Total War ROME 2 | Hannibal at the Gates | Ambience | Study | Chilling | Relaxing | Carthage
11#romeii #hannibal #tunisia
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Hello everyone!
Today we venture into the lands of the Carthaginian Republic in Hannibal at the Gates!
Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father and a leader of Carthage, was a veteran of the first Punic war. He had seen his nation defeated at the hands of Rome, and his intent was to restore glory to Carthage, first by conquering Iberia. Livy records that when the young Hannibal begged his father to accompany him, Hamilcar agreed, but made his son swear that as long as he lived, he would never be a friend to Rome. After his father drowned in battle and his brother was later assassinated, command of the Carthaginian army fell to Hannibal.
He proved himself a decisive leader and a brilliant tactician, winning victory after victory in Iberia. Rome, fearing what was beginning to look like an ominous resurgence in Carthaginian power, formed an alliance with the city of Saguntum on Iberia’s eastern coast. This was the excuse Hannibal needed to reopen hostilities with Rome. In 218 BC, he gathered 40,000 infantry and 12,000 mounted troops and began the long slog east to Rome.
Crossing the Pyrenees, he began to lose troops to attrition. By the time he reached the Rhone, he was down to 38,000 men and 8,000 mounted troops, including 37 elephants. After the gruelling final hurdle of the Alps, Polybius records that Hannibal’s army was reduced to 20,000 troops and 4,000 mounted. His men finally descended into the Po Valley in the north of Italy, where he bolstered his forces with those of the native Gauls. Hannibal had made it, and the element of surprise was with him. The Second Punic War had begun.
Scipio Africanus’ father led a hastily-assembled Roman force against Hannibal at Ticinus, in which he was severely injured; only the prompt bravery of his son, who rode onto the field to rescue him, saved his life. Little did Hannibal know, this young Scipio would later become his nemesis.
Hannibal piled victory upon victory as he forged his way south through Italy. Trebia, Trasimene, Cannae; these battles would live on in infamy for Rome. But while he defeated the Romans at every turn, he found himself unable to impose a lasting change in Italy and the momentum of his campaign slowed. Awaiting his brother to join him for a combined attack on Rome, he learned of Hasdrubal’s defeat and death at the hands of Gaius Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius at the battle of Metaurus. His war in Italy had entered a state of stalemate; Hannibal could make no further inroads, and Rome didn’t quite have the muscle to evict him. He retreated his forces to the south of Italy, and occupied Bruttium for four years.
In 203 BC, Hannibal was recalled to Carthage. Scipio, flush with his successes in Iberia, had landed his Sicilian army at Utica. Hannibal marshalled Carthage’s forces, and the two armies massed at Zama. Hannibal and Scipio met on the plains to negotiate peace between Rome and Carthage, but no consensus could be met over terms. The generals parted with an air of great mutual admiration, and the decisive battle of the Second Punic War began in earnest.
Hannibal took a blunt approach. He flung all 80 of his elephants at the Roman front lines, but Scipio was ready for such a gambit. He laid traps. His javelinmen skirmished masterfully with the beasts. Many were shocked and routed by the simple use of massed trumpets, and the Roman infantry elaborately side-stepped the remaining elephants so they passed through their ranks. Hannibal’s cavalry were countered by Scipio’s, who this time were of better quality, and chased them from the field of battle. After a protracted and bloody infantry conflict, the Roman cavalry returned to strike the Carthaginian line in the rear. The battle was over: Hannibal had been defeated at last.
After the war, Hannibal took office as Chief Magistrate, and brought a measure of prosperity back to the bruised trading empire of Carthage. The Romans noted this, and seven years after Zama, they demanded he hand himself over. Hannibal promptly entered a self-imposed exile, where he continued to fight Roman rule where he could. After many adventures (and several further defeats), Hannibal took his own life by poison. His suicide note read: “Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death.
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