to Rome to inform the Romans of their danger. A Roman embassy was accordingly sent to Hannibal, who was passing the winter at New Carthage, to announce to him that the independence of Saguntum was guaranteed by a treaty between the Carthaginians and Romans (concluded :Le. 226), and that they should consider any injury done to the Saguntines as a declaration of war against themselves. Hannibal however paid no regard to this remon strance.
More than twenty years had elapsed since the termination of the first Punic war, during which period the Carthaginians had recovered their strength, and had obtained possession of the greater part of Spain ; and the favourable opportunity had arrived for renewing the war with the Romans.
In n.e. 219 Hannibal took Saguntum, after a siege of eight mouths, and employed the winter in making preparations for the invasion of Italy. He first provided for the security of Africa and Spain by leaving an army of about 16,000 men in each country; the army in Africa consisted principally of Spanish troops, and that in Spain of Africans, under the command of his brother HasdrubaL He had already received promise of support from the Gauls who inhabited the north of Italy, and who were anxious to deliver themselves from the Roman dominion. Having thus made every necessary preparation he set out from New Carthage late in the spring of n.e. 218, with an army of 80,000 foot and 12,000 horse. In his march from the Ebro to the Pyrenees he was opposed, by a great number of the native tribes, but they were quickly defeated though with loss. Before crossing the Pyrenees he left Hanno to secure his recent conquests with a detach ment from his own army of 11,000 men. He sent back the same number of Spanish troops to their own cities, and with an army now reduced to 50,000 foot and 9000 horse, ho advanced to the Rhone.
Meantime two Roman armies had been levied; one, commanded by the consul P. Cornelius Scipio, was intended to oppose Hannibal in Spain, and a second, under the other consul T. Sempronius, was designed for the invasion of Africa. The departure of Scipio was delayed by a revolt of the Bolan and Insubrian Gauls, against whom the army was sent which had been intended for the invasion of Spain, under tho command of ono of the prastora. Scipio was therefore obliged to remain in Rome till a new army could be raised. When the forces were ready he sailed with them to the Rhone and anchored in the eastern mouth of the river ; being persuaded that Hannibal must still be at a considerable distance from him, as the country through which he had to march was difficult, and inhabited by many warlike tribes. Hannibal however quickly surmounted all these obstacles, crossed the Rhone, though not without some opposition from the Gauls, and continued his march up tho left bank of the river. Scipio did not arrive at the place where the Carthagininue had crossed the river till three days afterwards ; and despairing of over taking them, he sailed back to Italy with the intention of meeting Hannibal when he should descend from the Alps. Scipio sent his brother Cnseus into Spain with the greater part of the troops to oppose Hasdrubal.
Hannibal continned his march up the Rhone till he came to the There. Marchlog along that river, he crossed the Alpe (probably) by the Little St. Bernard, descended into the valley of the Dora Baltea, and followed the course of the river till he arrived in the territories of the Ineubrian Gauls. The passage of Hannibal across the Alpe has been a matter of much dispute. Whittaker, in a work entitled ' The Course of Hannibal over the Alps ascertained,' Lend., 1794, 2 vols. 8vo, maintains that the passage was made over the Great St. Bernard: the French writers bare mostly argued for the Mont Genevre, or Mont Cenia route, the latest English and German that of the Little St. Bernard. Those who wish for further information on the subject may consult 'A Dissertation on the Passage of Hannibal over the Alpe,' by Wickham and Cramer, 2nd ed., Oxford; Ukert, ' liannibal's Zug. uber die Alpon,' in vol. iv. of hia 'Oeographie d. Griech.u.11otn4 and Arnold, ' Ili t. of Rome,' vol. Hi pp. 83-D2.