Hannibal was born in 237 B.C. In 247 B.C., when he was ten years old, his father took him to Iberia, where Hannibal spent his childhood. Hannibal's father made him promise eternal hatred against the Romans. Hannibal was elected to be the commander of the Carthaginian soldiers in 221 B.C. Hannibal extended much of Carthage's territory, and put his brother as the commander of the Iberian territory. In May of 218, Hannibal crossed the river Ebro in order to complete the conquest of the Iberian peninsula. Rome declared the Second Punic War, and sent reinforcements to Sicily, where the expected to be the most attacks. Hannibal decided to boldly invade Italy before the Romans were prepared, and he took his cavalry, along with an army of 50,000 infantry, and 37 war elephants. Thanks to some help from the Gauls, natives who did not like the Romans either, Hannibal and the Carthaginians were able to win the Second Punic War. Eventually though, the Carthaginians were defeated, even when Hannibal tried his old tactics again. Hannibal was forced to resign as a general when a peace treaty was signed between Rome and Carthage. Hannibal eventually died in 182 B.C.I think that Hannibal's reputation was not deserved, at least not as severely as the Romans talked about it. He was only trying to win a war for his country, and was willing to go to extreme measures to do it. Hannibal had been pushed to hate the Romans by his father, and his father made a huge impact on the way he thought and carried out plans in battle. Yes, Hannibal fought in an extreme way that may look monstrous to some, but no, he does not deserve to be called a monster for it.
Web Citations:
1. "Hannibal." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 01 Mar. 2010.
Image: http://www.battlefieldanomalies.com/caesar/images/hanibal.jpg
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