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Facts About Hannibal You Didn't Learn In School
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Jul 10, 2025
If you've heard of General Hannibal (247-183 BCE), you're probably thinking of the guy who rode several elephants into Italy, and that would be correct. In reality, though, there's more to Hannibal Barca's life story than his fabled crossing of the Alps with war elephants. This general made it a habit of outright embarrassing the Roman Army, defeating them by a landslide on multiple occasions.
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Hannibal Barca lived from 247 to 183 BCE
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And if you've heard of him, you probably think of him as the guy who rode several elephants into Italy
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However, there is a lot more to Hannibal's life than his fabled crossing of the Alps
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Today, we're going to look at some facts about the ancient military genius Hannibal Barca
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that you didn't learn in school. OK, I love it when a weird history video comes together
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Hamilcar might sound like something Harry Hamlin drives around in, but it was actually the name of Hannibal's father
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Hamilcar Barca, who was a great general during the First Punic War
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Also known as Barcas, Hamilcar fought on the side of Carthage against Rome in the 240s BCE
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Though he never lost a battle himself, Carthage ultimately lost the battles over Sicily
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Hamilcar was in poor spirits when he returned home to his young son, Hannibal
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And when he looked at the young boy, he saw what so many fathers see in their sons
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an opportunity to get revenge on his enemies. From that point on, he raised Hannibal
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to be both a great general and the sworn enemy of Rome
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After the first Punic War, which took place from about 264 to 241 BCE, Hamilcar Barca wasn't quite ready to give up
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just because Carthage surrendered. The crux of his plan was to take his troops over to Spain
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where Carthage had well-established colonies. Once there, he would draw upon Spanish manpower
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to build a new army capable of destroying Rome. At this point, Hannibal was just a plucky young man
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who begged his dad to go to work with him. Hamilcar obliged, but only after his son allegedly
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swore over an altar in the Temple of Baal that he would always be the enemy of Rome
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It was at least something they could share. Young Hannibal was off to war and spent
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his remaining childhood in Spain. Hannibal became as Spanish as he was Carthaginian
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if not more so. Hamilcar was slain in battle when Hannibal was 20, which put his brother-in-law, General
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Hasdrubal, in charge of the army. When Hasdrubal was killed about five years later, Hannibal, at just 25 years old, was
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named the leader of the Carthaginian army. Although he was young, Hannibal was well-respected by his army
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He was known for having a relatively peaceful tenure, and the diverse group of men he led
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never attempted to overthrow him. He was also kind to the animals, like elephants and horses, that he used in battle
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A sling is basically just a rope that was used to hurl a rock at enemies But its effectiveness shouldn be underestimated After all it is the weapon that David used to slay Goliath
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More importantly, the most skilled slingers were more accurate and had greater range
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than their archer counterparts, making them a crucial part of any ancient army
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Hannibal, in particular, used them to great effect in his battles against the Romans
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The most skilled slingers in the ancient world were from the Balearic Islands in the Western Mediterranean
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Trained from childhood, Balearic slingers wore a spare sling as a headband, carried a pouch of missiles on their side, and utilized three different sizes of slings for different ranges
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When Hannibal marched on Italy, he brought at least a thousand of these Balearic slingers with him
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Having a greater range than their Roman archer counterparts, they proved much more effective at bothering the enemy in the opening salvos of battle
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Getting from Spain to Italy involved traveling through the territory of the Gauls
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who were Celtic tribes that were typically less than friendly. Before he began his march
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Hannibal had sent envoys to the tribes to try and win them over. They had some success
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including a potential alliance with the Boyi and Insubris of the Po River Valley in northern Italy
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In western Gaul, which is today southern France, things didn't go quite as well
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and the presence of Hannibal's massive army was not welcomed by the locals
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Hannibal assembled the chieftains and won them over with gifts, allowing his team mostly safe passage to the Rhone River
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It was there that he encountered his first resistance. The Volcai tribe had assembled to meet him on the eastern banks
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but Hannibal was able to use superior tactics to rout them. But he wasn't in the clear yet
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Hannibal's team met resistance in the Alps from the powerful Elbrach Celts. During the first
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battle, Hannibal noticed the Elbrach only occupied their outposts during the day and returned to
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their villages at night. He sent his troops under cover of darkness to occupy the outposts and
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ambush the Celts when they arrived in the morning. The Elbrach would later set their own ambush using
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guides from a neighboring tribe that pretended to ally with Hannibal. Suspicious of the guides
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Hannibal put his cavalry and baggage at the front of the column, which largely managed to slip past
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the ambush. Hannibal's infantry was engaged in some heavy fighting, with boulders being hurled
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down on them from above, but they too managed to get through. After that, Hannibal's main enemy
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would be the Alps themselves, until he reached Italian soil. When Hannibal arrived in northern
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in Italy with a massive army and battle elephants he looked like he was ready to kick some serious ass And since everyone likes to get with a winning team the Gallic tribes of the area namely the Boyi and Insupris
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decided they would join up with the Carthaginian army. It wasn't really a huge change for them
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They hated Rome anyway, so this likely just looked like a good opportunity to get out
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from under the Roman jackboot. The Gauls were a big get for Hannibal
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Despite being defeated by Rome just a few years earlier, they had a reputation for being fearsome warriors
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And they weren't the only ones to jump on board. The more Hannibal won, the more Gallic tribes joined him
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Publius Cornelius Scipio was consul of the Roman army and, though no one knew it at the time
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the father of the man who would ultimately defeat Hannibal. He allegedly wanted to beat Hannibal and get the war over with
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So at the Battle of Tacinus, he charged in with his cavalry. It turned out to be a stupid move, and it ultimately led to his defeat at the hands of
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the Carthaginian forces. During the battle, Scipio was gravely wounded, and he only made it out alive because his
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son, also named Scipio, rushed out with a few other cavalrymen to save him
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This would be the first of three crushing Roman defeats that the son, Scipio Africanus
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was believed to have participated in as a soldier. When the Roman army approached Cannae
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it outnumbered Hannibal's troops two to one, or roughly 80,000 to 40,000
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If Hannibal was going to win this fight, it was going to take an act of military genius
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which luckily he was. The Carthaginian army deployed in a crescent shape
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facing the Romans. Using their superior cavalry, the Carthaginians then routed the Roman cavalry on both wings
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Meanwhile, the Roman infantry was drawn into the center of the crescent, which
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gradually gave ground. The reserves on the wings of the Crescent then advanced, surrounding the Romans on three sides
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The Carthaginian cavalry returned, flanking the Romans and surrounding them. Facing enemies on all sides, the Romans fell into disarray and were crushed
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By the end of the day, between 50,000 and 70,000 Romans were slain
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About 1,000 more were wounded or taken prisoner, bringing the casualty rates up to over 80%
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It remains one of the bloodiest days in the history of ancient warfare
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Comparatively, the Carthaginians lost about 6,000 men. Hannibal's mistake that ultimately cost him victory
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in the Second Punic War was a strategic one rather than a tactical error
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Instead of marching on Rome immediately after the victory at Cannae he rested his troops Granted they needed it and by all the rules of ancient warfare the Romans were expected to surrender But they didn
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Hannibal's cavalry commander, Maharbal, famously told Hannibal that he knew how to win a victory
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but he didn't know how to exploit it. Hannibal had expected the southern tribes of Italy
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to defect after such a crushing victory, and the Romans to pursue peace
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Instead, Rome mobilized to defend the city, and without siege engines, Hannibal was unable to move on the city
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People really liked Hannibal in Carthage. They eventually appointed him as Sufiti
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which was the top official position in the city. He instituted constitutional reforms
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including creating term limits, and worked hard to root out corruption within the government
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Predictably, this seriously angered the aristocracy, who had a good racket going
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before Hannibal came along. So they called up Rome and told them
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that Hannibal was planning on getting a new army by aligning with Seleucid King Antiochus III
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and invading Italy again. So the Romans sent troops to arrest Hannibal
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Hannibal predicted this move, so he ended up fleeing to the territory of Antiochus
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looking for support. He got it, but he ended up with a minor navy instead
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of an army. He did use that navy to fight against Rome, but he was defeated
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After he was chased out of Carthage, Hannibal found a second chance to fight Rome in 184 BCE
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this time as an admiral. He eventually ended up taking refuge with Prusius I of Athenia
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who at the time was at war with a Roman ally, Eumenes II of Pergamon. With his navy outnumbered
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Hannibal decided to use the rather strange tactic of poisonous snakes in battle
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He instructed his men to gather as many poisonous snakes as they could find and put them in pots
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Using a ploy, Hannibal was able to determine which ship had eumenes on it
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Hannibal then proceeded to catapult the jars of poisonous snakes onto the said ship
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With their enemies confused and covered in snakes, Hannibal's navy went on to win the battle
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Once Rome started chasing Hannibal, however, they became determined to put an end to him
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At the time, Hannibal was fighting for a Vithynia, whose king gave Hannibal's location to the Romans
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The Romans surrounded the house, and seeing that there was no way out, Hannibal decided to ingest
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poison rather than be captured. He is purported to have said, let us put an end to this life
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which has caused so much dread to the Romans