Hannibal Barca, the greatest military innovator the Earth has ever known.
Photo courtesy of Raddato Carole
The causes of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage are unclear. Carthage was a coastal trading empire in northern Africa. The land-locked Roman empire did not directly challenge the Carthaginian interests at sea. Lacking motive to do so, the Carthaginians did not provoke the Romans (Bagnall 30). The actual catalyst for war between the two was alliances that each power entered on opposite sides of two opposing forces. Hiero of Syracuse, a rival of Carthage, condemned the Mamertines, who had massacred and obtained the nation of Messana. Hiero pursued the Mamertines and defeated them decisively. Carthage quickly came the the aid of the Mamertines against Syracuse, with whom they had a long history of war. Hiero, determined to not allow Carthage to control the harbor at Messana, sought an alliance with Rome. Although hesitant to enter conflict with the sea power of Carthage, Rome had an interest in expanding to the South (Bagnall 34). The alliances that Rome and Carthage formed in self interest catapulted these two powerful empires into decades of war with each other.
Out of the Punic Wars came arguably one of the greatest generals in World History. Hannibal Barca proved to be a brilliant strategist and tactician. In many cases, he outwitted an opponent that far outnumbered him, causing mass casualties to the Roman army. Hannibal’s brilliance as a military commander is evident throughout the Second Punic War, also known as the Hannibalic War. His innovative use of chemistry, incredible feats of transportation, war animals, environmental factors, and battle field tactics render him a military genius, and the greatest opponent that the Roman Empire ever faced (Anglim et al. 164).