![]() Although he is by far the most famous Hannibal, when further clarification is necessary he is usually referred to as "Hannibal, son of Hamilcar", or "Hannibal the Barcid", the latter term applying to the family of his father, Hamilcar Barca. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians, like many West Asian Semitic peoples, did not use hereditary surnames, but were typically distinguished from others bearing the same name using patronymics or epithets. Greek historians rendered the name as Anníbas ( Ἀννίβας). It is equivalent to the fellow Semitic Hebrew name Haniel. Suggested readings include Ḥannobaʿal, Ḥannibaʿl, or Ḥannibaʿal, meaning "Baʿal/The lord is gracious", "Baʿal Has Been Gracious", or "The Grace of Baʿal". Its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. It is a combination of the common Phoenician masculine given name Hanno with the Northwest Semitic Canaanite deity Baal (lit, "lord") a major god of the Carthaginians ancestral homeland of Phoenicia in Western Asia. It is recorded in Carthaginian sources as ḤNBʿL ( Punic: □□□□□). Hannibal was a common Semitic Phoenician-Carthaginian personal name. ![]() Name Circa 1850 engraving of Young Hannibal (left) by Charles Turner According to Plutarch, Scipio asked Hannibal "who the greatest general was", to which Hannibal replied "either Alexander or Pyrrhus, then himself". Hannibal is considered one of the greatest military tacticians and generals of antiquity, alongside Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Julius Caesar, and Pyrrhus. He was betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself. His flight ended in the court of Bithynia. Antiochus met defeat at the Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Rome's terms, and Hannibal fled again, making a stop in the Kingdom of Armenia. During this time, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as military advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome. Those reforms were unpopular with members of the Carthaginian aristocracy and in Rome, and he fled into voluntary exile. He enacted political and financial reforms to enable the payment of the war indemnity imposed by Rome. ![]() Hannibal was eventually defeated at the Battle of Zama, ending the war in a Roman victory.Īfter the war, Hannibal successfully ran for the office of sufet. A counter-invasion of North Africa, led by Roman General Scipio Africanus, forced him to return to Carthage. Carthaginian defeats in Hispania prevented Hannibal from being reinforced, and he was unable to win a decisive victory. The Romans, led by Fabius Maximus, avoided directly engaging him, instead waging a war of attrition. Hannibal occupied most of southern Italy for 15 years. His well-planned strategies allowed him to conquer and ally with several Italian cities that were previously allied to Rome. Hannibal was distinguished for his ability to determine both his and his opponent's respective strengths and weaknesses, and to plan battles accordingly. In his first few years in Italy, he won a succession of victories at the Battle of the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae, inflicting heavy losses on the Romans. Hannibal invaded Italy by crossing the Alps with North African war elephants. In 218 BC, Hannibal attacked Saguntum (modern Sagunto, Spain), an ally of Rome, in Hispania, sparking the Second Punic War. Revanchism prevailed in Carthage, symbolized by the pledge that Hannibal made to his father to "never be a friend of Rome". Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin, triggered by the emergence of the Roman Republic as a great power with its defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal his brother-in-law was Hasdrubal the Fair, who commanded other Carthaginian armies. Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, was a leading Carthaginian general during the First Punic War. Hannibal ( / ˈ h æ n ɪ b əl/ Punic: □□□□□, romanized: Ḥannībaʿl 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
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