Hannibal

247 BCE – 183 BCE · died at about 64^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Hannibal

• Hannibal, asked by his Roman enemy Scipio who the greatest general was, answered "either Alexander or Pyrrhus, then myself," according to Plutarch.^[1][3][4]
• Hannibal so terrified Rome that whenever disaster threatened, Romans would exclaim "Hannibal ad portas" ("Hannibal is at the gates!"), a phrase still in use today.^[1]
• According to one story, Hannibal's father held the 9-year-old boy over the fire in a sacrificial chamber and made him swear that he would never be a friend of Rome.^[1]
• According to Livy, Hannibal used vinegar and fire to break through a rockfall while crossing the Alps. Polybius, the other main source, never mentions the episode.^[1]
• Appian tells of a prophecy that "Libyssan earth shall cover Hannibal's remains," so Hannibal expected to die in Libya. He died instead at Libyssa in Bithynia, on the Sea of Marmara.^[1]
• George S. Patton believed himself a reincarnation of Hannibal, and also of a Roman legionary and a Napoleonic soldier.^[1]
• Archimedes and Hannibal were on the same side in the Second Punic War.^[1][2][5][6]
• Hannibal lived to about 64, from 247 BCE until 183 BCE.^[1][2]

Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin, triggered by the emergence of the Roman Republic as a great power with its defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. Revanchism prevailed in Carthage, symbolized by the pledge that Hannibal made to his father to "never be a friend of Rome".^[1]

Contemporaries

Qin Shi Huang

37 yr overlap

Archimedes

35 yr overlap

Ashoka

15 yr overlap

Questions About Hannibal

When was Hannibal born?

Hannibal was born in 247 BCE and died in 183 BCE.

How old was Hannibal at death?

Hannibal died in 183 BCE at about 64 years old (247 BCE–183 BCE).

What was Hannibal known for?

Hannibal was known for: Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps. Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin, triggered by the emergence of the Roman Republic as a great power with its defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. Revanchism prevailed in Carthage, symbolized by the pledge that Hannibal made to his father to "never be a friend of Rome".

Who was alive at the same time as Hannibal?

Hannibal's closest contemporary was Qin Shi Huang. Their lives overlapped for 37 years.