Biography
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Hannibal Barca's mind was filled with anti-Roman rhetoric from and early age. His father, only slightly less famed than his son, Hamilcar Barca, had built the Carthaginian empire in Iberia. Alongside his father, Hannibal grew up in military camps, intertwining his life with the military's mission to fend off, or even defeat Rome. At one point, Hamilcar made Hannibal "swear an oath of undying enmity against Rome" (OCD).
After Hamilcar's death (228 BCE), his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, succeeded him. Hasdrubal slowly created gains by founding a large base in Carthago Nova (modern day Cartagena) and drafting a treaty with the Romans to not "cross the Ebro River under arms" (OCD). In 221 BCE, Hasdrubal was assassinated.
This is where twenty-six year old Hannibal Barca gained power. The Carthaginian army responded well to his leadership, with early texts claiming "he spoke with youthful eagerness, his fervour, his mind armed with tricks and his innate way with words" (Stocks, pg. 104). He had no hesitation to siege the Roman-ally city of Saguntum due to a dispute with a tribe, that was an ally of Carthage (Goldsworthy, pg. 144). During this siege, Hannibal showed great acts of bravery and passion for his empire. He was even wounded during the siege, proving he was in the action next to his soldiers (Goldsworthy, pg. 145). The Roman senate interpreted this as an act of war against the Roman empire, prompting a preparation to strike back against the Spanish-Carthaginians and perhaps Carthage itself. Hannibal, being the gifted leader he was, had already considered this and acted first. He had mobilized a large force of infantry and calvary, including war elephants, to push into the Italy. At this point, destroying Rome was too far fetched, but aiming to deter allies would greatly increase the chances of regaining Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.
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Although military action had already began, the war was officially in progress when Hannibal marched his men across the Ebro River, fully armed. This action threw out the treaty made by Hasdrubal. He continued through France, even recruiting some Gallic reinforcements. When the army got to the Alps, the suffered serious losses but they endured. Livy, a Roman historian describes the trek: "The soldiers worn with toil from fighting... ...The ground everywhere was covered deep with snow... ...dejection and despair were to read on every countenance" (Bradford, pg. 66). Due to his talent as a general, he still had important victories at Trebia (December 218) and a few months later in Trasimene (May 217).
The Battle of Cannae is what has cemented Hannibal's name as one of the greats. The Carthaginians, with about 40,000 infantry and 10,000 calvary, were outnumbered by the Roman infantry of 65,000 and calvary of 6,000 (OCD). The Romans initially pushed forward, but this caused a concave of the Carthaginian forces (including Celtic, Spanish and Gallic allies) to surround the Roman army. From here it was a bloodbath, "one of the bloodiest battles ever fought" (Goldsworthy, pg. 197). at least 48,000 Roman soldiers dead, 19,000 captured. This was an astronomical blow to the morale of Rome, eighty percent of their military was killed by their rival, not far from their capital.
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Although some may criticize Hannibal's decision to not push further after victory, he understood his troops needed rest and reinforcement. He also relied on more "set-piece" battles with Rome, which they made sure not to grant him. The Carthaginian reinforcements were also defeated en route to aid a final push toward Rome. As the Carthaginian power dwindled, Rome began pressuring them to surrender. Which they eventually fled around 207 BCE. Hannibal combated Roman suspicion later in his position of Chief Magistrate. Fleeing Roman prosecution he was finally hiding in the court of the Syrian king. Years later, the Syrians had to hand him over due to increasing Roman pressure, but a self respecting Hannibal, took his own life with poison (OCD). The legacy he left was indisputably tragic to Roman moral, even after his campaign "it was nothing but the fear of Hannibal himself that tied down so many thousands of men" (Bradford, pg. 185). Some recall him with a mythical tone, saying "Hannibal is compared to Mars waging war against the Titans as he rages across the battlefield" (Stocks, pg. 109).