HANNIBAL BARCA OF CARTHAGE, TUNISIA IS TILL TODAY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST MILITARY COMMANDERS IN HISTORY.

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Hannibal Barca is till today viewed as one of the greatest general in history. He was the leader of the armed force for the city of Carthage and spent his life taking up arms against the city of Rome. He led the Carthaginian armed force and he was generally known for his war strategy of out-thinking and encompassing the enemy with a joined power of infantry and cavalry.

Hannibal was conceived in the city of Carthage. Carthage was a powerful city in North Africa (the country today known as Tunisia) on the bank of the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage was the significant opponent to the Roman Republic in the Mediterranean for a long time. Hannibal's dad, Hamilcar Barca, was a general in the Carthage armed force and had battled Rome amid the First Punic War. While growing up as a youngster, he saw his dad as his role model and needed to be a warrior simply like his dad.

At the point when Hannibal's dad went to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) to pick up control of the area for Carthage, Hannibal asked to begged to come along. His dad just consented to give him a chance to come after Hannibal swore a sacrosanct promise that he would dependably remain an adversary of Rome.

Hannibal climbed rapidly in the positions of the armed force. He figured out how to be a pioneer and a general from his dad. In any case, his dad kicked the bucket in 228 BCE when Hannibal was 18 years of age. For the following 8 years Hannibal studied under his brother-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair. At the point when Hasdrubal was killed, Hannibal became the general of the Carthage armed force in Iberia.

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In his initial couple of years as general, Hannibal proceeded with his dad's victory of the Iberian Peninsula. He vanquished a few cities and expanded the scope of Carthage. Be that as it may, soon Rome ended up worried over the quality of Hannibal's armed force. They made a union with the city of Saguntum on the shoreline of Spain. At the point when Hannibal vanquished Saguntum, Rome proclaimed war on Carthage and the Second Punic War started.

Hannibal chose to take the war to Rome. He would lead his armed force overland, through Spain, Gaul (France), over the Alps, and into Italy. He would have liked to overcome Rome. His army left the city of New Carthage (Cartagena) on the bank of Spain in the spring of 218 BCE.

Hannibal's armed force immediately progressed towards Italy until the point when they reached the Alps. The Alps were tall mountains with troublesome climate and landscape. The Romans felt safe, feeling that no general would set out to lead their army through the Alps. Hannibal did the unbelievable, in any case, and walked his army over the Alps. History specialists contrast on what number of troops Hannibal had when he initially entered the Alps, however it was somewhere close to 50,000 and 80,000 troops. He likewise had around 14,000 cavalry and 39 elephants. At the point when Hannibal reached the other side of the Alps, his armed force was enormously reduced because most of them died due to the harsh weather and terrain of the Alps. He landed in Italy with around 25,000 warriors, 5,000 horsemen, and a very few elephants.

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As soon as he crossed the Alps with his surviving army, Hannibal engaged in battle with the Roman army at the Battle of Trebia. Be that as it may, he initially increased new troops from the Gauls of Po Valley who wanted to overthrow Roman rule. Hannibal soundly crushed the Romans at Trebia and kept on progressing to Rome. Hannibal kept on winning more fights against the Romans including the Battle of Lake Trasimene and the Battle of Cannae.

Hannibal and his army progressed to inside a short separation of Rome before they were halted. Now the war turned into a stalemate. Hannibal remained in Italy for quite a long while continually engaging Rome. Notwithstanding, the Romans had more army and man power and in the end the Romans defected Hannibal's armed force. About fifteen years after arriving in Italy, Hannibal withdrew back to Carthage in 203 BCE.

After returning back to Carthage, Hannibal arranged the armed force for an assault by Rome. The last battle of the Second Punic War occurred at the Battle of Zuma in 202 BCE. It was at Zuma that the Romans at last crushed Hannibal. Carthage was compelled to sign a peace arrangement surrendering control of Spain and the Western Mediterranean to Rome.

Hannibal Barça's statue

After the war, Hannibal went into legislative issues in Carthage. He was a regarded statesman for quite a long while. In any case, regardless he abhorred Rome and needed to see the city crushed. He in the end went into exile in Turkey where he plotted against Rome. At the point when the Romans came after him in 183 BCE, he fled to the country side where he harmed himself by drinking a poisonous substance and afterwards he died just to avoid being caught alive.

REFERENCES

https://www.biography.com/people/hannibal-9327767

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2012/07/hannibal-barca-of-carthage-north-africa.html?m=1

https://www.geni.com/people/Hannibal-Barca-General-of-Carthage/6000000011473416414