ROME'S NIGHTMARE: HANNIBAL BARCA

Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca, whose war tactics are taught in military academies today, brought the Romans to their knees by crossing mountains on elephants and made his name among the most important soldiers in history.

Hannibal Barca, one of the greatest military geniuses of all time, was born in Carthage in 247 BC. He is the son of Hamilcar Barca, the famous hero of the First Punic War. He participated in wars with his father at a young age. At his father's request, he swore that he would always hold a grudge against Rome. After his father's death, he became a soldier with the help of his uncle and brother.

WAR WITH ROME

Hannibal Barca became commander of the Spanish army of Carthage in 221 BC. He dominated the communities west of the Ebro from 221 BC to 219 BC. Hannibal knew that a second war with Rome was inevitable after the First Punic War, and he wanted to strike the first blow himself.

After consolidating his position in Spain, he captured the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome, in 219 BC. After Rome declared war, the Second Punic War began. Hannibal left his brother Hasdrubal in Spain and marched on Italy.

Hannibal Barca's army included one hundred thousand soldiers and 37 elephants. Marching north with his army, Hannibal crossed the Pyrenees Mountains, fighting the Celtiberian tribes, and reached the Rhône Valley.


Hannibal, who said "We will either find a new road or build a new road" to bypass the Romans and their allies in the region, drew an arc above the valley and crossed the Alps. This journey, made on ancient races with a large army and elephants, is considered a great success.

Hannibal, who lost part of his army due to the harsh winter conditions while crossing the Pyrenees and Alps, advanced on the Po Plain with his remaining forces. 14 thousand warriors of the Celts also joined his army. Hannibal's forces defeated a Roman army that came to stop them, B.C. He destroyed it in Trebbia in 218. In 217 BC, the Carthaginian Army, advancing towards Rome by crossing the Apennine Mountains, defeated the main Roman army in the Battle of Lake Trasimene.

Hannibal's advance was slowed by the Romans resorting to hit-and-run tactics. In the face of this development, Hannibal planned to go south and provoke the Latin cities into rebellion, instead of besieging Rome. Hannibal Barca defeated the last regular Roman army sent against him in the Battle of Cannae. In this war, the Carthaginian army trapped the Roman army with the tactic called "Crescent Order" and completely destroyed it.

After the Cannae victory, Southern Italy sided with Hannibal. However, Hannibal's growing prestige frightened the Carthaginian senate, and they did not send him sufficient support. The city of Capua, which broke away from Rome in the Battle of Cannae, was recaptured in 211 BC by Rome, which established a new army and began to gather its forces. Hannibal's raid on Rome in 207 BC was repelled. His brother Hasdrubal was killed in Northern Italy while trying to come via Spain with a relief army.

Hannibal, who retreated to the mountains in southern Italy, was called to Carthage in 203 BC to protect the capital after the Roman army under the command of Scipio Africanus landed in Africa. Hannibal was defeated in the Battle of Zama with the Roman army.

Carthage had to make a peace agreement with Rome with very harsh conditions. Hannibal, who was appointed as the head of finance and economy after the war, was removed from his post under the pressure of the Romans after a while after putting the country in order. ​

EXILE

Hannibal, who went into voluntary exile due to the rising opposition against him, went to Armenia and Bithynia, first to the Seleucid Empire, and served as a military advisor in the palaces there.

In many sources, the founding of the city of Bursa is associated with Hannibal. It is thought that while he was with King Prusias of Bithynia, he advised Prusias to establish a city where today's Bursa is and established the first drinking water network in the city.

When he realized that he would be handed over to the Romans by the Bithynian authorities in 183 or 182 BC, he ended his life by drinking the poison he was known to carry in his ring. Although the location of his grave is unknown, there is a monument built in his memory at the Tübitak campus in Gebze, where he died. The Hannibal Monument was built in 1981, accepting Atatürk's will to find Hannibal's grave and build a monument. It is thought that a grave found later during the work to bring water to the Gebze settlement belongs to Hannibal.

EFFECTS

Hannibal Barca is one of the greatest military geniuses in world history. In fact, some of Hannibal's war strategies were successfully applied against Greek forces in the War of Independence. War historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge gave Hannibal Barca the title of "father of military strategy". The reason for this is that even Rome, its greatest enemy, used its war tactics. On the other hand, Hannibal's life and wars have been the subject of many documentaries and films. A school operating today in the place where he died was named after him.

THE PERIOD HE LIVED IN

Hannibal Barca, whose war strategies and tactics are still taught in military academies, gained great fame by defeating Rome, the superpower of his time, many times. Hannibal delayed the Mediterranean union dreams of Rome, which became a superpower thanks to its slave economy, for a quarter of a century.

Information about Hannibal is mostly obtained from Roman canuvis.

At the time of his birth, Carthage was one of the richest regions in the Mediterranean. For this reason, Rome set its sights on these lands. The First Punic War was fought and Carthage suffered a heavy defeat. Hannibal's father was among the casualties of the Carthaginian army.

In his youth, Hannibal took great advantage of being the heir of a noble family and had a very good grasp of different war tactics. Coming from a noble family, Hannibal became the head of the forces in the Iberian Peninsula upon the death of his brother-in-law.

He declared all agreements with Rome invalid and annexed all of Spain to his territory in just two years. Thereupon, a harsh ultimatum was sent to Carthage by Rome: "Either you give Hannibal, or we will come and take it!"

Hannibal decided to attack Rome directly. In September 219, he started marching in the Alps with 100 thousand soldiers and 37 elephants.

Hannibal, who suffered heavy losses as a result of the attacks of wild tribes on the mountain as well as the freezing cold of the Alps, completed the march in exactly 15 days. At the end of the march, which he started with 100 thousand people, he lost half of his army and sacrificed 36 of his 37 elephants. Hannibal was standing on the only remaining elephant.

Despite everything, Hannibal and his army stood against Rome. Enlisting the natives of Northern Italy and the Gauls in his army, Hannibal began to advance towards the south. After inflicting a heavy defeat on the Roman consul in 217, Hannibal and his army turned the very productive Campania region into ruins. Continuing his advance, Hannibal encountered the Roman army of fifty thousand men at Cannae. Thanks to the mobility of its cavalry, the Carthaginian army was besieging the giant Roman army.

The next day, Hannibal launched a major attack on the Roman center and destroyed his enemy's army. However, Hannibal did not intend to march on Rome. This became his biggest strategic mistake.


Starting from 211, Roman soldiers began to repel the attacks. Hannibal asked for reinforcements from his brother Hasdrubal in Spain. Rome's famous commander Cladius Neron (the man who would later burn Rome) was preparing to fight with Hasdrubal by forming an army.

The head of Hasdrubal, who was defeated by Nero in 207, was sent to Hannibal. On the other hand, the Carthaginian assembly was also of the opinion of a truce with Rome.

In 202, Scipio and Hannibal faced each other at the Battle of Zama. Hannibal, who had used the mobility of his cavalry at the highest level until this time, suffered a heavy defeat against the equally mobile and crowded Roman army.

Scipio, who saved Rome from the danger of Hannibal, received the title of "Africanus".

Even though he was defeated, Hannibal wanted to fight Rome again. Seeing this danger, Rome had Hannibal exiled to Syria as a result of the intense pressure it applied to Carthage.

Hannibal, who was not comfortable in Syria, started rebellions there. Thereupon, Rome issued a death warrant for Hannibal.

Learning that his death warrant had been issued, Hannibal committed suicide in 183 when he was about to be captured by the Romans.

About a century after Hannibal's death, Rome annexed Carthage along with all the coasts of the Mediterranean. Attila later realized Hannibal's dream.