Hannibal

Timeline

1. c. -247–-221Carthage, New Carthage · AndalusiaHannibal was born into Carthage's Barcid family; his father Hamilcar Barca built up Carthaginian power in Spain with his army. Hannibal received military training from childhood; after Hamilcar's death in battle, his brother-in-law Hasdrubal and his brother Hasdrubal Gisco governed in succession, and Hannibal took command in Spain in 221 BCE, consolidating Carthage's hegemony in Iberia.
2. -218–-216Alps, Italian Peninsula · ItalyHannibal led his army from Spain, crossed the Alps into Italy, and repeatedly defeated Rome at battles such as the Trebia and Lake Trasimene. At Cannae in 216 BCE he annihilated the main Roman force with a double envelopment, bringing the war to Roman soil and shaking the entire Mediterranean world.
3. -215–-203Southern Italy · CampaniaAfter Cannae, Hannibal campaigned for years in southern Italy; though repeatedly victorious, he could not force Rome to surrender. Rome adopted Fabius's delaying strategy and opened fronts in Spain and Africa, while Carthage's homeland support proved insufficient. As Scipio Africanus threatened Carthage in Africa, Hannibal was forced to withdraw from Italy, losing the strategic initiative.
4. -202–-183Zama, Bithynia · North AfricaHannibal was defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama, and the Second Punic War ended in Carthage's disastrous defeat. He thereafter went into exile in Syria, Armenia, and Bithynia, still serving as a military adviser. In 183 BCE, when Rome demanded that the king of Bithynia hand him over, he took poison at Libyssa (modern Gemlik, Turkey), dying at about sixty-four.