Hannibal Barca

Essay by Bryan GambrillA+, April 1997

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In antiquity war was more of a means of survival, than an establishment of supremacy. War was made because people could lose their livelihood, their well being, and their sole existence if they could not defend what was rightly theirs, not for control over a certain ideal or commodity. During the Roman Era there were people that felt threatened by this and felt they needed to do something about it. These people, the Carthaginians, had been defeated during the first Punic War and were looking to save face with a second. The out come was of equal stature but this time a newfound respect was established for their people. A new hero was born during this period that changed the outlook on their people as a whole. Hannibal Barca was his name and despite losing the Second Punic War the Carthaginian general was a military genius.

'Everything known about Hannibal Barca has come from his deadly enemies the Romans' (De Beer 8).

This is an important aspect because his own people did not write about him, his enemies did. Hannibal was born in 247 BC and was given the name meaning the grace of Baal. He was the oldest son of the great Carthaginian general Hamlicar Barca. He was brought up in the city of Carthage which was in its worst period of the First Punic War. To remain in Carthage meant devastation, so Hamlicar took his army and made his own personal empire in Spain and prepared Hannibal for a second round.

Hannibal became the general of the Carthaginian army in the year 221 BC, at the age of 26. It was the best thing that could have happened to the army but, '. . . his endeavors to save his city were doomed to failure before he ever...