Hannibal: The Barbarian Who Took On Rome Quiz

Answer: Carthage

Carthage, according to legend, was founded by a Phoenician princess who fled to the north coast of Africa after her brother killed her husband. The city was established around 814 BC and the word Carthage means "new town". It was built at a defensible natural port on the Gulf of Tunis.

The huge harbor was said to hold over 200 vessels at a time and helped the area become a maritime trading empire. Hannibal Barca was the son of Hamilcar Barca, who was an aristocrat appointed by the Carthaginian Senate to command its army.

The Barca family was extremely influential and were considered leaders of the community.

Answer: Silver

Hannibal's father, Hamilcar, had been fighting the Romans for years and was horrified when Rome won in 241 BC. Rome inflicted heavy taxes on Carthage, which hurt their ability to recruit soldiers. Hamilcar eventually decided to travel to Spain to help expand the area of Carthage and find some monetary aid.

At this point, Hannibal, who was 9 years old, begged to go. It was agreed only after he swore a blood oath to vanquish Rome. Hannibal spent over 15 years growing up around the army. During this time, the Carthaginians conquered and pillaged many of Spain's silver mines to help pay for the endeavors.

At 23, Hannibal was given command of the cavalry. In 221 BC, after his father and brother-in-law died, Hannibal took over command.

Answer: Second Punic War

Hannibal continued his father's campaigns in Spain. Even though Carthage had been allowed to keep most of their influence in Spain, Rome had installed its own small government in the city of Saguntum, near what is now Valencia. Hannibal began to march toward the city. In 218 BC, Hannibal ignored Rome's warnings and besieged the city. This officially began the Second Punic War.

The Second Punic War would last until 201 BC and cover geographic areas such as Spain, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa. It primarily involved the battles between Carthage and Rome. Rome, furious that Hannibal had not been punished by his own Carthaginian Senate, dispatched an army to intercept and fight Hannibal. But they were slow, and by the time they arrived, Hannibal was gone.

Answer: False

A small group elite group, called the Sacred Band, was composed of citizens and a second small source of troops came from allied cities. However, most of the members in Hannibal's army were mercenaries or other "barbarian" tribes recruited to help fight the Romans.

These included Numidian cavalry who rode without a bridle and fought with a javelin. Sometimes women were in battle, especially if they came from Libyan-Egyptian lands. To avoid threats of the mercenaries taking over the army and trying to attack Carthage, all senior and middle army positions were held of direct citizens of Carthage.

The soldiers carried shields depicting their tribe's symbols and many used swords or arrows.

Answer: Alps

Hannibal knew, in 218 BC, that he could not beat the Roman navy in a battle at sea. Any attack would have to be overland. He decided to cross the Alps to get to Italy. When he decamped and left Seguntum before the Roman forces got there, he had around 80,000 troops under his command.

He started in the late fall, which means he would run into treacherous conditions. He also had to abandon his siege weapons as they were too bulky. The crossing was wretched. Horrible winter conditions, small skirmishes, and desertion of the ranks made the numbers quickly dwindle in the army.

After only 17 days, though, Hannibal reached Italy. He had only around 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalries when he finally arrived.

Answer: Elephants

War elephants were trained and used by humans for combat. The elephant's main job was to charge the enemy and instill terror. An "elephantry" is a cavalry equipped with elephants instead of horses. Generals, including Hannibal, put themselves on top of an elephant to lead a charge and get a good view of the battlefield. Archers would stand on the animals' backs to gain good vantage points. Nobody is exactly sure which type of elephant Hannibal used in his armies although most argue that the majority were probably Asian elephants.

In a battle, Hannibal would put armor on the beasts, give alcohol to them, and antagonize them by poking them with spears. The elephants, drunk and angry, would crash through enemy lines and panic the opposition.

Answer: Cannae

In 216 BC, Hannibal had grown his forces to around 45,000 due to an influx of soldiers from Gaul, in northern Italy. The Romans, numbering around 70,000 troops, advanced on Hannibal in a single large formation. Hannibal, on the other hand, put his army in a crescent shape with the weaker units in the center and strong veterans on the outside. The location of this clash was near an ancient Italian village named Cannae.

The Romans charged the middle and appeared to gain ground. However, Hannibal's veterans quickly flanked either side of the Roman unit in a giant pincer movement. Meanwhile, his large cavalry charged a surprise attack from the rear, completely surrounding the Romans. The Romans lost almost 50,000 people with Hannibal losing less a quarter of that amount. It was estimated that around 100 men were killed every single minute during the Battle of Cannae.

Answer: Scipio Africanus

He was born Publius Cornelius Scipio around 236 BC, and would become Hannibal's greatest foe in the years to come. Scipio came from a long line of patrician families in Rome and many of his ancestors served in elected positions. At only age 18, Scipio saved his injured father during a battle.

When his father was eventually killed in battle in 212 BC, Scipio rose through the army ranks. He was a very strong tactician and studied warfare and his enemies. He spent many years in Spain where he led a series of wins in various battles. Flush from his victories, he set his eyes on the prize of finding, and vanquishing, Hannibal.

Answer: True

The Romans had left Italy and sailed to Africa to try to take Hannibal's Carthage. Hannibal quickly followed and the Battle of Zama occurred in 202 BC. The Romans had almost 36,000 troops and had studied Hannibal's techniques, including use of the war animals. Hannibal had an almost equal amount of troops, but his men and his animals were not properly trained. Crippled by their own animals attacking them in a frenzy, the Carthaginians were quickly attacked in the rear and Hannibal was forced to surrender, ending the war. Carthage had to pay a significant amount of money and Rome was once again the dominant power in the area.

Answer: Suicide

Hannibal left Carthage around 195 BC when his countrymen began to suspect he was trying to mount up another offense against Rome. He moved to the Middle East for a while and worked in the court of King Antiochus III, who was an enemy of Rome. He then fled to Bithynia (modern day Turkey) where he was granted asylum.

In 183 BC, the Romans found him and started to close in on the villa where was staying. As soldiers came closer, Hannibal is reported to have said "Let us rid the Romans of their fear of this troublesome old man".

He then swallowed poison and died.